Neurological Manifestations of COVID-19

Abstract

The year 2020 started with the news of a novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2(SARS-CoV2), induced disease in China which was termed as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This viralinfection soon became pandemic and affected millions of people all over the world. The virus preferentiallyaffects respiratory system causing dry cough and fever, but has the tendency to spread to different organs in the body leading to multiple organ failure. Recent evidences show that corona virus can invade nervous system and damage it. This review is based on different articles and case reports that provide an evidence of neuro-virulent nature of COVID-19 and its consequences. The neuro-invasive property of the virus is divided into threecategories i) Central Nervous System (CNS) manifestations, ii) Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) manifestationsand iii) Skeletal Muscle damage. Headache and dizziness were observed to be common symptoms for CNS,whereas loss of smell and taste for PNS damage due to COVID-19. The aim of this review is, to develop anunderstanding of the devastating effects of COVID-19 on nervous system for the early recognition of virusinduced damage. This information can be used for the development of better therapeutic strategies.