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Cited by 22Long-Term Effects of COVID-19COVID-19 Clinical Research StudiesSARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research

Immune-Mediated Mechanisms of COVID-19 Neuropathology

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Dunai, Cordelia, Collie, Ceryce, Michael, Benedict D.·2022·Frontiers in Neurology
DOI 10.3389/fneur.2022.882905PMC PMC9160362
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Abstract

Although SARS-CoV-2 causes a respiratory viral infection, there is a large incidence of neurological complications occurring in COVID-19 patients. These range from headaches and loss of smell to encephalitis and strokes. Little is known about the likely diverse mechanisms causing these pathologies and there is a dire need to understand how to prevent and treat them. This review explores recent research from the perspective of investigating how the immune system could play a role in neurological complications, including cytokines, blood biomarkers, immune cells, and autoantibodies. We also discuss lessons learnt from animal models. Overall, we highlight two key points that have emerged from increasing evidence: (1) SARS-CoV-2 does not invade the brain in the majority of cases and so the associated neurological complications might arise from indirect effects, such as immune activation (2) although the immune system plays a critical role in controlling the virus, its dysregulation can cause pathology.

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  • COVID-19 is very rarely neuroinvasive, but its impact on the brain might be immune-mediated and cause glial neuroinflammation.

    “Indeed, while COVID-19 is very rarely neuroinvasive [127], its impact on the brain might be immune-mediated [126] and cause glial neuroinflammation [128,129,130].”

    From Revisiting the Pathogenesis of X-Linked Adrenoleukodystrophy (2025) · cites this paper as [128]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Dunai, C., Collie, C., & Michael, B. D.
Affiliations
University of Liverpool (GB)
Corresponding author
Michael, Benedict D.
ORCID
Venue
Frontiers in Neurology
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2022-05-19
Volume
13
Pages
882905-882905
ISSN
1664-2295 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fneur.2022.882905
PMC
PMC9160362
OpenAlex
W4280573342
Cited by
22
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 6
FWCI
0.76
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Frontiers in Neurology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Medical Research Council
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Long-Term Effects of COVID-19
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
Keywords
COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2, neurological complications, cytokines, blood biomarkers, immune cells, autoantibodies, encephalitis, stroke, animal models, immune dysregulation

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