Neuro-Covid-19: Neural Changes in SARS-COV-2 Infection

The actual COVID-19 pandemic – disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus – has already caused thousands of death in the year 2020. Among the various disorders that may occur throughout the disease’s course, there are also disorders of the central nervous system. In order to investigate the potential effects of neural involvement in the novel coronavirus infection, Neuro-COVID-19, the present literature revision was carried out with a defined search strategy. Four descriptors were used: (i) “Brain”, (ii) “Central Nervous System”, (iii) “COVID-19”, (iv) “SARS-CoV-2”, which were combined to search for articles in the PubMed and ResearchGate databases. Of the 987 citations obtained, nine articles were selected. The contents extracted from these texts were organized into three categories, addressing (1) indirect, (2) direct and (3) post-infectious neurological complications. Awareness and management of neurological complications related to SARS CoV-2 infection are necessary in order to improve prognosis, especially in critically ill patients.

Keywords: Brain, Central Nervous System, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2.