Covid harms the brain & nervous sys of 1/2 of severely ill patients and 1/3 of all cases-causing symptoms such as stumbling, slurred speech & seizures

[SBFNews]

Coronavirus 'harms the brain and nervous system of HALF of severely ill patients and a third of all cases' — causing symptoms such as stumbling, slurred speech and seizures

• Neurologists studied 214 patients treated for coronavirus in Wuhan, China
• Of these people, 36.4 per cent were found to have brain and nerve symptoms
• Identifying these symptoms could help doctors identify higher-risk patients

Coronavirus harms the brain and nervous system of half of severely ill patients, a study on patients with COVID-19 in the Chinese city of Wuhan has found.

Such impacts — which appear in a third of patients overall — lead to symptoms including headaches, stumbling, slurred speech, nerve pain and seizures.

The study — the first to characterise the brain problems associated with coronavirus infection — suggest that these symptoms could indicate patients at a higher risk.

Coronavirus harms the brain and nervous system of HALF of severely ill patients, a study on patients with COVID-19 in the Chinese city of Wuhan has found (stock image)

In the study, neurologist Bo Hu of the Huazhong University of Science and Technology and colleagues analysed 214 patients with COVID-19 from Wuhan, China, the city where the outbreak emerged, between mid-January and mid-February.

The patients were all treated in one of three dedicated special care centres in the university's Union Hospital.

The experts sorted neurological symptoms into one of three categories, the first of which was central nervous system manifestations — including dizziness, headache, impaired consciousness, acute cerebrovascular disease, ataxia and seizure.

The other categories were peripheral nervous system manifestations (taste impairment, smell impairment, vision impairment and nerve pain) and skeletal muscular injury manifestations.

'Overall, 78 patients (36.4 per cent) had neurologic manifestations,' the researchers wrote in their paper.

'Compared with patients with non-severe infection, patients with severe infection were older, had more underlying disorders, especially hypertension, and showed fewer typical symptoms of COVID-19, such as fever and cough,' they added.

'Patients with more severe infection had neurologic manifestations, such as acute cerebrovascular diseases (5 vs 1), impaired consciousness (13 vs 3) and skeletal muscle injury (17 vs 6).'

The study — the first to characterise the brain problems associated with coronavirus infection — suggest that neurological symptoms could indicate patients who are at a higher risk. Pictured, a computed tomography (CT) image of the brain of a patient with COVID-19

'During the epidemic period of COVID-19, when seeing patients with neurologic manifestations, clinicians should suspect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection as a differential diagnosis,' the researchers said.

This, they added, will avoid delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis and losing the chance to treat [the patients] and prevent further transmission.'

'The observations of neurological complications in a subset of COVID-19 positive patients is worthy of note but should not distract from a focus on the main pathology of respiratory distress,' commented virologist Ian Jones of the University of Reading.

'Almost half of the patients described here had underlying health issues and there is no direct data given on the presence of virus at neurological sites.'

'Viraemia, the presence of virus in the bloodstream, from where it can access neuronal tissue, was described for SARS but not in all patients and then only transiently. It happens, but is generally not what coronaviruses do.'

'At the moment neurological complications might best be considered a consequence of COVID-19 disease severity rather than a distinct new concern.'

The full findings of the study were published in the journal JAMA Neurology.

WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON CORONAVIRUS SYMPTOMS?

The virus, called COVID-19, is transmitted from person to person via droplets when an infected person breathes out, coughs or sneezes.

It can also spread via contaminated surfaces such as door handles or railings.

Coronavirus infections have a wide range of symptoms, including fever, coughing, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.

Mild cases can cause cold-like symptoms including a sore throat, headache, fever, cough or trouble breathing.

Severe cases can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory illness, kidney failure and death.

Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure.

Coronavirus harms the brain and nerves of HALF of severely ill patients and a third of all cases | Daily Mail Online

 

[Leongsam]

Another article from the media trying to stir renewed concern and panic in an effort to keep Covid-19 on the front pages.

H1N1 Influenza causes exactly the same neurological symptoms in a percentage of those infected.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3559119/

The Neurological Manifestations of H1N1 Influenza Infection; Diagnostic Challenges and Recommendations

Ali Akbar Asadi-Pooya,1,2 Ehsan Yaghoubi,1 Alireza Nikseresht,1 Mohsen Moghadami,3 and Behnam Honarvar4
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This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.

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Abstract

Background: World Health Organization declared pandemic phase of human infection with novel influenza A (H1N1) in April 2009. There are very few reports about the neurological complications of H1N1 virus infection in the literature. Occasionally, these complications are severe and even fatal in some individuals. The aims of this study were to report neurological complaints and/or complications associated with H1N1 virus infection.

Methods: The medical files of all patients with H1N1 influenza infection admitted to a specified hospital in the city of , from October through November 2009 were reviewed. More information about the patients were obtained by phone calls to the patients or their care givers. All patients had confirmed H1N1 virus infection with real-time PCR assay.

Results: Fifty-five patients with H1N1 infection were studied. Twenty-three patients had neurological signs and/or symptoms. Mild neurological complaints may be reported in up to 42% of patients infected by H1N1 virus. Severe neurological complications occurred in 9% of the patients. The most common neurological manifestations were headache, numbness and paresthesia, drowsiness and coma. One patient had a Guillain-Barre syndrome-like illness, and died in a few days. Another patient had focal status epilepticus and encephalopathy.

Conclusions: The H1N1 infection seems to have been quite mild with a self-limited course in much of the world, yet there appears to be a subset, which is severely affected. We recommend performing diagnostic tests for H1N1influenza virus in all patients with respiratory illness and neurological signs/symptoms. We also recommend initiating treatment with appropriate antiviral drugs as soon as possible in those with any significant neurological presentation accompanied with respiratory illness and flu-like symptoms.

Key Words: Influenza A (H1N1), neurological, seizure, coma