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James Throt MBBS, MD, PhD, FRCPath Profile picture
James Throt MBBS, MD, PhD, FRCPath
@JamesThrot
Consultant Neuropathologist, UK. Always backed by science. Using an alias.
17 subscribers
Aug 15 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
The neurological toll of COVID is vastly underestimated

Brain scans can look “normal” while things too subtle for MRI detection; microvascular damage, neuroinflammation, and synaptic loss… quietly erode cognition, mood & behaviour

We are flying blind on the scale of impairment MRI is a blunt tool for subtle brain injury.

It can’t resolve microvascular lesions, detect most neuroinflammation, or see lost synaptic connections.

Many COVID-related brain changes are chemical or cellular, leaving scans ‘normal’ while function is impaired.
Aug 14 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
A-level results are out in the UK. Record numbers of students got their first choice university place. Politicians call this a “success story.”

But how is this possible when SARS-CoV-2 has been repeatedly disrupting education and damaging brain health?

🧠🧵 Image Let’s remember:

- Covid disrupts learning through illness, teacher absences, and long-term symptoms/chronic health.

- Many children have been infected multiple times (5-10 times already).

- Each infection increases the risk of ongoing symptoms and neurological effects. Image
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Aug 13 • 18 tweets • 5 min read
Surging aggression. Language delays. Developmental issues. Teachers & parents report major changes in children

Lockdowns are often blamed. But many lockdowns were short (e.g. UK)

So what else changed in early childhood since 2020?

I’m a neurologist. Let's talk COVID & brains🧵 Let's be clear: lockdowns may have had an impact on some children, especially in unsafe homes or w/poor digital access. That shouldn't be denied.

But what we're seeing now goes far beyond what short-term isolation would explain, especially in children born after lockdowns ended.
Aug 10 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
How Covid brain damage fuels social & political chaos in UK & USA 🧵

The UK & US face unprecedented strain on healthcare & social trust

Political discourse often scapegoats immigrants/minorities, ignoring a major driver:

The pandemic’s lasting & ongoing neurological toll

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Image SARS-CoV-2 is neurotropic; it infects brain tissue, especially the frontal cortex, critical for empathy, impulse control, and decision-making.

Research shows repeat infections cause cumulative cognitive impairments & damage.

This inevitably erodes social reasoning.

2/
Aug 8 • 14 tweets • 5 min read
Surging aggression. Language delays. Dysregulation. Developmental issues. Teachers & parents are seeing major changes in children.

Lockdowns are often blamed. But UK lockdowns were short. So what else changed in early childhood since 2020?

Let’s talk about COVID. And brains. 🧵 Image
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Image Let’s be clear: lockdowns may have had an impact on some children, especially in unsafe homes or w/poor digital access. That shouldn’t be denied.

But what we’re seeing now goes far beyond what short-term isolation would explain, especially in children born after lockdowns ended.
Jul 30 • 21 tweets • 5 min read
🧵 Thread: Why don’t people take COVID seriously in Year 6 of the pandemic?

A virus that disables the immune system, damages the brain, heart, and vasculature.

And spreads like smoke.

Yet the world shrugs.

Why?

Because mass denial is doing what it always does.

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Image When a threat is chronic, invisible, and socially inconvenient, people don’t rationally evaluate it, they emotionally suppress it.

Denial becomes a survival mechanism. Especially in societies offering zero support for caution, it’s easier to numb out than face reality.

2/
Jul 14 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
The following question has been on my mind. So to the covid cautious community, I ask:

If you know that the virus, SARS-CoV-2, is harmful, persistent and disabling, why do some of you still participate in systems, relationships, behaviours, and events that perpetuate its spread? Many of you claim to understand and oppose the ongoing harms of SARS-CoV-2, but continue to participate in, and normalise, environments and events that fuel its spread.

Participation legitimises the harm, does it not?
Jul 5 • 11 tweets • 5 min read
Covid damages the part of your brain (frontal lobe) which is responsible for empathy, emotional regulation & overcoming self-centeredness.

This will facilitate immorality.

Each & every infection you have causes damage.

Many are on infection 4 (or more).

Signed, a neurologist. Unless you’re taking measures to prevent infection, you’re catching SARS-CoV-2 frequently. Many infections are asymptomatic.

Each new infection will compound the brain damage, causing new issues that previous infections may not have done.

You are gambling with your cognition. Image
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Apr 2 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
After targeted harassment & defamation, I’ve realised that people want to insist that doctors take all SARS-CoV-2 sequelae seriously, except for neurological sequelae/brain damage.

I’ve been called ableist & bigoted for stating that damage can negatively affect behaviour.

🧵 Suggesting that an increase in violent behaviour, diminishing empathy, increasing apathy & emotional lability, decreasing risk aversion & more disinhibition could be a result of damage to the frontal & temporal lobes in the brain is apparently ableist & bigoted.

Yet it is fact.
Mar 31 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
Lol.

Most people keep getting sick w/a few months respite between infections (Covid, flu, norovirus, take your pick).

What in gods name do people think Long Covid is?

“Yeah I get sick all the time since I had Covid & I’ve had that several times. But I don’t have long covid” 😂 My dude, that’s Long Covid.

“Erm no it’s not. I just keep getting sick”.

And what does it mean if you keep getting sick?

“Erm that my immune system isn’t working properly… [long thoughtful pause]”

Immune system damage sounds like Long Covid to me.

“You could be right”

I am
Mar 11 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
In neurology/psychiatry, we would call this Apathy.

Brain damage to the frontal lobe (dorsal anterior cingulate cortex) causes apathy & reduces empathy.

SARS-CoV-2 damages this region of the brain. Every. Single. Time.

More infections = more damage = more apathy.

🧵 Increase in apathy is often seen in traumatic brain injury, stroke & dementia.

It manifests as a lack of motivation/enthusiasm due to disruption in the brain regions responsible for goal directed behavior & reward processing.

Resulting in a lack of drive to engage in activities
Mar 10 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
“They create the idea of a terrifying plague that will kill us all, when the truth is far less frightening”

The truth is SARS-CoV-2 likely won’t kill you today, nor tomorrow.

But it will damage the brain, internal organs, blood vessels & immune system of everyone it infects. “Well covid did me no harm”

- You can lose up to 90% kidney function before experiencing any symptoms.

- Cancers often develop silently with symptoms only appearing at a more advanced stage.

- Blood clots develop silently.

- Brain damage often goes unnoticed by the sufferer.
Mar 8 • 12 tweets • 5 min read
Does anybody else feel that blaming a few months of lockdown for ill health in 2025, both physical & mental, is not only disingenuous & delusional, but a crusade to spread disinformation?

The public lap it up so they can reassure themselves the threat has vanished into thin air. We have outrageous hyperbole, as in the quoted tweet below, and almost everyone in the comments agree.

Peter is UK based, where lockdowns for the youngest children & those in year 6 lasted just 10 weeks, returning on 01/06/2020.

All other ages returned in September 2020. Image
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Mar 5 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
You’re a bit late to the party guys.

I’ve been telling you this for years.

I’m sick of talking about the frontal lobe and the damage SARS-CoV-2 is inflicting upon it.

Personality changes, executive dysfunction, emotional lability, cognitive decline.

Welcome to the new normal. As previously stated, personality changes will come before cognitive decline (intellect, memory, problem solving etc).

You don’t have to be a neurologist to see what’s happening to almost everyone around you.

SARS-CoV-2 almost always damages the brain of everyone it infects.
Mar 3 • 7 tweets • 5 min read
Have you developed symptoms of ADHD since 2020?

Or has your ADHD deteriorated since 2020?

The frontal lobe is the largest part of the brain affected by ADHD, often maturing at a slower pace with disrupted activity & connectivity.

Covid damages the frontal & temporal lobes.

🧵 I’m seeing far more people presenting with what they believe is ADHD, but I would suggest many of these cases are being misdiagnosed.

SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to reduce grey matter within the frontal/temporal lobes in the brain, and the damage goes far beyond simply being ADHD. Image
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Mar 1 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
We are currently watching what I can only describe as the early stages of Frontotemporal Dementia on a mass scale playing out in real time.

The geopolitical ramifications of this are worrisome.

I am in no doubt about what I’m seeing.

The cause?

Ceaseless SARS-CoV-2 infections Image Each new infection compounds the damage.

Damage to this area of the brain often causes ‘lack of insight’ (anosognosia ⬇️).

Self awareness is frequently impaired in FTD.

Tendency to act out of character often features.

Frontal lobe damage due to SARS-CoV-2 documented below ⬇️. Image
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Feb 28 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Brief contact w/unmasked individual who tested + on LFT, whilst wearing an N95 myself.

I tested on LFT 2x per day for 3 weeks, all clearly negative.

No symptoms.

Antibody blood test 6 weeks later showed v high level of ABs. AB test 2 months prior - low levels.

I had Covid. To be clear, I am NEVER unmasked around ANYONE.

It is of course possible I caught it elsewhere, it’s simply that that was the only known positive contact.

The point here is that I had a completely symptom free infection whilst testing consistently negative on LFTs.
Feb 26 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
Pilots unable to follow the most basic of ATC instructions, which was to hold short of the runway.

So instead, they cross the active runway, where a 737 is landing.

The pilot also failed to check for incoming traffic on runway.

This is what covid brain damage might look like. I expand on this in the thread quoted below.

Note that the last line about having “no evidence” is quite clearly sarcasm.
Feb 19 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
Anecdotally, I’m seeing significant numbers complaining about health issues after SARS-CoV-2 infections, w/the majority NOT presenting with what people believe are traditional LC symptoms (fatigue, breathlessness, joint pain etc).

What % of LC cases are actually “traditional”?🧵 The majority assume LC only comes in the form of fatigue etc, which is demonstrably untrue. This is just one way in which the disease can present itself.

This causes many to believe the number of LC cases to be far lower than reality & even believe they don’t have it themselves.
Feb 18 • 6 tweets • 5 min read
Since Covid arrived:

“Why are so many children having developmental problems?

Why are there more car accidents & plane crashes?

Why are people more aggressive & less empathetic?

Why is everyone sick all the time?

Why is there more violence in schools?”

Gee, I dunno… Image
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Image “There isn’t more violence in schools and kids are fine”

Oh, ok 👍🏻. Image
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Feb 13 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
MUST WATCH:

This is what healthcare professionals really think about those of you suffering w/new health issues since SARS-CoV-2 arrived. It’s truly shocking.

I’m ashamed of my own profession.

This is intolerable.

Today, an NHS doctor on Sky News ⬇️

Guys, it’s just anxiety🧵 It gets worse.

This emergency consultant has the audacity to cite young people’s anxiety causing them to think that any form of chest pain/breathing problem is them having a heart attack.

Let’s not forget the fact that covid has been found to increase the risk of cardiac events
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