scholarly journals Neurology of COVID-19

2021 ◽  

The authors will present a comprehensive account of the neurological aspects of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The aim is to provide a practical clinical book which will serve as a guide for clinicians from all specialties involved in the management of COVID-19 patients. The authors share the extensive clinical experience gained in major hospitals in Lombardy, the first European region to face the COVID-19 emergency in 2020. All are recognized international experts in their respective fields and have been involved in the management of COVID-19 cases from the very beginning of the Italian SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. The text begins with a description of pathobiological and pathophysiological aspects related to the involvement of the nervous system, moving on to the discussion of the neurological complications observed in COVID-19 patients; these range from central to peripheral symptoms, and can occur in the acute or post-acute phases of the disease. Further topics are: neuropathology, seizures and EEG, neuroimaging, delirium, encephalomyelitis, stroke, psychopathology and psychiatry, neuropsychology and cognitive impairment, neuromuscu-lar disorders, and the impact of COVID-19 on other pre-existing neurological disorders. In addi-tion, the book will discuss the new developments in teleneurology approaches, which have been a direct response to the ongoing pandemic. Finally, the possible neurological complications of the COVID-19 vaccines and the neurological complications in children will be considered.Each chapter will present a critical review of the existing literature concerning the specific subject matter, followed by practical clinical recommendations, as well as personal considerations based on the experience gained by each author during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Neurology of COVID-19 will be an original and innovative reference book for clinicians of all the specialties involved in the management of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (15) ◽  
pp. 5475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuela Pennisi ◽  
Giuseppe Lanza ◽  
Luca Falzone ◽  
Francesco Fisicaro ◽  
Raffaele Ferri ◽  
...  

Increasing evidence suggests that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) can also invade the central nervous system (CNS). However, findings available on its neurological manifestations and their pathogenic mechanisms have not yet been systematically addressed. A literature search on neurological complications reported in patients with COVID-19 until June 2020 produced a total of 23 studies. Overall, these papers report that patients may exhibit a wide range of neurological manifestations, including encephalopathy, encephalitis, seizures, cerebrovascular events, acute polyneuropathy, headache, hypogeusia, and hyposmia, as well as some non-specific symptoms. Whether these features can be an indirect and unspecific consequence of the pulmonary disease or a generalized inflammatory state on the CNS remains to be determined; also, they may rather reflect direct SARS-CoV-2-related neuronal damage. Hematogenous versus transsynaptic propagation, the role of the angiotensin II converting enzyme receptor-2, the spread across the blood-brain barrier, the impact of the hyperimmune response (the so-called “cytokine storm”), and the possibility of virus persistence within some CNS resident cells are still debated. The different levels and severity of neurotropism and neurovirulence in patients with COVID-19 might be explained by a combination of viral and host factors and by their interaction.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lintao Wang ◽  
Zhiguang Ren ◽  
Li Ma ◽  
Yanjie Han ◽  
Wenqiang Wei ◽  
...  

COVID-19 has spread rapidly worldwide since its outbreak and has now become a major public health problem. More and more evidence indicates that SARS-CoV-2 may not only affect the respiratory system but also cause great harm to the central nervous system. Therefore, it is extremely important to explore in-depth the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the nervous system. In this paper, the possible mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 invading the central nervous system during COVID-19, and the neurological complications caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection were reviewed.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Juan Chen ◽  
Long Jiang Zhang ◽  
Guang Ming Lu

Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) suffer from a number of complex neurological complications including vascular damage and cognitive dysfunction. It is of great significance to detect the neurological complications and improve the prognosis of ESRD patients. Many new noninvasive MRI techniques have been steadily used for the diagnosis of occult central nervous system complications in ESRD patients. This gives an opportunity to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms of these neurological disorders. This paper is a review that presents the MRI findings of occult brain damage in ESRD patients, outlines the applications of advanced MRI techniques, and introduces a brief perspective in this study field.


Autism ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 136236132095137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei-Yin Pan ◽  
Sven Bölte ◽  
Preet Kaur ◽  
Sadia Jamil ◽  
Ulf Jonsson

The etiological significance of neurological disorders in autism is debated, but it is clear that they complicate support provision and clinical management, and can have negative impact on outcomes. This systematic review and meta-analysis explored the full range of co-occurring neurological disorders in autism. We estimated the odds of having neurological complications compared to the general population and other neurodevelopmental conditions, as well as the overall prevalence of different neurological disorders. Seventy-nine articles were eligible for the systematic review, including 28 case-control studies, 43 prevalence studies, and 8 cohort studies. Findings were heterogeneous across studies. Overall, autistic individuals were significantly more likely than the general population to exhibit epilepsy, macrocephaly, hydrocephalus, cerebral palsy, migraine/headache, and congenital abnormalities of the nervous system, with prevalence estimates ranging from 1.1% (0%–3.3%; hydrocephalus) to 14.2% (11.3%–17.2%; epilepsy). Epilepsy was also more common in autism than in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 4.06 [2.81–5.88]). Findings indicate that awareness of neurological disorders and neurological check-ups are indicated in autism to ensure adequate physical health care and support. Prospective studies of neurological disorders in children diagnosed with or at risk of autism might further enhance our understanding of causal pathways. Lay abstract Neurological disorders, such as epilepsy and cerebral palsy, have been reported to occur among individuals with autism beyond chance and may have an impact on daily living across the lifespan. Although there has been research investigating neurological disorders in autism, the findings are not always conclusive. Previous summaries of existing studies have not evaluated the full range of neurological disorders. This study aimed to comprehensively explore the neurological problems appearing in autism to provide updated information that is needed for better healthcare and support in this population. We looked at already published studies focusing on risk or frequency of neurological disorders in autism. Our results suggest that individuals with autism are more likely than the general population to have a range of neurological disorders, including epilepsy, macrocephaly, hydrocephalus, cerebral palsy, migraine/headache, and inborn abnormalities of the nervous system. In order to provide individualized healthcare and support of high quality to individuals diagnosed with autism, health care professionals and other support providers need to be attentive to neurological complications. To further improve our understanding about the link between autism and neurological disorders, future research should follow the neurological health of children who are diagnosed with or are at increased likelihood of autism.


EMJ Neurology ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 68-79
Author(s):  
Varruchi Sharma ◽  
Atul Sankhyan ◽  
Anshika Varshney ◽  
Renuka Choudhary ◽  
Anil K. Sharma

It has been suggested that an intricate communication link exists between the gut microbiota and the brain and its ability to modulate behaviour of an individual governing homeostasis. Metabolic activity of the microbiota is considered to be relatively constant in healthy individuals, despite differences in the composition of microbiota. The metabolites produced by gut microbiota and their homeostatic balance is often perturbed as a result of neurological complications. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to explore the link between gut microbiota and brain function and behaviour through neural, endocrine, and immune pathways. This current review focusses on the impact of altered gut microbiota on brain functions and how microbiome modulation by use of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics might prove beneficial in the prevention and/or treatment of neurological disorders. It is important to carefully understand the complex mechanisms underlying the gut–brain axis so as to use the gut microbiota as a therapeutic intervention strategy for neurological disorders.


2019 ◽  
Vol 73 ◽  
pp. 197-216
Author(s):  
Piotr Grzegrzółka ◽  
Robert Jarzyna

For many years the spectrum of gluten-related disorders had been limited only to celiac disease and its typical gastrointestinal symptoms. In the last few years, not only new disorders like non-celiac gluten sensitivity have been described, but also pathogeneses of celiac disease and wheat allergy have been better understood. It is also known that impaired gluten tolerance in many cases leads to appearance of extraintestinal symptoms that may affect any organ or system of the human body including the nervous system that may be the cause of some neurological disorders such as ataxia, neuropathy, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or schizophrenia. In this paper we present the spectrum of neurological disorders, whose pathogeneses may depend on gluten ingestion and some proposed mechanisms elucidating those pathogeneses.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 140-144
Author(s):  
M. A. Ahmet’yanov ◽  
◽  
O. A. Kicherova ◽  
L. I. Reikhert ◽  
M. V. Deeva ◽  
...  

The pandemic of the new SARS-CoV2, that started at the beginning of 2020, caused a catastrophic increase in morbidity and mortality in early 2020 and posed a number of challenges for healthcare system. Primarily, this concerns the study of the effect on different organs and systems, that new virus can exhibit. This knowledge further can serve as a key to the development of effective methods for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 associated pathological conditions. The objectives of this review include the analysis of neurological complications caused by the new coronavirus infection and the determination of the possible mechanisms of the virus’s effect on the human nervous system.


Author(s):  
Daniel A. Cohen ◽  
Asim Roy

Scientific investigation of the relationships between sleep and neurological disorders is at a relatively early stage. Damage to the nervous system or impaired neural development can cause a wide array of sleep disorders. In turn, sleep disruption may impair neuroplastic processes that are important for functional recovery after nervous system insults. Sleep disorders in patients with neurological disease can negatively affect quality of life for both the patients and the caregivers. Cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune process changes associated with sleep disorders may exacerbate the underlying neuropathological changes in neurological disease. Early intervention for sleep disorders in these patients may substantially improve neurological outcomes. More randomized, controlled treatment trials will ultimately help to determine the optimal timing and treatment modalities for the sleep disorders in these patients and the impact this will have on improving neurological health, enhancing neurological function, and reducing the care burden for this population.


2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marzia Puccioni-Sohler ◽  
Natalia Roveroni ◽  
Carolina Rosadas ◽  
Fernando Ferry ◽  
Jose Mauro Peralta ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Dengue, Zika and Chikungunya are emerging arboviruses and important causes of acute febrile disease in tropical areas. Although dengue does not represent a new condition, a geographic expansion over time has occurred with the appearance of severe neurological complications. Neglect has allowed the propagation of the vector (Aedes spp), which is also responsible for the transmission of other infections such as Zika and Chikungunya throughout the world. The increased number of infected individuals has contributed to the rise of neurological manifestations including encephalitis, myelitis, meningitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome and congenital malformations such as microcephaly. In this narrative review, we characterize the impact of the geographic expansion of the vector on the appearance of neurological complications, and highlight the lack of highly accurate laboratory tests for nervous system infections. This represents a challenge for public health in the world, considering the high number of travelers and people living in endemic areas.


Author(s):  
A. L. Ren ◽  
R. J. Digby ◽  
E. J. Needham

AbstractCoronavirus Disease 2019 is predominantly a disorder of the respiratory system, but neurological complications have been recognised since early in the pandemic. The major pathophysiological processes leading to neurological damage in COVID-19 are cerebrovascular disease, immunologically mediated neurological disorders and the detrimental effects of critical illness on the nervous system. It is still unclear whether direct invasion of the nervous system by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 occurs; given the vast numbers of people infected at this point, this uncertainty suggests that nervous system infection is unlikely to represent a significant issue if it occurs at all. In this review, we explore what has been learnt about the neurological complications of COVID-19 over the course of the pandemic, and by which mechanisms these complications most commonly occur.


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