The Laryngoscope: COVID19 may affect the central nervous system.

March 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- An international study led by researchers at the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine --- suggests that low mood or anxiety in patients with COVID-19 may be a sign that the virus affects the central nervous systemThe study showed that these two psychological symptoms are most closely related to loss of smell and taste, and not to more severe indicators of new coronaviruses, such as shortness of breath, cough or fever(Photo source:"These symptoms do not indicate that morbidity or mortality is associated with the level of depression or anxiety in these patients," explains Sedaghat, a physician with UC Health sinus diseaseThe only factor associated with low mood and anxiety in COVID-19 is the severity of the loss of the patient's sense of smell and tasteThis is an unexpectedand and shocking resultSedaghat conducted a forward-looking, cross-sectional telephone survey in Kantonsspital Aarau, Arau, Switzerland, which looked at the characteristics and symptoms of 114 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 within six weeksAssess the severity of loss of smell or taste, nasal obstruction, excessive mucus production, fever, cough and shortness of breath during COVID-19The first author of the study was Marlene MSpeth, M.D., and other co-authors included Thirza Singer-Cornelius, M.DDrMichael Oberle; Isabelle Gengler, M.D.; and Steffi Brockmeier, M.DIn the study, 47.4 percent of participants reported depression at least a few days a week for those with COVID-19, while 21.1 percent reported depression almost dailyIn terms of severity, 44.7 percent of the participants reported mild anxiety, while 10.5 percent said they were severely anxious"The unexpected discovery that coVID-19's potentially most worrying symptoms can lead to maximum psychological distress may tell us something about the disease," Sedaghat said"We believe our findings suggest that psychological distress in the form of depression or anxiety may reflect the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) penetrating the central nervous systemSedaghat said researchers have long believed that smell may be the main route for coronaviruses to enter the central nervous system SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), is evidence of the virus, which first appeared in China in November 2002 and spread to 29 countries through international travel Studies carried out using mouse models of the virus have shown that the way smell or smell travels from the nose to the brain is a gateway to the central nervous system and infect the brain "These symptoms of psychological distress, such as depression and anxiety, are only associated with a decrease in your sense of smell, which is a symptom of the central nervous system," Sedaghat said "This may indicate that the virus is infecting olfactory neurons, lowering the sense of smell, and then using the sense of smell to enter the central nervous system with symptoms Sedaghat explains that occasional but severe central nervous system symptoms such as seizures or mental changes have been described, but depression and anxiety may be coVID-19's fairly common but mild central nervous symptoms "The central nervous system of the virus may have more penetration than we think, compared to the prevalence of olfactory-related depression and anxiety, which does open the door to future studies on how the virus interacts with the central nervous system," Sedaghat said (Bioon.com) Source: COVID-19 May attack patients' central nervous system original source: Marlene M Speth et al, mood, anxiety and olfactory in COVID 19: evidence of the central center system? DOI: 10.1002/larry.28964.