Search

Cognitive symptoms persisting beyond the acute phase of COVID-19 infection are commonly described for up to 2 years after infection. The relationship between cognitive performance, in particular episodic memory processes observed chronically after infection, and cytokine levels in the acute phase of COVID-19 has not yet been identified in humans. To determine whether the levels of cytokines IL1β, IL-6 and TNFα secreted in the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection are associated and predict verbal and visuospatial episodic memory performance in humans 6 to 9 months and 12 to 15 months post-infection. The associations and predictive value of the concentration of cytokines measured in acute phase (IL-1β, IL-6, TNFα) from plasma samples of N = 33 hospitalized COVID-19 patients (mean age 61 years, 39-78, 65% in intensive care) in relation to their verbal and visuospatial episodic memory performance measured at 6-9 months and 12-15 months post-infection were analyzed. To do this, we used Spearman correlations and generalised linear mixed models. IL-1β levels were associated with verbal episodic memory total recall scores 6-9 months post-infection. At 12-15 months post-infection IL-6 predicted verbal episodic memory score. This study demonstrated that the severity of inflammatory reaction at acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection predicts verbal episodic memory performance in the long-term post-infection., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: A neurocognitive phenotype of post-COVID-19 infection has recently been described that is characterized by a lack of awareness of memory impairment (i.e., anosognosia), altered functional connectivity in the brain's default mode and limbic networks, and an elevated monocyte count. However, the relationship between these cognitive and brain functional connectivity alterations in the chronic phase with the level of cytokines during the acute phase has yet to be identified., Aim: Determine whether acute cytokine type and levels is associated with anosognosia and functional patterns of brain connectivity 6-9 months after infection., Methods: We analyzed the predictive value of the concentration of acute cytokines (IL-1RA, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IFNγ, G-CSF, GM-CSF) (cytokine panel by multiplex immunoassay) in the plasma of 39 patients (mean age 59 yrs, 38-78) in relation to their anosognosia scores for memory deficits via stepwise linear regression. Then, associations between the different cytokines and brain functional connectivity patterns were analyzed by MRI and multivariate partial least squares correlations for the whole group., Results: Stepwise regression modeling allowed us to show that acute TNFα levels predicted (R 2 = 0.145; β = -0.38; p = .017) and were associated (r = -0.587; p < .001) with scores of anosognosia for memory deficits observed 6-9 months post-infection. Finally, high TNFα levels were associated with hippocampal, temporal pole, accumbens nucleus, amygdala, and cerebellum connectivity., Conclusion: Increased plasma TNFα levels in the acute phase of COVID-19 predict the presence of long-term anosognosia scores and changes in limbic system functional connectivity., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Several studies have reported poor long-term neuropsychological performances in patients following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, but none has yet considered the effect of administering multiple intercorrelated neuropsychological tests and assessed the frequency of cognitive deficits in a normative population. Our aim was therefore to assess the presence of cumulative neuropsychological deficits in an actual post-coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) comparison group versus one simulated using Monte-Carlo methods., Method: Validated neuropsychological Monte-Carlo simulation methods were applied to scores from a battery of neuropsychological tests (memory, executive, attentional, perceptual, logical reasoning, language, and ideomotor praxis) administered to 121 patients who had had mild, moderate, or severe COVID-19 (mean age: 56.70 years; 32% women), 222 ± 43 days post-infection. The cumulative percentages of the three severity subgroups were compared with the results of a false discovery rate-corrected probability analysis based on normative data., Results: The cumulative percentages of deficits in memory and executive functions among the severe and moderate patients were significantly higher than those estimated for the normative population. Moderate patients also had significantly more deficits in perception and logical reasoning. In contrast, the mild group did not have significantly more cumulative deficits., Conclusions: Moderate and severe forms of COVID-19 cause greater long-term neuropsychological deficits than those that would be found in a normative population, reinforcing the hypothesis of long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 on cognitive function, independent of the severity of the initial infection., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.)

Background and Purpose: The spectrum of COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection (SARS-CoV-2), includes different neurologic manifestations of the central and peripheral nervous system., Methods: From March through April 2020, in two university hospitals located in western Switzerland, we examined three patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) following SARS-CoV-2., Results: These cases were characterized by a primary demyelinating electrophysiological pattern (Acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy or AIDP) and a less severe disease course compared to recently published case series. Clinical improvement was observed in all patients at week five. One patient was discharged from hospital after full recovery with persistence of minor neurological signs (areflexia). Two of the three patients remained hospitalized: one was able to walk and the other could stand up with assistance., Conclusions: We report three cases of typical GBS (AIDP) occurring after SARS-CoV-2 infection and presenting with a favourable clinical course. Given the interval between COVID-19-related symptoms and neurological manifestations (mean of 15 days) we postulate a secondary immune-mediated mechanism rather than direct viral damage., (© 2020 European Academy of Neurology.)