COVID-19 Neurology

It has been commonly thought  that children infected with SARS-CoV-2 rarely develop severe symptoms compared to adults. Although there have been a number of  cases of Kawasaki-like disease associated with SARS-CoV-2, multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), it is rare for kids to develop neurological post-COVID complications as part of MIS-C. Recently, a case report…

A case series report published in Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation describes eight COVID-19 patients with encephalopathy prolonged comatose or stuporous states (Alexopoulos et al., 2020). These patients were enrolled in the study from the ICU of the University Hospital in Athens, Greece and showed “signs of encephalopathy, including altered mental status, confusion, delirium, stupor, or…

A case study published earlier this summer describes COVID-19-associated acute necrotising encephalopathy with the presence of IgG reactive to cerebral fibers. Writing in J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, Dalamarre et al. describe the case of a 51-year-old man without family history of neurological disease (Delamarre et al., 2020). After 10 days of fever and cough, he…

While many studies initially described mild and transient depressive or anxiety mood symptoms in people infected with or recovering from COVID-19, few studies have focused on patients with severe psychiatric symptoms. New evidence now suggests that in addition to mild mood changes, patients with COVID-19 may be indeed at higher risk for more severe psychiatric…

I had previously written about an autopsy study that found SARS-CoV-2 RNA existed in the brain, providing evidence for direct viral infiltration into the CNS (Puelles et al., 2020) – however, this virus is likely causing neurological symptoms in ways beyond direct infiltration. Writing in The Lancet Microbe, Schurink et al. provide evidence that the…

Over the past few months, I have come across case studies that have described psychosis and delirium as potential symptoms of COVID-19, but none have described persistent psychosis after infection with COVID-19. This week, a report in The British Journal of Psychiatry describes such a case in the UK (Lim, et al., 2020). The patient…

Autoimmune disorders that affect the brain can take many forms beyond the most well-known example of multiple sclerosis (MS). Autoimmune encephalitis and autoimmune epilepsy can also occur, but like MS, their etiology is unknown. It has been suggested that autoimmune diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, among others, may be triggered by viral infections in…

At its recent international conference in late July 2020, the Alzheimer’s Association has announced an international study to evaluate the long-term impact of SARS-CoV-2 on brain cognition and function, with some focus on how the virus may affect Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias. This study is also being coordinated by the University of Texas Health…

Losing one’s sense of smell and taste is now well-established as an early sign of SARS-CoV-2 infection – to this point (and my chagrin), I must attest to the fact that I have not experienced these symptoms every morning to get clearance to enter my building at work. Unfortunately, a case study from France has…