A Review of Neurological Complications of COVID-19

Mack Sheraton; Neha Deo; Rahul Kashyap; Salim Surani

doi:10.7759/cureus.8192

A Review of Neurological Complications of COVID-19

Cureus. 2020 May 18;12(5):e8192. doi: 10.7759/cureus.8192.

Authors

Mack Sheraton¹, Neha Deo², Rahul Kashyap³, Salim Surani^{4

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Affiliations

¹ Emergency Medicine, Trinity West Medical Center Msopti Em Program, Steubenville, USA.
² Miscellaneous, Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, Rochester, USA.
³ Critical Care, Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Rochester, USA.
⁴ Internal Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Bryan, USA.
⁵ Internal Medicine, Corpus Christi Medical Center, Corpus Christi, USA.
⁶ Internal Medicine, University of North Texas, Dallas, USA.

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2, a novel virus has shown an association with central nervous system (CNS) symptoms. Initial retrospective studies emerging from China and France, as well as case reports from different parts of the world revealed a spectrum of neurological symptoms ranging from a simple headache to more serious encephalitis and dysexecutive syndromes. Authors have tried to explain this neurotropism of the virus by comparing invasion mechanisms with prior epidemic coronavirus like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Concrete evidence on those viruses has been limited. This review attempts to discuss various pathophysiological mechanisms as it relates to neurological complications of SARS-CoV-2. We will also discuss the neurological manifestations seen in various retrospective studies, systemic reviews, and case reports.

Keywords: cns complications; coronavirus; covid-19; guillian barre syndrome; neurology; sars-cov-2.

Publication types

Review