An Invisible Horizon: The Impact of COVID-19 on CNS Disorders

A growing body of evidence is accumulating that COVID-19, particularly in severe cases, may have neurological consequences, although respiratory symptoms nearly always develop prior to neurological ones. Patients with preexisting neurological conditions may be at elevated risk for COVID-19-associated neurological symptoms. Neurological reports in COVID-19 patients have described encephalopathy, Guillain-Barré syndrome, myopathy, neuromuscular disorders, encephalitis, cephalgia, delirium, critical illness polyneuropathy, and others. Treating neurological symptoms can pose clinical challenges as drugs that suppress immune response may be contraindicated in COVID-19 patients. It is possible that in some COVID-19 patients, neurological signs and symptoms are being overlooked or misinterpreted. To date, neurological manifestations of COVID-19 have been described largely within the disease trajectory and the long-term effects of such manifestations remain unknown.