ReviewFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology2022
The contribution of gut-brain axis to development of neurological symptoms in COVID-19 recovered patients: A hypothesis and review of literature.
Review in Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Potential application of brain-gut axis-based treatments in Long COVID and ME/CFS: a case-based systematic review.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Microbiome dysbiosis in long COVID: a scoping review of mechanistic insights, symptom associations, and therapeutic targets.Gut pathogens · 2026Review
- Sex- and Age-Dependent Neuroimmune Dysregulation and Early Neurodegenerative Signatures Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Golden Syrian Hamsters.Research square · 2026Article
- Clinical features and inflammatory signatures of patients with persistent gastrointestinal long COVID two years after severe SARS-CoV-2 infection.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Microbiome and Long COVID-19: Current Evidence and Insights.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Gut microbiome and viral infections: A hidden nexus for immune protection.World journal of virology · 2025Review
- Gut Microbial Signatures in Long COVID: Potential Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets.Infectious diseases and therapy · 2025Article
- Chronic inflammation in post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 modulates gut microbiome: a review of literature on COVID-19 sequelae and gut dysbiosis.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025Review
- Human microbiome in post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS).Current research in microbial sciences · 2025Article
- Clinical Characteristics During and After COVID-19 Infection Among Healthcare Workers During the First Wave of Omicron in Chongqing, China.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2025Article
- Food and medicine homology: a potential nutritional intervention strategy for post-acute COVID-19 syndrome.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Pre-COVID health-related quality of life predicts symptoms and outcomes for patients with long COVID.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Review
- Review
- Gastrointestinal Manifestations and Their Association with Neurologic and Sleep Problems in Long COVID-19 Minority Patients: A Prospective Follow-Up Study.Digestive diseases and sciences · 2024Article
- The Gut-Liver-Brain Axis: From the Head to the Feet.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- The Role of Gut Dysbiosis in the Loss of Intestinal Immune Cell Functions and Viral Pathogenesis.Microorganisms · 2023Review
- Neurodegenerative and Neurodevelopmental Diseases and the Gut-Brain Axis: The Potential of Therapeutic Targeting of the Microbiome.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- COVID-19 Patients with Early Gastrointestinal Symptoms Show Persistent Deficits in Specific Attention Subdomains.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- COVID-19 and Multiple Sclerosis: A Complex Relationship Possibly Aggravated by Low Vitamin D Levels.Cells · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The gut microbiota undergoes significant alterations in response to viral infections, particularly the novel SARS-CoV-2. As impaired gut microbiota can trigger numerous neurological disorders, we suggest that the long-term neurological symptoms of COVID-19 may be related to intestinal microbiota disorders in these patients. Thus, we have gathered available information on how the virus can affect the microbiota of gastrointestinal systems, both in the acute and the recovery phase of the disease, and described several mechanisms through which this gut dysbiosis can lead to long-term neurological disorders, such as Guillain-Barre syndrome, chronic fatigue, psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety, and even neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. These mechanisms may be mediated by inflammatory cytokines, as well as certain chemicals such as gastrointestinal hormones (e.g., CCK), neurotransmitters (e.g., 5-HT), etc. (e.g., short-chain fatty acids), and the autonomic nervous system. In addition to the direct influences of the virus, repurposed medications used for COVID-19 patients can also play a role in gut dysbiosis. In conclusion, although there are many dark spots in our current knowledge of the mechanism of COVID-19-related gut-brain axis disturbance, based on available evidence, we can hypothesize that these two phenomena are more than just a coincidence and highly recommend large-scale epidemiologic studies in the future.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.