COVID-19 and neurological disorders: are neurodegenerative or neuroimmunological diseases more vulnerable?

Abstract

Neurological disorders and coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic are two conditions with a recent well-documented association. Intriguing evidences showed that COVID-19 infection can modify clinical spectrum of manifested neurological disorders but also it plays a crucial role in the development of future diseases as long-tem consequences. In this viewpoint review, we aimed to assess the vulnerability to SARS-CoV-2 infection and development of COVID-19 among neurological disorders. With this in mind, we tested the hypothesis that age rather than neuropathology itself could be decisive in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease, whereas neuropathology rather than age may be critical in neuroimmunological diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis. Highlighting the role of potential susceptibility or protection factors from this disastrous infection, we also stratify the risk for future neurodegeneration.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; COVID-19 infection; Multiple sclerosis; Parkinson’s disease.

Fig. 1

Key learning points on the interaction between COVID-19 infection and Parkinson’s disease (a), Alzheimer’s disease (b) and multiple sclerosis (c)

Fig. 2

Title: COVID-19 infection and Neurodegeneration. Legend: schematic representation of main targets and pathogenetic mechanisms linking COVID-19 infection to Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease neurodegeneration