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Impact Of The COVID-19 Pandemic On Neurological, Psychological And Other Mental Health Outcomes
There is increasing evidence suggesting that COVID-19 causes both acute and chronic neurological or psychological symptoms. Caregivers of COVID-19 patients also show a higher than average prevalence of mental health concerns. These symptoms result from multiple different factors. SARS-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) directly infects olfactory neurons (smell) and nerve cells expressing taste receptors. Although these cells communicate directly with the brain, the virus does not exhibit strong infection of other nerve cells in the central nervous system. Many of the neurological sequelae appear to result from damage to the vascular cells of the brain or from damage resulting from hypoxia (i.e., limitations in the oxygen supply for the brain). Chronic effects of COVID-19 can lead to a prolonged inflammatory state, which can increase symptoms resembling an autoimmune disorder. Many patients with COVID-19 experience psychological symptoms that can arise either from the direct actions of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a provisional name, 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), and has also been called the human coronavirus 2019 (HCoV-19 or hCoV-19). First identified in the city of Wuhan, Hubei, China, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, 2020, and a pandemic on March 11, 2020. SARS‑CoV‑2 is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus that is contagious in humans. SARS‑CoV‑2 is a virus of the species ''severe acute respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus'' (SARSr-CoV), related to the SARS-CoV-1 virus that caused the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak. Despite its close relation to SARS-CoV-1, its closest known relatives, with which it forms a sister group, are the derived SAR ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyposmia
Hyposmia, or microsmia, is a reduced ability to smell and to detect odors. A related condition is anosmia, in which no odors can be detected. Some of the causes of olfaction problems are allergies, nasal polyps, viral infections and head trauma. In 2012 an estimated 9.8 million people aged 40 and older in the United States had hyposmia and an additional 3.4 million had anosmia/severe hyposmia. Hyposmia might be a very early sign of Parkinson's disease.Factor, Stewart A., & Weiner, William J., eds. (2008). ''Parkinson's Disease: Diagnosis and Clinical Management'', 2nd ed., pp. 72-73. New York: Demos Medical Publishing. Hyposmia is also an early and almost universal finding in Alzheimer's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. Lifelong hyposmia could be caused by Kallmann syndrome or Autism Spectrum Disorder. Along with other chemosensory disturbances, hyposmia can be a key indicator of COVID-19. Epidemiology The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) col ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ebola Virus
''Zaire ebolavirus'', more commonly known as Ebola virus (; EBOV), is one of six known species within the genus '' Ebolavirus''. Four of the six known ebolaviruses, including EBOV, cause a severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever in humans and other mammals, known as Ebola virus disease (EVD). Ebola virus has caused the majority of human deaths from EVD, and was the cause of the 2013–2016 epidemic in western Africa, which resulted in at least suspected cases and confirmed deaths. Ebola virus and its genus were both originally named for Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), the country where it was first described, and was at first suspected to be a new "strain" of the closely related Marburg virus. The virus was renamed "Ebola virus" in 2010 to avoid confusion. Ebola virus is the single member of the species ''Zaire ebolavirus'', which is assigned to the genus '' Ebolavirus'', family '' Filoviridae'', order '' Mononegavirales''. The members of the species are ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parosmia
Parosmia (from the Greek παρά ''pará'' and ὀσμή ''osmḗ'' "smell") is a dysfunctional smell detection characterized by the inability of the brain to correctly identify an odor's "natural" smell. Instead, the natural odor is usually transformed into an unpleasant aroma, typically a "burned", "rotting", "fecal", or "chemical" smell. There can also be rare instances of a pleasant odor called euosmia. The condition was rare and little-researched until it became relatively more widespread since 2020 as a side effect of COVID-19. Causes There are numerous diseases with which parosmia is associated. In a case study, Frasnelli ''et al.'' examined five patients that endured parosmia or phantosmia, most as a result of upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs). It is hypothesized that URTIs can result in parosmia because of damage to olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs). The condition has been linked to coronavirus disease 2019 as a rare side effect. Common triggers in COVID-19 re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olfaction
The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste. In humans, it occurs when an odor binds to a receptor within the nasal cavity, transmitting a signal through the olfactory system. Glomeruli aggregate signals from these receptors and transmit them to the olfactory bulb, where the sensory input will start to interact with parts of the brain responsible for smell identification, memory, and emotion. There are many different causes for alteration, lack, or disturbance to a normal sense of smell, and can include damage to the nose or smell receptors, or central problems affecting the brain. Some causes include upper respiratory infections, traumatic brain injury, and neurodegenerative disease. History of study Early scientific study of the sense of smell includes the extensive doctoral dissertat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kawasaki Disease
Kawasaki disease is a syndrome of unknown cause that results in a fever and mainly affects children under 5 years of age. It is a form of vasculitis, where blood vessels become inflamed throughout the body. The fever typically lasts for more than five days and is not affected by usual medications. Other common symptoms include large lymph nodes in the neck, a rash in the genital area, lips, palms, or soles of the feet, and red eyes. Within three weeks of the onset, the skin from the hands and feet may peel, after which recovery typically occurs. In some children, coronary artery aneurysms form in the heart. While the specific cause is unknown, it is thought to result from an excessive immune system response to an infection in children who are genetically predisposed. It does not spread between people. Diagnosis is usually based on a person's signs and symptoms. Other tests such as an ultrasound of the heart and blood tests may support the diagnosis. Diagnosis must take ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ACE2
Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is an enzyme that can be found either attached to the membrane of cells (mACE2) in the intestines, kidney, testis, gallbladder, and heart or in a soluble form (sACE2). Both membrane bound and soluble ACE2 are integral parts of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS) that exists to keep the body's blood pressure in check. While mACE2 does not appear to factor into the harmful phase of RAAS (the increase of blood pressure), its existence is vital in order for the enzyme ADAM17 to cleave its extracellular domain to create soluble ACE2 (sACE2). Soluble ACE2 lowers blood pressure by catalyzing the hydrolysis of angiotensin II (a vasoconstrictor peptide) into angiotensin (1–7) (a vasodilator) which in turns binds to MasR receptors creating localized vasodilation and hence decreasing blood pressure. This decrease in blood pressure makes the entire process a promising drug target for treating cardiovascular diseases. mACE2 also serv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Encephalomyelitis
Encephalomyelitis is inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. Various types of encephalomyelitis include: * '' Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis'' or ''postinfectious encephalomyelitis'', a demyelinating disease of the brain and spinal cord, possibly triggered by viral infection. * ''Encephalomyelitis disseminata'', a synonym for multiple sclerosis. * '' AntiMOG associated encephalomyelitis'', one of the underlying conditions for the phenotype neuromyelitis optica and in general all the spectrum of MOG autoantibody-associated demyelinating diseases. * '' Eastern equine encephalitis'', '' Japanese encephalitis'', '' Venezuelan equine encephalitis'', and '' Western equine encephalitis'': a group of viral illnesses that can affect horses and humans; collectively termed '' Equine encephalitis''. * '' Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis'' (EAE), an animal model of brain inflammation. * Progressive encephalomyelitis with rigidity and myoclonus (PERM) – A kind of stiff p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myelitis
Myelitis is inflammation of the spinal cord which can disrupt the normal responses from the brain to the rest of the body, and from the rest of the body to the brain. Inflammation in the spinal cord, can cause the myelin and axon to be damaged resulting in symptoms such as paralysis and sensory loss. Myelitis is classified to several categories depending on the area or the cause of the lesion; however, any inflammatory attack on the spinal cord is often referred to as transverse myelitis. Types of myelitis Myelitis lesions usually occur in a narrow region but can be spread and affect many areas. * Acute flaccid myelitis: a polio-like syndrome that causes muscle weakness and paralysis. * Poliomyelitis: disease caused by viral infection in the gray matter with symptoms of muscle paralysis or weakness * Transverse myelitis: caused by axonal demyelination encompassing both sides of the spinal cord * Leukomyelitis: lesions in the white matter * Meningococcal myelitis (or meningo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stroke
A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functioning properly. Signs and symptoms of a stroke may include an hemiplegia, inability to move or feel on one side of the body, receptive aphasia, problems understanding or expressive aphasia, speaking, dizziness, or Homonymous hemianopsia, loss of vision to one side. Signs and symptoms often appear soon after the stroke has occurred. If symptoms last less than one or two hours, the stroke is a transient ischemic attack (TIA), also called a mini-stroke. A subarachnoid hemorrhage, hemorrhagic stroke may also be associated with a thunderclap headache, severe headache. The symptoms of a stroke can be permanent. Long-term complications may include pneumonia and Urinary incontin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intracerebral Hemorrhage
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stroke. Symptoms can include headache, one-sided weakness, vomiting, seizures, decreased level of consciousness, and neck stiffness. Often, symptoms get worse over time. Fever is also common. Causes include brain trauma, aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, and brain tumors. The biggest risk factors for spontaneous bleeding are high blood pressure and amyloidosis. Other risk factors include alcoholism, low cholesterol, blood thinners, and cocaine use. Diagnosis is typically by CT scan. Other conditions that may present similarly include ischemic stroke. Treatment should typically be carried out in an intensive care unit. Guidelines recommend decreasing the blood pressure to a systolic of 14 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dysgeusia
Dysgeusia, also known as parageusia, is a distortion of the sense of taste. Dysgeusia is also often associated with ageusia, which is the complete lack of taste, and hypogeusia, which is a decrease in taste sensitivity. An alteration in taste or smell may be a secondary process in various disease states, or it may be the primary symptom. The distortion in the sense of taste is the only symptom, and diagnosis is usually complicated since the sense of taste is tied together with other sensory systems. Common causes of dysgeusia include chemotherapy, asthma treatment with albuterol, and zinc deficiency. Liver disease, hypothyroidism, and rarely certain types of seizures can also lead to dysgeusia. Different drugs could also be responsible for altering taste and resulting in dysgeusia. Due to the variety of causes of dysgeusia, there are many possible treatments that are effective in alleviating or terminating the symptoms of dysgeusia. These include artificial saliva, pilocarpine, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
