Home » Health » Covid, rare neurological complication discovered

Covid, rare neurological complication discovered

Milan, 21 Aug. (Adnkronos Salute) – Among the neurological complications that can affect some patients infected with the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus there is also Myasthenia gravis, a disease that causes muscle weakness and fatigue. The first three cases were described in a report that sees among the signatories Diego Centonze, head of the Neurology Unit of the Irccs Neuromed in Pozzilli (Isernia), with Domenico Restivo of the Neurology Unit of the Garibaldi hospital in Catania – principal author of the work – Rosario Marchese-Ragona of the University of Padua and Alessandro Alesina of the University of Catania. The report, published in the ‘Annals of Internal Medicine’ and also reported in ‘Covid Reference International’ among the Top 10 on the day of publication, describes the case of three patients hospitalized between Catania and Padua. After being affected by Covid-19, they began to experience symptoms of muscle weakness and disturbed eye movement. Neurological investigations led to the diagnosis of Myasthenia gravis. “This is a rather rare autoimmune disease – explains Restivo – in which the body creates antibodies that hit the neuromuscular junction, the point of contact where the electrical signals of neurons are transmitted to the muscle fibers. The result is a defect in the muscle fibers. nerve transmission, resulting in weakness in one or more muscle groups “. “That some infections can trigger autoimmune neurological diseases is a phenomenon already known – recalls Centonze – Now we know that the Sars-CoV-2 virus is also capable of causing this effect. The most probable hypotheses are two. The first is that, in its reaction to infection, the immune system creates antibodies directed against certain components of the virus, a normal response. But those components are similar to some receptors present in neuromuscular junctions, which can then come under attack by the antibodies themselves. The second hypothesis is that the virus can break the delicate balance that prevents the immune system from attacking the body, as observed for example in response to other viral or bacterial infections or following vaccinations “. “The Covid-19 infection is not limited to affecting the respiratory system – concludes the specialist – but can affect different systems of our body. Knowing the complications, including neurological ones, will thus help clinicians to better deal with the disease in its various manifestations “.


Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.