Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Aug;58(8):3787-3791.
doi: 10.1007/s12035-021-02383-0. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Clinical and Pathophysiologic Spectrum of Neuro-COVID

Josef Finsterer  1 , Fulvio A Scorza  2
Affiliations
Review

Clinical and Pathophysiologic Spectrum of Neuro-COVID

Josef Finsterer et al. Mol Neurobiol. 2021 Aug.

Abstract

Though the lungs are predominantly affected in SARS-CoV-2-infected patients, extra-pulmonary manifestations can occur. Extra-pulmonary manifestations of the central and peripheral nervous system need to be recognised as they can strongly determine the outcome. This mini-review summarises and discusses previous and recent findings about neuro-COVID. The spectrum of central nervous system disease in COVID-19 patients is much broader than so far anticipated. Peripheral nerves and the skeletal muscle are less predominantly affected. In the vast majority of the cases, there is no direct attack of the virus towards vulnerable structures, which explains why various manifestations of the nervous system manifest favourably to immune suppression or immune modulation. Overall, the pathophysiology and clinical presentation of CNS/PNS involvement in COVID-19 is wider than believed. All patients with COVID-19 should be investigated by the neurologist for primary or secondary involvement of the CNS/PNS in the infection. neuro-COVID responds favourably to immune suppressants or immune modulation.

Keywords: Brain; COVID-19; Central nervous system; Neurological involvement; SARS-CoV-2; Side effects.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There authors declare no competing interests.

References

    1. Cordon-Cardo C, Pujadas E, Wajnberg A, Sebra R, Patel G, Firpo-Betancourt A, Fowkes M, Sordillo E, Paniz-Mondolfi A, Gregory J, Krammer F, Simon V, Isola L, Soon-Shiong P, Aberg JA, Fuster V, Reich DL (2020) COVID-19: staging of a new disease. Cancer Cell. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2020.10.006. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Xiang P et al (2020) First case of 2019 novel coronavirus disease with encephalitis. ChinaXiv T202003:00015
    1. Gallacher SD, Seaton A. Meningococcal meningitis and COVID-19 co-infection. BMJ Case Rep. 2020;13(8):e237366. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2020-237366. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fadakar N, Ghaemmaghami S, Masoompour SM, Shirazi Yeganeh B, Akbari A, Hooshmandi S, Ostovan VR. A first case of acute cerebellitis associated with coronavirus disease (COVID-19): a case report and literature review. Cerebellum. 2020;19:1–4. doi: 10.1007/s12311-020-01177-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rojas-Lechuga MJ, Izquierdo-Domínguez A, Chiesa-Estomba C, Calvo-Henríquez C, Villarreal IM, Cuesta-Chasco G, Bernal-Sprekelsen M, Mullol J, Alobid I. Chemosensory dysfunction in COVID-19 out-patients. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2020;278:1–8. doi: 10.1007/s00405-020-06266-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms