Damage to the nervous system – naturopathy & naturopathy specialist portal

COVID-19: Infections do not only affect the lungs

The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has so far been mainly associated with cough, fever and breathing difficulties. But there is evidence that COVID-19 can also damage the nervous system.

At the beginning of the pandemic, the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus was often referred to as the respiratory virus. However, scientific studies have now shown that the pathogen is a “multi-organ virus” that affects many organs. And, according to a study, infection with the pathogen can also lead to neurological symptoms.

So far, there is no reliable evidence

As explained in a statement by the Justus Liebig University Gießen (JLU), infections with SARS-Cov-2 apparently also affect organs other than the lungs.

“There are indications of infections of the heart and kidneys in COVID-19, but also of involvement of the central nervous system,” said Prof. Dr. Till Acker, Head of the Institute for Neuropathology at the JLU and Chairman of the Board of the German Society for Neuropathology and Neuroanatomy (DGNN).

So far, however, there is no reliable evidence that neurons are affected by the novel corona virus or that SARS-CoV-2 is neuro-invaded; It has already been detected for infections with other human coronaviruses.

In order to investigate a possible involvement of the nervous system in COVID-19, on the initiative of the DGNN a nationwide register with human samples from the central and peripheral nervous system (CNS, PNS) in COVID-19 autopsies is now being set up.

Neurological symptoms in COVID-19

“It is discussed whether involvement of the central nervous system due to a disruption of the cardiorespiratory centers in the brain stem is partly responsible for the often unfavorable course of the disease in COVID-19 patients, even under ventilation,” explains Prof. Acker.

Many people who develop COVID-19 suffer in particular from dizziness, headaches and severe impairments of their sense of smell and taste. A study from Wuhan (China) showed neurological complaints in a third of the patients with COVID-19.

In addition, the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2 has already been detected in the cerebrospinal fluid.

Register is made available to the scientific community

With the new biobank, the basis should now be created for the detailed morphological, molecular and clinical characterization of a possible CNS involvement and a better understanding of the pathomechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

It is therefore not known in which clinical course of the disease and in what frequency the CNS is involved in COVID-19.

According to the information, the registry is to be networked with other COVID-19 patient registries for confederate queries using the platforms developed by the Medical Informatics Initiative (MI-I) of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

“There will be a close exchange with other specialist societies,” says Prof. Acker. “The register will be made available to the scientific community.” (Ad)