SynthesisBrain pathology (Zurich, Switzerland)2021
SARS-CoV-2 and the brain: A review of the current knowledge on neuropathology in COVID-19.
Synthesis in Brain pathology (Zurich, Switzerland), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 65 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
65 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 117 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
- SARS-CoV-2 and the brain: A review of the current knowledge on neuropathology in COVID-19.Brain pathology (Zurich, Switzerland) · 2021Pooled it
- Intranasal Corticosteroid Treatment on Recovery of Long-Term Olfactory Dysfunction Due to COVID-19.The Laryngoscope · 2022Trial
- Helicobacter pylori infection and α-synuclein pathology drive parallel neurodegenerative pathways in the substantia nigra.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2025Article
- One Year After Mild COVID-19: Emotional Distress but Preserved Cognition in Healthcare Workers.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Do Long COVID and COVID Vaccine Side Effects Share Pathophysiological Picture and Biochemical Pathways?International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Membrane Protein of SARS-CoV-2 Promotes the Production of CXCL10 and Apoptosis of Myocardial Cells.Cardiovascular toxicology · 2025Article
- The age-dependent neuroglial interaction with peripheral immune cells in coronavirus-induced neuroinflammation with a special emphasis on COVID-19.Biogerontology · 2025Review
- Need for awareness and surveillance of long-term post-COVID neurodegenerative disorders. A position paper from the neuroCOVID-19 task force of the European Academy of Neurology.Journal of neurology · 2025Review
- Microglia dysfunction, neurovascular inflammation and focal neuropathologies are linked to IL-1- and IL-6-related systemic inflammation in COVID-19.Nature neuroscience · 2025Article
- Acute and long-term effects of COVID-19 on brain and mental health: A narrative review.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2025Review
- Pathological Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2: A Review for Clinicians.The Yale journal of biology and medicine · 2024Review
- Forensic neuropathology in the past decade: a scoping literature review.Forensic science, medicine, and pathology · 2024Article
- Neuropathological findings in Down syndrome, Alzheimer's disease and control patients with and without SARS-COV-2: preliminary findings.Acta neuropathologica · 2024Article
- SARS-CoV-2-Related Olfactory Dysfunction: Autopsy Findings, Histopathology, and Evaluation of Viral RNA and ACE2 Expression in Olfactory Bulbs.Biomedicines · 2024Article
- Single MVA-SARS-2-ST/N Vaccination Rapidly Protects K18-hACE2 Mice against a Lethal SARS-CoV-2 Challenge Infection.Viruses · 2024Article
- Protein Quality Control Systems and ER Stress as Key Players in SARS-CoV-2-Induced Neurodegeneration.Cells · 2024Review
- The neurobiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2024Review
- HIV and COVID-19: two pandemics with significant (but different) central nervous system complications.Free neuropathology · 2024Article
- Para-infectious brain injury in COVID-19 persists at follow-up despite attenuated cytokine and autoantibody responses.Nature communications · 2023Article
5 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
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), the new coronavirus responsible for the pandemic disease in the last year, is able to affect the central nervous system (CNS). Compared with its well-known pulmonary tropism and respiratory complications, little has been studied about SARS-CoV-2 neurotropism and pathogenesis of its neurological manifestations, but also about postmortem histopathological findings in the CNS of patients who died from COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). We present a systematic review, carried out according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review standards, of the neuropathological features of COVID-19. We found 21 scientific papers, the majority of which refer to postmortem examinations; the total amount of cases is 197. Hypoxic changes are the most frequently reported alteration of brain tissue, followed by ischemic and hemorrhagic lesions and reactive astrogliosis and microgliosis. These findings do not seem to be specific to SARS-CoV-2 infection, they are more likely because of systemic inflammation and coagulopathy caused by COVID-19. More studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis and to detect other possible alterations of neural tissue. Brain examination of patients dead from COVID-19 should be included in a protocol of standardized criteria to perform autopsies on these subjects.
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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.