Neuropathology of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed global health care systems under unprecedented strain but has, at the same time, provided a unique opportunity for pathologists to turn autopsy findings into directly actionable insights into patient care. The current data on the neuropathology of COVID-19 remains pr...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
2022-01-01
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Series: | Indian Journal of Pathology and Microbiology |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.ijpmonline.org/article.asp?issn=0377-4929;year=2022;volume=65;issue=5;spage=146;epage=152;aulast=Lin |
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author | Li-Chun Lin Bailey Hollis Marco M Hefti |
author_facet | Li-Chun Lin Bailey Hollis Marco M Hefti |
author_sort | Li-Chun Lin |
collection | DOAJ |
description | The COVID-19 pandemic has placed global health care systems under unprecedented strain but has, at the same time, provided a unique opportunity for pathologists to turn autopsy findings into directly actionable insights into patient care. The current data on the neuropathology of COVID-19 remains preliminary and is limited by the lack of suitable controls, but certain tentative conclusions can be drawn. SARS-CoV-2 can infect multiple cell types in the central nervous system and does so in a subset of patients, although the clinical significance of direct infections remains in the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) infections remains unclear. The best-described neuropathological manifestations of COVID-19 in the brain are variable patterns of neuroinflammation and vascular injury, although again, it remains unclear to what degree these findings are specifically due to COVID-19. There is also intriguing preliminary data to suggest a complex relationship between COVID-19 and neurodegeneration, with certain alleles that increase AD risk also increasing the risk of severe COVID-19, and conversely, the possibility that COVID-19 may increase the risk of neurodegenerative disease. The neuropathology of so-called “long-COVID” and the potential effects of COVID-19, or critical illness in general, on neurodegenerative disease remains unclear. There is thus an urgent need for long-term cohort studies of COVID-19 survivors, including brain donation, particularly in elderly patients, with careful recruitment of controls with similar non-COVID inflammatory illnesses. |
first_indexed | 2024-04-13T12:31:39Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-4a0f758261084a7cb9c463f9717bf83a |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 0377-4929 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-04-13T12:31:39Z |
publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
publisher | Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications |
record_format | Article |
series | Indian Journal of Pathology and Microbiology |
spelling | doaj.art-4a0f758261084a7cb9c463f9717bf83a2022-12-22T02:46:49ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsIndian Journal of Pathology and Microbiology0377-49292022-01-0165514615210.4103/ijpm.ijpm_1103_21Neuropathology of COVID-19Li-Chun LinBailey HollisMarco M HeftiThe COVID-19 pandemic has placed global health care systems under unprecedented strain but has, at the same time, provided a unique opportunity for pathologists to turn autopsy findings into directly actionable insights into patient care. The current data on the neuropathology of COVID-19 remains preliminary and is limited by the lack of suitable controls, but certain tentative conclusions can be drawn. SARS-CoV-2 can infect multiple cell types in the central nervous system and does so in a subset of patients, although the clinical significance of direct infections remains in the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) infections remains unclear. The best-described neuropathological manifestations of COVID-19 in the brain are variable patterns of neuroinflammation and vascular injury, although again, it remains unclear to what degree these findings are specifically due to COVID-19. There is also intriguing preliminary data to suggest a complex relationship between COVID-19 and neurodegeneration, with certain alleles that increase AD risk also increasing the risk of severe COVID-19, and conversely, the possibility that COVID-19 may increase the risk of neurodegenerative disease. The neuropathology of so-called “long-COVID” and the potential effects of COVID-19, or critical illness in general, on neurodegenerative disease remains unclear. There is thus an urgent need for long-term cohort studies of COVID-19 survivors, including brain donation, particularly in elderly patients, with careful recruitment of controls with similar non-COVID inflammatory illnesses.http://www.ijpmonline.org/article.asp?issn=0377-4929;year=2022;volume=65;issue=5;spage=146;epage=152;aulast=Linautopsycovid 19neurologic manifestation |
spellingShingle | Li-Chun Lin Bailey Hollis Marco M Hefti Neuropathology of COVID-19 Indian Journal of Pathology and Microbiology autopsy covid 19 neurologic manifestation |
title | Neuropathology of COVID-19 |
title_full | Neuropathology of COVID-19 |
title_fullStr | Neuropathology of COVID-19 |
title_full_unstemmed | Neuropathology of COVID-19 |
title_short | Neuropathology of COVID-19 |
title_sort | neuropathology of covid 19 |
topic | autopsy covid 19 neurologic manifestation |
url | http://www.ijpmonline.org/article.asp?issn=0377-4929;year=2022;volume=65;issue=5;spage=146;epage=152;aulast=Lin |
work_keys_str_mv | AT lichunlin neuropathologyofcovid19 AT baileyhollis neuropathologyofcovid19 AT marcomhefti neuropathologyofcovid19 |