Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology
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A wide range of neurological signs and symptoms have been associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the present report, we described two Italian patients diagnosed with diaphragmatic myoclonus after COVID-19. ⋯ In case 1, electroencephalogram did not reveal any cortical correlates and brain imaging of the spine was unremarkable, while in case 2, cortical origin of myoclonus was demonstrated. With the present two cases, we confirm and extend the neurological manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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Similar to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has neurological symptoms. COVID-19 patients have such clinical symptoms as headache, vomiting, nausea, dizziness, myalgia, anosmia, ageusia, and disorder of consciousness. ⋯ According to the assessment case reports from the beginning of the COVID-19 infection so far, it is possible that GBS is linked to the COVID-19 infection. It seems that paying attention to the neurological effects of COVID-19 is necessary.
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Each stroke subtype is associated with specific risk factors, and stroke prevention depends solely on the control of the underlying risk factors for each stroke subtype. Obstructive sleep apnea has been established as a major risk factor for stroke and cardiovascular disease. However, information on the stroke subtype linked to obstructive sleep apnea is scarce. ⋯ Small artery disease is the most common stroke subtype associated with obstructive sleep apnea. Clinicians must vigilantly assess the presence of obstructive sleep apnea in ischemic stroke patients, especially in patients whose stroke is attributed to small artery disease.
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In December 2019, a new coronavirus infection was identified in China. Although the clinical presentation of COVID-19 is predominantly respiratory, more than 35%% of patients have neurological symptoms. We report an elderly female with asthenia, dry cough, anosmia, ageusia, fever, nausea, and a severe and persistent headache. ⋯ The CSF analysis demonstrated a cell count of 21 cells/mm3 (80% lymphocytes and 20% monocytes), 34 mg/dl protein, and 79 mg/dl glucose. She improved after 4 days. Our report draws attention to the meningeal involvement of SARS-Cov-2.
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Respiratory viruses are opportunistic pathogens that infect the upper respiratory tract in humans and cause severe illnesses, especially in vulnerable populations. Some viruses have neuroinvasive properties and activate the immune response in the brain. These immune events may be neuroprotective or they may cause long-term damage similar to what is seen in some neurodegenerative diseases. ⋯ Considering the similarities between SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, which will be discussed, cooperative homological and phylogenetical studies lead us to question if SARS-CoV-2 can have similar neuroinvasive capacities and neuroinflammatiory events that may lead to the same short- and long-term neuropathologies that SARS-CoV had shown in human and animal models. To explain the neurological manifestation caused by SARS-CoV-2, we will present a literature review of 765 COVID-19 patients, in which 18% had neurological symptoms and complications, including encephalopathy, encephalitis and cerebrovascular pathologies, acute myelitis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Clinical studies describe anosmia or partial loss of the sense of smell as the most frequent symptom in COVID19 patients, suggesting that olfactory dysfunction and the initial ultrarapid immune responses could be a prognostic factor.