COVID-19 is not just a respiratory disease. During the months that researchers and doctors have been studying the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (both in the laboratory and its evolution in patients) we have discovered that, in critical cases, it can affect many organs of the body. One of the most incipient challenges in the study of COVID-19 is what are its consequences at the neurological level. Magnetic resonance images have already shown the effect of the virus in the brain, causing a phenomenon called neurotropism (ability to invade and live in nervous tissue), which also develop other viruses, such as measles or varicella zoster.
Now, new research confirms that COVID-19 represents a potential threat to the entire nervous system , and that neurological symptoms can manifest even earlier than the classic symptoms, which have been associated with COVID-19, such as cough for months. or fever. By neurological symptoms we mean headache, dizziness, decreased alertness, difficulty concentrating, smell and taste disorders, seizures, strokes, muscle weakness and pain.
The results of the research, published in the Annals of Neurology by a group of scientists from the Northwestern Institute of Medicine, show that about half of hospitalized patients have symptoms of this type.
How does COVID-19 affect the nervous system?
There are many different ways that COVID-19 can cause neurological dysfunction. Researchers describe how the disease can affect the entire nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and nerves, as well as muscles. In very serious cases, and because this disease can affect multiple organs (lung, kidney, heart), the brain can also suffer from lack of oxygenation or clotting disorders that can lead to ischemic or hemorrhagic strokes. In addition, the virus can cause direct infection of the brain and meninges. Lastly, the immune system’s reaction to infection can cause inflammation that can damage the brain and nerves.
This understanding is key, not only to direct the appropriate clinical treatment, but also to diagnose a COVID-19 case early and effectively:about 45% of cases would be asymptomatic; or these may not only be invisible cases, but may be underdiagnosed (cases that are not diagnosed for what they are or that are overlooked as a very mild pathology).
One of the lead authors and professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Dr. Igor Koralnik, explains it this way: “It is important that the general public and physicians are aware of this, because an infection by SARS-COV-2it can present with neurological symptoms before fever, cough, or breathing problems develop. “
Koralnik and his colleagues began a retrospective analysis of all hospitalized COVID-19 patients at Northwestern Medicine Hospital to determine the frequency and type of neurological complications, as well as the response to treatment.
His work describes the different neurological conditions that can occur in patients with COVID-19 and how to diagnose them, as well as the possible pathogenic mechanisms. Although the knowledge about the long-term outcome of the neurological manifestations of COVID-19 is limited, these studies will provide the basis onhow to diagnose, manage and treat the many neurological manifestations that this coronavirus causes.
