Coronavirus could potentially cause brain damage as "dangerous swelling" has been discovered in some patients, doctors have warned.

Neurological complications have occurred in a number of people diagnosed with Covid-19, where inflammation has caused bleeding and the killing of cells.

One Florida man in his 70s temporarily lost the ability to speak after contracting the virus.

Other scans suggest a woman in her 50s from Detroit lost big chunks of brain cells, and similar central nervous problems have been reported in Italy and China.

Henry Ford Health System neurologist Dr Elissa Fory said incorporating patients with severe neurological disease needs to be added into "our treatment paradigm", reports the Daily Mail.

Coronavirus can cause brain damage as dangerous swelling found in 'confused' patients

The doctor, involved in diagnosing the Detroit woman, added the complication seen in that patient was as "devastating" as severe lung disease, reports Mirror Online.

When the 58-year-old checked in she was confused and disoriented, as well as having many of the telltale symptoms of Covid-19.

She proved positive for the virus but having run numerous diagnostic tests, including taking a cerebrospinal fluid sample, everything else came back negative.

A man temporarily lost his ability to speak after contracting the virus

A CT scan of her brain was carried out which showed dark spots, indicating a fluid build up or substantial brain cell loss.

The patient's thalamus - crucial in sending sensory signals for processing - showed particular damage, while other scans showed brain lesions or bleeds in temporal lobes.

Dr Fory said the extensive testing proved their suspicions that the woman, an airline worker, had encephalitis - a potentially deadly brain swelling condition.

The Florida patient, aged 74, had suffered seizures which affected his ability to speak - a sign of brain swelling, leading his doctors to believe he also had the condition.

One hospital in Italy has set up a 'NeuroCovid' unit for neurological conditions on the back of the number of brain swelling cases during the virus outbreak in the country.

While researchers in China had been first to suspect brain complications in some coronavirus sufferers.

The Henry Ford doctors are now urging clinicians across the US to keep an eye out for neurological symptoms as the pandemic continues to spread rapidly.