NeuroImmunology

The first description of neuromyelitis optica by Eugène Devic and Fernand Gault dates back to the 19th century, but only the discovery of aquaporin-4 autoantibodies in a major subset of affected patients in 2004 led to a fundamentally revised disease concept: Neuromyelits optica spectrum...

Th17 cells are known to exert pathogenic and non-pathogenic functions.Although the cytokine transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) is instrumental fo…...

Objective Discovering novel antibody enables diagnosis and early treatment of the autoimmune encephalitis. We discovered a novel antibody targeting a synaptic receptor and characterized the pathoge...

COVID-19 intensive care patients can present with neurological syndromes, usually in the absence of SARS-CoV-2 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).The recen…...

B-cell therapy (also called B-cell depletion therapy) is a treatment for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Learn what you need to know about this option.

<b><i>Background:</i></b> In the United States, stroke continues to be the cause for long-term disability.Of the patients with a first stroke, up to 75% will experience post-stroke fatigue (PSF) in t...

Abstract The treatment of Multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common chronic inflammatory, demyelinating and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS), continues to transform. In ...

There is no evidence yet that SARS-CoV-2 can pass the blood-brain barrier, though its effects on the barrier may be intensified in those with dementia....

German-American research team demonstrates the role of the complement system in the aging process of the brain.

There are more than 200 subtypes of dementia. And researchers have found that in one, confusion and memory loss can be treated.But the trick is to spot it…...

In ischemic stroke, thrombolysis does not prevent reperfusion failure of the distal
microvascular network. El Amki et al. find that microvascular dysfunction after thrombolysis
is caused by neutrophils stalling in capillaries.

Abstract MS is a multifactorial disease in which a series of genetic and non‐genetic, environmental factors plays a role in its etiology. In particular, HLA class II alleles, mainly HLADRB1*15:01 (...

Neurofibrillary degeneration has attracted the attention of neuroscientists as both a hallmark of the disease and a subject for experimentation for more than a century. Recent studies implicate phosphorylated tau (p-tau) directly in neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis, although the human data...

SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19 enters the brain via neurons in the olfactory mucosa.

Significant strides have been made in developing and refining psychotherapeutic treatments. However, there is significant room to improve them, and they may benefit from innovations such as extracellular matrix modification.

Anxiety disorders, depression, and insomnia were the most common disorders reported after people developed the disease. People across the world have been experiencing a higher level of stress due to the pandemic, but researchers at the University of Oxford have found the link between COVID-19 and mental illness may be more direct than initially thought. A study published in The Lancet found one in five people diagnosed with COVID-19 developed some form of mental illness 90 days after being diagnosed with the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The patients had not had mental health disorders prior to contracting the coronavirus.  The study analyzed data from 69 million people in the United States, 62,000 of whom were COVID-19 patients. Anxiety disorders, depression, and insomnia were the most common disorders reported after people developed the disease. 

The virus attacks the central nervous system

The authors of the study said they were unsure why the virus would increase mental health problems in people with otherwise no history of mental illness, and that more research is needed.Simon Wessely, a psychiatry professor at King's College London who was not involved in the study, told Reuters the link between mental health and COVID-19 might be explained by how COVID-19 attacks the central nervous system.  Michael Bloomfield, a consultant psychiatrist at University College London, added the effects of the coronavirus coupled with the external stress of the pandemic might be why this correlation between COVID-19 and mental illness exists. "This is likely due to a combination of the psychological stressors associated with this particular pandemic and the physical effects of the illness," Bloomfield told Reuters. 

Previous research found COVID-19 can lead to lasting cognitive effects 

Mental health consequences aren't the only neurological symptoms exhibited by COVID-19 patients. A study published in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology in October found 80% of people hospitalized with COVID-19 had neurological symptoms like muscle aches, dizziness, and confusion. It also found one-third of COVID-19 patients sustained encephalopathy, a broad term for damage to the brain.  The study published in The Lancet found that in addition to mental illness, people over the age of 65 who developed COVID-19 were more likely to receive their first diagnosis of dementia, a neurological disorder, within 90 days. 

People with previous mental illness were 65% more likely to develop COVID-19

The study authors said they were also surprised to find how vulnerable mental illness made people to contracting COVID-19. People who had mental health conditions prior to the pandemic were 65% more likely to develop COVID-19.  "This is important when we think of the people at risk which should receive the vaccine first. It might be that a history of mental illness should be considered in this decision," Dr. Maxime Taquet, lead author of the study, told Insider. 

Study cited published in The Lancet (Nov. 9, 2020):

https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30462-4