COVID-19 and Central Nervous System Diseases

Abstract

We reviewed the influence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the central nervous system reported in the literature since its prevalence. Common neurological symptoms of COVID-19 include altered or impaired consciousness, headache, dizziness, cerebrovascular accidents, and seizures, etc. Encephalopathy caused by or related to COVID-19 includes stroke, acute encephalitis, and Guillain-Barre syndrome. Concomitant COVID-19 in patients with vascular risk factors increased the risk of stroke; the hypercoagulable state and vascular dysfunction caused by COVID-19 also led to stroke. Acute encephalitis was usually accompanied by a history of headache, fever, and altered mental status, and shown hemorrhagic lesions or high signal on MRI. In Guillain-Barre syndrome, there was a time lag between infection with the primary pathogen and the onset of neurological symptoms, which generally manifest as limb paralysis and various sensory abnormalities. The review illustrated that COVID-19 lead to serious consequences of brain and brought difficulties to the treatment. Exploring the neural mechanisms of COVID-19 to better understand the activity of the virus in the brain and to prevent further viral damage to the brain is an urgent issue.