Persistent cognitive impairment associated with cerebrospinal fluid anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies six months after mild COVID-19

Max Borsche; Dirk Reichel; Anja Fellbrich; Anne S Lixenfeld; Johann Rahmöller; Eva-Juliane Vollstedt; Bandik Föh; Alexander Balck; Christine Klein; Marc Ehlers; Andreas Moser

doi:10.1186/s42466-021-00135-y

Persistent cognitive impairment associated with cerebrospinal fluid anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies six months after mild COVID-19

Neurol Res Pract. 2021 Jun 21;3(1):34. doi: 10.1186/s42466-021-00135-y.

Authors

Max Borsche^{1

2}, Dirk Reichel³, Anja Fellbrich², Anne S Lixenfeld⁴, Johann Rahmöller^{4

5}, Eva-Juliane Vollstedt¹, Bandik Föh^{4

6}, Alexander Balck^{1

2}, Christine Klein¹, Marc Ehlers⁴, Andreas Moser^{7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Neurogenetics, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
² Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck and University Medical Center of Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538, Lübeck, Germany.
³ Outpatient Practice for Neurology and Psychiatry, Lübeck, Germany.
⁴ Institute of Nutritional Medicine, University of Lübeck and University Medical Center of Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck, Germany.
⁵ Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, University of Lübeck and University Medical Center of Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck, Germany.
⁶ Department of Medicine I, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
⁷ Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck and University Medical Center of Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538, Lübeck, Germany. andreas.moser@neuro.uni-luebeck.de.
⁸ Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany. andreas.moser@neuro.uni-luebeck.de.

Abstract

Neurological long-term sequelae are increasingly considered an important challenge in the recent COVID-19 pandemic. However, most evidence for neurological symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection and central nervous system invasion of the virus stems from individuals severely affected in the acute phase of the disease. Here, we report long-lasting cognitive impairment along with persistent cerebrospinal fluid anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in a female patient with unremarkable standard examination 6 months after mild COVID-19, supporting the implementation of neuropsychological testing and specific cerebrospinal fluid investigation also in patients with a relatively mild acute disease phase.

Keywords: COVID-19; CSF antibodies; Cognitive impairment; Neurologic sequelae; SARS-CoV-2.

Publication types

Letter