SynthesisJournal of neurology2022
Association of CNS demyelination and COVID-19 infection: an updated systematic review.
Synthesis in Journal of neurology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 122 citations in OpenAlex.
- SARS-Cov-2 infection and neuropathological findings: a report of 18 cases and review of the literature.Acta neuropathologica communications · 2023Pooled it
- A systematic review of cases of CNS demyelination following COVID-19 vaccination.Journal of neuroimmunology · 2022Pooled it
- The cGAS-STING Pathway: A Double-Edged Regulator of Neuroinflammation and Myelin Regeneration.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Choroid plexus alterations in long COVID and their associations with IL-6.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- SARS-CoV-2 Effects on Respiratory and Neurological Systems: Morphological Findings and Gene Expression in K18-hACE2 Mice Model.Microorganisms · 2026Article
- Post-acute Corticospinal and Spinal Tractopathy after Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Novel Post-infectious Neurological Syndrome?Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan) · 2026Article
- Infection of 5xFAD mice with a mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 does not alter Alzheimer's disease neuropathology yet induces widespread changes in gene expression across diverse cell types.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Infection of 5xFAD mice with a mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 does not alter Alzheimer's disease neuropathology yet induces wide-spread changes in gene expression across diverse cell types.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Do Long COVID and COVID Vaccine Side Effects Share Pathophysiological Picture and Biochemical Pathways?International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- NMDA receptor antagonists mitigate COVID-19-induced neuroinflammation and improve survival in a mouse model.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Clinical characteristics of optic neuritis following COVID-19 during Omicron outbreak in China.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2025Observational
- The vagus nerve-dependent lung-brain axis mediates brain demyelination following acute lung injury.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Article
- MOG positive primary autoimmune meningitis mimicking tuberculous meningitis: a case series.BMJ neurology open · 2025Article
- Article
- White matter changes in recovered COVID-19 patients: insights from DTI, DKI, and NODDI metrics.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Article
- Neurological complications caused by SARS-CoV-2.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2024Review
- Neuropsychiatric Burden of SARS-CoV-2: A Review of Its Physiopathology, Underlying Mechanisms, and Management Strategies.Viruses · 2024Review
- Demyelination in Patients with POST-COVID Depression.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Fifteen acute retrobulbar optic neuritis associated with COVID-19: A case report and review of literature.World journal of clinical cases · 2024Article
- COVID-19: Unveiling the Neuropsychiatric Maze-From Acute to Long-Term Manifestations.Biomedicines · 2024Review
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSince the declaration of COVID-19 pandemic, several case reports of demyelination of both peripheral and central nervous systems have been published. The association between CNS demyelination and viral infection has long been documented, and this link was recently reported following SARS-CoV-2 infection as well.
objectivesIn this systematic review, we aim to investigate the existing literature on CNS demyelination associated with SARS-CoV-2, and the proposed pathophysiological mechanisms.
methodsWe conducted a systematic review of articles in PubMed, SCOPUS, EMBASE, Cochrane, Google Scholar and Ovid databases, from 1 January 2020 until June 15, 2021. The following keywords were used: "COVID-19", "SARS-CoV-2", "demyelination", "demyelinating disease", "multiple sclerosis", "neuromyelitis optica", and "transverse myelitis".
resultsA total of 60 articles were included in the final analysis of this systematic review and included 102 patients: 52 (51%) men and 50 (49%) women, with a median age of 46.5 years. The demyelination mimicked a variety of conditions with a picture of encephalitis/encephalomyelitis being the most common. At the same time other patterns were less frequently reported such as MS, NMOSD and even MOGAD. Longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM) was the most frequently reported pattern of spinal cord involvement.
conclusionA growing body of literature has shown an association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of different types of CNS demyelination. Although causality cannot readily be inferred, this review may suggest a probable causal relationship, through a para-infectious or post-infectious immune-mediated etiology in COVID-19 patients. This relationship needs to be clarified in future research.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.