COVID-19 Pandemic: A Neurological Perspective

Even though severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) primarily affects the respiratory system, the nervous system is not spared either. SARS-CoV-2 has been isolated from the brain, olfactory bulb and cerebrospinal fluid. During the SARS (SARS-CoV-1) outbreak in 2002 to 2003, neurons had been found to be highly susceptible for infection and the virus could cause extensive neuronal damage. Similar to SARS-CoV-1,SARS-CoV-2 exploits the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) receptor to gain entry and infect both glial and neuronal cells which express ACE-2 receptors.[1] SARS-CoV-2 affects the central as well as peripheral nervous system presenting with diverse manifestations like myelitis, cerebrovascular events (CVE) and encephalitis to mention a few.[2,3] Indepth understanding of neurotropic potential of this virus will be helpful to individualize the treatment protocol from a neurological perspective.