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Review
. 2022 Dec;45(4):625-637.
doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2022.07.009. Epub 2022 Jul 6.

COVID-19: Brain Effects

Affiliations
Review

COVID-19: Brain Effects

Ebony Dix et al. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the novel coronavirus responsible for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), affects the brain. Neurologic and neuropsychiatric symptoms may manifest in the acute and post-acute phases of illness. The vulnerability of the brain with aging further increases the burden of disease in the elderly, who are at the highest risk of complications and death from COVID-19. The mechanisms underlying the effects of COVID-19 on the brain are not fully known. Emerging evidence vis-à-vis pathogenesis and etiologies of COVID-19 brain effects is promising and may pave the way for future research and development of interventions.

Keywords: COVID-19; Immunosenescence; Long COVID; Neuroinflammation; Neuroinvasion; Neuropsychiatry; SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure The authors have nothing to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A schematic summarizing the proposed mechanisms. ACE2, angiotensin converting-enzyme 2; TMPRSS2, transmembrane protease, serine 2.

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