Recovery from COVID-19 is principally defined in terms of remission from respiratory symptoms; however, both clinical and animal studies have shown that coronaviruses may spread to the nervous system. In this article recently published in Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, the authors performed a systematic search on previous viral epidemics and revealed that, while there has been relatively little research in this area, clinical studies have commonly reported neurological disorders and cognitive difficulties. Little is known with regard to their incidence, duration or underlying neural basis. The hippocampus appears to be particularly vulnerable to coronavirus infections, thus increasing the probability of post-infection memory impairment, and acceleration of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Future knowledge of the impact of COVID-19, from epidemiological studies and clinical practice, will be needed to develop future screening and treatment programmes to minimise the long-term cognitive consequences of COVID-19.
DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcaa069