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. 2021 Jun;17(6):1056-1065.
doi: 10.1002/alz.12255. Epub 2021 Jan 5.

The chronic neuropsychiatric sequelae of COVID-19: The need for a prospective study of viral impact on brain functioning

Affiliations

The chronic neuropsychiatric sequelae of COVID-19: The need for a prospective study of viral impact on brain functioning

Gabriel A de Erausquin et al. Alzheimers Dement. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Introduction: The increasing evidence of SARS-CoV-2 impact on the central nervous system (CNS) raises key questions on its impact for risk of later life cognitive decline, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and other dementia.

Methods: The Alzheimer's Association and representatives from more than 30 countries-with technical guidance from the World Health Organization-have formed an international consortium to study the short-and long-term consequences of SARS-CoV-2 on the CNS-including the underlying biology that may contribute to AD and other dementias. This consortium will link teams from around the world covering more than 22 million COVID-19 cases to enroll two groups of individuals including people with disease, to be evaluated for follow-up evaluations at 6, 9, and 18 months, and people who are already enrolled in existing international research studies to add additional measures and markers of their underlying biology.

Conclusions: The increasing evidence and understanding of SARS-CoV-2's impact on the CNS raises key questions on the impact for risk of later life cognitive decline, AD, and other dementia. This program of studies aims to better understand the long-term consequences that may impact the brain, cognition, and functioning-including the underlying biology that may contribute to AD and other dementias.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; cognitive decline; neuropsychiatry.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

The authors declare no conflict of interest with the work discussed in this article.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Consortium participants. Colored countries in the map represent those with at least one academic institution participating in the Consortium for Chronic Neuropsychiatric Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2

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