ArticleFrontiers in neurology2023
Neuropathology in COVID-19 autopsies is defined by microglial activation and lesions of the white matter with emphasis in cerebellar and brain stem areas.
Article in Frontiers in neurology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Human brain matters: Navigating the neuropathology of COVID-19.Brain pathology (Zurich, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Task-Evoked Pupillary Dynamics Are Altered in Post-COVID Syndrome.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Impaired brain intrinsic connectivity in long COVID during cognitive exertion revealed by independent component analysis.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Synergy of SARS-CoV-2 and HIV-1 Infections in the Human Brain.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- From HIV to SARS-CoV-2 associated neurological disorder ("HAND" to "SAND"): Viral infection as a "time-bomb" for the aging brain.Neuroscience applied · 2026Review
- Differential Characteristics and Comparison Between Long-COVID Syndrome and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Neuroimmune pathophysiology of long COVID.Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2025Review
- Reemerging Infectious Diseases and Neuroimmunologic Complications.Neurology(R) neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation · 2025Review
- Driving under viral impairment: Linking acute SARS-CoV-2 infections to elevated car crash risks.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- HIV and COVID-19: two pandemics with significant (but different) central nervous system complications.Free neuropathology · 2024Article
- Characterizing neuroinvasion and neuropathology of SARS-CoV-2 by using AC70 human ACE2 transgenic mice.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024Article
- Microglia influence immune responses and restrict neurologic disease in response to central nervous system infection by a neurotropic murine coronavirus.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2023Review
- Neuropathological findings in COVID-19 vs. non-COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome-A case-control study.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: This study aimed to investigate microglial and macrophage activation in 17 patients who died in the context of a COVID-19 infection in 2020 and 2021. Methods: Through immunohistochemical analysis, the lysosomal marker CD68 was used to detect diffuse parenchymal microglial activity, pronounced perivascular macrophage activation and macrophage clusters. COVID-19 patients were compared to control patients and grouped regarding clinical aspects. Detection of viral proteins was attempted in different regions through multiple commercially available antibodies. Results: Microglial and macrophage activation was most pronounced in the white matter with emphasis in brain stem and cerebellar areas. Analysis of lesion patterns yielded no correlation between disease severity and neuropathological changes. Occurrence of macrophage clusters could not be associated with a severe course of disease or preconditions but represent a more advanced stage of microglial and macrophage activation. Severe neuropathological changes in COVID-19 were comparable to severe Influenza. Hypoxic damage was not a confounder to the described neuropathology. The macrophage/microglia reaction was less pronounced in post COVID-19 patients, but detectable i.e. in the brain stem. Commercially available antibodies for detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus material in immunohistochemistry yielded no specific signal over controls. Conclusion: The presented microglial and macrophage activation might be an explanation for the long COVID syndrome.
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