Summarised by Centrist
A new peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Clinical Neuroscience has found SARS-CoV-2 spike protein lingering in the brain arteries of female stroke patients more than a year after receiving mRNA COVID vaccines – raising concerns about long-term vascular impacts and sex-based immune differences.
Although the sample size was small (19 patients), and causation not established, the authors argue the findings add weight to growing calls for a reassessment of mRNA vaccine risks – especially for women – and demand further investigation into long-term effects.
Researchers found spike protein in 44% of brain artery samples from vaccinated women who had hemorrhagic strokes, but none in men. They also found no signs of recent COVID infection.
Instead, the spike protein may have come from vaccine mRNA, which was also found in the tissue. This suggests the body could still be making the protein long after it was expected to stop.
Some of the blood vessels in the brain showed light swelling and had immune cells in them (which means the body was reacting to something). But it wasn’t serious enough to count as full-on inflammation. While the study does not prove that the spike protein caused the strokes, it confirms its presence near the damaged areas and calls for urgent investigation.
The most striking finding was the sex disparity: all spike-positive cases were female. This aligns with known sex-based immune differences, with women generally mounting stronger responses to vaccines – a factor that may predispose them to different adverse effects than men, who have shown higher rates of vaccine-associated myocarditis.
Critics say the results challenge outdated assumptions that spike protein and vaccine mRNA are quickly cleared from the body.
Researchers are now asking for long-term studies to track where this material goes in the body — especially because there’s growing evidence it could harm blood vessel linings, attach to certain receptors, or even trigger autoimmune responses.
