Skip to main content

MINI REVIEW article

Front. Physiol., 19 February 2021
Sec. Integrative Physiology
This article is part of the Research Topic The Tribute of Physiology for the Understanding of COVID-19 Disease View all 39 articles

COVID-19-Associated Neurological Manifestations: An Emerging Electroencephalographic Literature

\r\nGeoffroy Vellieux,*Geoffroy Vellieux1,2*Romain Sonneville,Romain Sonneville3,4Srafima Vledouts,Sérafima Vledouts1,2Pierre Jaquet,Pierre Jaquet3,4Anny Rouvel-Tallec,Anny Rouvel-Tallec1,2Marie-Pia d&#x;Ortho,Marie-Pia d’Ortho1,2
  • 1Université de Paris, NeuroDiderot, Inserm, Paris, France
  • 2Neurophysiologie clinique, Service de Physiologie – Explorations Fonctionnelles, AP-HP, Hôpital Bichat-Claude Bernard, Paris, France
  • 3Médecine Intensive-Réanimation, AP-HP, Hôpital Bichat-Claude Bernard, Paris, France
  • 4Université de Paris, UMR 1148, LVTS, Paris, France

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread worldwide since the end of year 2019 and is currently responsive for coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19). The first reports considered COVID-19 as a respiratory tract disease responsible for pneumonia, but numerous studies rapidly emerged to warn the medical community of COVID-19-associated neurological manifestations, including encephalopathy at the acute phase and other postinfectious manifestations. Using standard visual analysis or spectral analysis, recent studies reported electroencephalographic (EEG) findings of COVID-19 patients with various neurological symptoms. Most EEG recordings were normal or revealed non-specific abnormalities, such as focal or generalized slowing, interictal epileptic figures, seizures, or status epilepticus. Interestingly, novel EEG abnormalities over frontal areas were also described at the acute phase. Underlying mechanisms leading to brain injury in COVID-19 are still unknown and matters of debate. These frontal EEG abnormalities could emphasize the hypothesis whereby SARS-CoV-2 enters the central nervous system (CNS) through olfactory structures and then spreads in CNS via frontal lobes. This hypothesis is reinforced by the presence of anosmia in a significant proportion of COVID-19 patients and by neuroimaging studies confirming orbitofrontal abnormalities. COVID-19 represents a new viral disease characterized by not only respiratory symptoms but also a systemic invasion associated with extra-respiratory signs. Neurological symptoms must be the focus of our attention, and functional brain evaluation with EEG is crucial, in combination with anatomical and functional brain imaging, to better understand its pathophysiology. Evolution of symptoms together with EEG patterns at the distance of the acute episode should also be scrutinized.

Introduction

The coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, was initially recognized as a respiratory tract disease which could lead to an acute respiratory distress syndrome. However, there is growing evidence of a multi-organ involvement (Gupta et al., 2020). Several authors reported central nervous system (CNS) manifestations, as anosmia referring to olfactory tract involvement. Other critical presentations, including meningoencephalitis, seizures, status epilepticus (SE), encephalopathy, and altered mental status were also described (Ellul et al., 2020). Neurological complications, such as encephalopathy and seizures/SE, and electroencephalographic (EEG) abnormalities, mainly diffuse slowing and epileptiform discharges, have already been described in past viral pandemics such as influenza A H1N1 (Ekstrand et al., 2010; Kedia et al., 2011; Ibrahim and Haddad, 2014). Results of EEG in patients with COVID-19 were increasingly reported. While the volume of COVID-19-related case studies is still growing, we present the spectrum of EEG findings published at the moment, allowing physicians to be cognizant of this new and emerging literature while dealing with COVID-19 patients.

Methods

We considered all studies with EEG findings at the acute phase in COVID-19 patients with neurological manifestations. We performed an electronic research from December 1, 2019, to October 1, 2020, using the database PUBMED by Medline with the following terms (in all fields): (i) (“EEG” OR “electroencephalogram” OR “electroencephalography”) AND (“COVID” OR “coronavirus” OR “SARS-CoV-2”) and (ii) (“brain” OR “nervous system” OR “neurology”) AND (“COVID” OR “coronavirus” OR “SARS-CoV-2”). We also scanned the reference lists of all included articles or relevant reviews for studies to be included in our work. We did not include reviews, non-English articles, unavailable full-text articles, and animal studies. After exclusion of duplicates, we screened the title/abstract or full-text reports and decided whether these met the inclusion criteria.

EEG Observations in COVID-19 Patients

A total of 107 studies were included. Normal EEG findings were reported in adult series (Cecchetti et al., 2020; Helms et al., 2020b; Petrescu et al., 2020) and case reports of patients who displayed various neurological conditions such as focal or generalized seizures (Elgamasy et al., 2020; Fasano et al., 2020; García-Howard et al., 2020; Lyons et al., 2020), non-epileptic seizures (Logmin et al., 2020), myoclonus (Muccioli et al., 2020b; Rábano-Suárez et al., 2020), psychotic symptoms (Lim et al., 2020), encephalopathy (Andriuta et al., 2020; Chaumont et al., 2020; Delorme et al., 2020; Paterson et al., 2020; Perrin et al., 2020), encephalitis (Paterson et al., 2020), brainstem encephalitis (Khoo et al., 2020), and encephalomyelitis (Zoghi et al., 2020). Some studies also reported non-specific abnormalities without more precise EEG features specified by authors (Chougar et al., 2020; Farley and Zuberi, 2020; Freij et al., 2020; Helms et al., 2020a; Pugin et al., 2020).

Diffuse and Focal Slowing

Diffuse slowing of the background activity or focal slowing (sometimes associated with focal sharp waves or epileptiform discharges) was the most frequently published abnormality, especially in adult series (Ayub et al., 2020; Canham et al., 2020; Cecchetti et al., 2020; Chougar et al., 2020; Galanopoulou et al., 2020; Helms et al., 2020a, b; Louis et al., 2020; Pasini et al., 2020; Pellinen et al., 2020; Petrescu et al., 2020; Pilotto et al., 2020a; Scullen et al., 2020; Sethi, 2020; Vespignani et al., 2020) (Figure 1A). Main results of adult series including at least 10 patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and EEG recordings are summarized in Table 1. Diffuse or focal slowing was also associated in many case reports with various neurological presentations, mainly of vascular or inflammatory origin. Main vascular complications included ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes (Chaumont et al., 2020; Díaz-Pérez et al., 2020; Morassi et al., 2020; Soldatelli et al., 2020; Zahid et al., 2020), intracranial hemorrhage with cerebral venous thrombosis (Roy-Gash et al., 2020), posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) (Llansó and Urra, 2020; Princiotta Cariddi et al., 2020), intracranial vasculitis (Dixon et al., 2020), subarachnoid hemorrhage (Harrogate et al., 2020), acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis or leukoencephalomyelitis (Handa et al., 2020; Kihira et al., 2020; Svedung Wettervik et al., 2020), and acute necrotizing encephalopathy (Delamarre et al., 2020; Virhammar et al., 2020). Main inflammatory syndromes included acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) (Parsons et al., 2020; Umapathi et al., 2020), acute leukoencephalopathy (Abenza-Abildúa et al., 2020; Anand et al., 2020; Brun et al., 2020; Huang H. et al., 2020; Kihira et al., 2020; Klironomos et al., 2020), acute leukoencephalitis (Perrin et al., 2020), meningoencephalitis without any acute lesions on brain imaging (Duong et al., 2020; El-Zein et al., 2020; Pilotto et al., 2020b), Bickerstaff encephalitis (Llorente Ayuso et al., 2020), and concomitant autoimmune encephalitis (Grimaldi et al., 2020; Panariello et al., 2020). In critically ill patients, other conditions were described including post-hypoxic injury (Fischer et al., 2020; Radmanesh et al., 2020; Radnis et al., 2020; Vellieux et al., 2020), unresponsiveness after sedation discontinuation (Espinosa et al., 2020; Vellieux et al., 2020), encephalopathy or altered mental status without any acute lesions on brain imaging (Chaumont et al., 2020; Delorme et al., 2020; Filatov et al., 2020; Gaughan et al., 2020; Jang et al., 2020; Manganelli et al., 2020; Muccioli et al., 2020a; Méndez-Guerrero et al., 2020; Romero-Sánchez et al., 2020; Shekhar et al., 2020), encephalopathy with seizures (Ashraf and Sajed, 2020; Benameur et al., 2020; Farhadian et al., 2020; Haddad et al., 2020), defined toxic/metabolic encephalopathy (Flamand et al., 2020; Radmard et al., 2020; Rasmussen et al., 2020), neuroleptic malignant syndrome (Kajani et al., 2020), after seizures or SE (Anand et al., 2020; Edén et al., 2020; Emami et al., 2020), and critical illness-associated cerebral microbleeds (De Stefano et al., 2020). EEG slowing was also observed in pediatric reports (Abdel-Mannan et al., 2020; Abel et al., 2020; Dugue et al., 2020; Panda et al., 2020).

FIGURE 1
www.frontiersin.org

Figure 1. EEG findings in COVID-19 patients. (A) Diffuse theta–delta slowing and continuous generalized periodic discharges, reproduced with authors’ agreement from Petrescu et al. (2020). (B) Emergence of low-amplitude ictal fast rhythmic activity over left frontocentral and midline regions (marked with an arrow), reproduced with authors’ agreement from Somani et al. (2020). (C) Continuous, periodic, monomorphic diphasic, delta slow waves over both frontal areas, published in Vellieux et al. (2020).

TABLE 1
www.frontiersin.org

Table 1. Main results of case series including at least 10 patients admitted for COVID-19 with EEG recordings.

Seizures and SE

Seizures and/or SE were recorded in 10 patients out of 111 included in the series of Pellinen et al. (2020), in 2 out of 22 in the series of Louis et al. (2020), in 1 out of 37 in the series of Ayub et al. (2020), in 1 out of 15 in the series of Pasini et al. (2020), in 1 out of 27 in the series of Scullen et al. (2020), and in an unknown precise number of patients out of the 73 included in the series of Chougar et al. (2020) (Table 1).

Seizures and/or SE were recorded in reports of patients without any acute or chronic cortical lesions on brain imaging nor cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) abnormalities. The EEG of the patient reported by Balloy et al. (2020) revealed two widespread, but predominantly in frontal localizations, seizures that were interrupted by a moderate interictal frontal activity. Sohal and Mansur (2020) reported a patient whose 24-h EEG revealed six left temporal seizures and left temporal sharp waves. One of the two patients reported by Somani et al. (2020) displayed, on a continuous EEG (cEEG) monitoring, multiple seizures emanating from the midline and left frontocentral regions (Figure 1B). Hepburn et al. (2020) reported the cases of two patients whose cEEG monitoring showed, for the first one, three focal seizures arising from the right frontocentral region and, for the second one, left more than right frontotemporal seizures which progressed to focal SE. The EEG of the patient reported by Le Guennec et al. (2020) revealed a non-convulsive SE (NCSE) over the right frontal region. The brain MRI of this patient only showed peri-ictal diffusion abnormalities over the right orbital and mesial prefrontal cortex and right caudate nucleus. Flamand et al. (2020) reported the case of a patient who benefited from several EEG. The first two EEG findings were consistent with a bilateral frontal SE. One EEG in the series of five patients reported by Chen et al. (2020) showed a bifrontal SE, and another one revealed a generalized NCSE. Finally, the EEG of the patient reported by Rodrigo-Armenteros et al. (2020) showed a bilateral frontotemporal NCSE.

Seizures and/or SE were recorded more rarely in patients with acute CNS lesions on brain imaging and/or significant CSF abnormalities, of either vascular or inflammatory origin. Among the four patients with a PRES reported by Parauda et al. (2020), two had seizures or SE emanating from posterior regions: for the first one, a focal NCSE arising from the left posterior quadrant and, for the second one, focal seizures arising from the right posterior quadrant. The history of a 2-month-old boy was published by Schupper et al. (2020). His brain imaging revealed multiple infarctions with hemorrhagic transformations, and his cEEG showed NCSE. Zanin et al. (2020) published the case of a patient with diffuse CNS demyelinating lesions on brain and spine imaging whose EEG revealed two seizures starting from the right frontotemporal region and diffusing in the homologous contralateral hemisphere. Hussein et al. (2020) reported the case of a patient with an ADEM whose EEG revealed left hemispheric seizures and, 3 days later, brief focal right posterior seizures. Finally, Bernard-Valnet et al. (2020) reported the history of a patient with a lymphocytic meningitis on CSF analysis with normal brain MRI whose EEG showed a focal anterior NCSE.

Seizures and/or SE were recorded in patients with a prior neurological history and radiological sequelae but without any acute lesions. The EEG of the second patient, who had a prior history of skull base surgery, reported by Somani et al. (2020) showed recurrent seizures emanating from either right or left frontocentroparietal regions. Vollono et al. (2020) reported the case of a left frontocentrotemporal SE in a patient with a remote herpes simplex virus 1 encephalitis.

Seizures were reported on cEEG in the series of 33 patients published by Radmard et al. (2020), as frontotemporal and parasagittal seizures in two patients, but without precise imaging or CSF results available for these two patients.

Rhythmic and Periodic Discharges

Rhythmic discharges were mentioned in series, as generalized rhythmic delta activity (GRDA) (Ayub et al., 2020; Galanopoulou et al., 2020; Louis et al., 2020; Pellinen et al., 2020; Petrescu et al., 2020), lateralized rhythmic delta activity (LRDA) (Ayub et al., 2020; Galanopoulou et al., 2020; Louis et al., 2020; Pellinen et al., 2020), and frontal intermittent rhythmic delta activity (Canham et al., 2020; Pasini et al., 2020) (Table 1). Rhythmic patterns were also reported in a few case reports. Vandervorst et al. (2020) published the EEG of a patient with a clinical and radiological picture of encephalitis with temporal bilateral more left than right imaging abnormalities. The EEG showed short-lasting left temporal LRDA. In the series of Beach et al. (2020), one patient, with a previous history of dementia with Lewy bodies and remote traumatic brain injury, displayed GRDA with sharp contouring and bifrontal predominance, without any acute lesions on brain imaging. The EEG of the three other patients reported in the series of Chen et al. (2020) previously mentioned revealed GRDA, with unremarkable CSF analysis for the three and no acute lesions on brain imaging for one of them (unavailable for the two others). One EEG recorded among the seven patients reported by Anand et al. (2020) showed GRDA in a patient with extensive leukoencephalopathy on brain MRI and normal CSF sample.

Periodic discharges were noted in series, as generalized periodic discharges (GPDs) (Ayub et al., 2020; Galanopoulou et al., 2020; Louis et al., 2020; Pellinen et al., 2020; Petrescu et al., 2020; Vespignani et al., 2020) and lateralized periodic discharges (LPDs) (Pellinen et al., 2020; Petrescu et al., 2020; Vespignani et al., 2020) (Table 1). Especially, in the series of Vespignani et al. (2020), five EEGs out of 26 showed periodic discharges. Four of these five patients were under mechanical ventilation (MV), and three were sedated. One patient suffered from a cardiac arrest. EEG showed periodic (with a < 4 s interval), monomorphic biphasic, delta activity, which was diffuse with frontal predominance for four and lateralized over right frontal area for one. The second patient reported in the work of Beach al. previously mentioned presented with a left-sided acute-on-chronic subdural hematoma (SDH) due to a fall with head trauma. The EEG showed frequent runs of epileptiform GPDs (Beach et al., 2020). Young et al. (2020) reported 1–1.5 Hz LPDs and diffuse delta–theta slowing in a patient who displayed Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in tandem with symptomatic onset of COVID-19. Conte et al. (2020) published the history of a patient who presented a severe COVID-19 pneumonia and then a PRES-like encephalopathy. She displayed focal seizures, and after seizure treatment, EEG revealed LPDs in the right posterior regions. Vellieux et al. (2020) published the EEG of two critically ill patients who displayed a severe COVID-19 pneumonia requiring MV. For the first one, the brain MRI was consistent with a hypoxic encephalopathy, and the EEG was recorded while he was sedated and under extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. For the second one, the EEG was recorded 24 h after sedation discontinuation. EEG revealed continuous, symmetric, non-reactive, generalized but mainly bifrontal, monomorphic diphasic or even triphasic, periodic (with a short interval of 1–2 s) delta slow waves (Figure 1C). One patient, without any acute abnormalities on brain MRI and with normal CSF analysis, reported by Delorme et al. (2020) showed GPDs. In the previously mentioned case reported by Le Guennec et al. (2020), a control follow-up EEG was recorded the day after the first EEG. It showed persistent right frontal LPDs with a short interval (0.7–1.2 s). The brain MRI performed 1 month later was normal. Finally, the previously mentioned patient reported by Flamand et al. (2020) who benefited from iterative EEG showed, on the last two recordings, a generalized periodic triphasic activity with short periods (1–1.5 s) over a worsened background activity, without concomitant metabolic disorders.

Spectral Analysis

Two studies reported quantitative analysis of EEG (qEEG) in COVID-19 patients. The study of Pastor et al. (2020) reported 20 patients with COVID-19 encephalopathy for whom standard visual analysis of EEG showed scarce abnormalities. However, compared to 31 infectious toxic encephalopathy patients and 21 post-cardiorespiratory arrest encephalopathy patients, some qEEG features were specific in COVID-19 patients, such as the distribution of EEG bands, the structure of Shannon’s spectral entropy, and the hemispheric connectivity. Finally, the study of Pati et al. (2020) showed that some qEEG markers, especially an increase in both the theta power and its temporal variance during EEG reactivity, can predict a good neurological outcome in 10 critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Discussion

The vast majority of these studies emphasized the absence of specificity of EEG abnormalities reported in COVID-19 patients, as generalized slowing of the background activity, focal slowing sometimes associated with sharp waves, seizures, SE, and predictable pattern of metabolic/toxic or postanoxic encephalopathy in ICU patients. Numerous EEGs in the context of COVID-19 were recorded in elderly patients and mainly in male patients, with multiple comorbidities especially chronic brain disorders, under various psychotropic drugs or in critically ill conditions. Confounding factors such as infections, metabolic disturbances, severe hypoxemia, hyperthermia, and psychotropic drugs (such as antiepileptic or sedative drugs) were frequent at the time of EEG recordings. All these confounding factors may contribute to the modification of brain activity and therefore EEG findings. Thus, based on the current literature, it seems not possible to identify a specific EEG pattern due to the suspected neuroinvasion of SARS-CoV-2 in patients who displayed neurological manifestations of COVID-19.

Most current studies with available EEG data are case reports or retrospective single-center series. All reported patients are very heterogeneous concerning prior neurological histories, illness severity, and use of psychotropic drugs. Moreover, some studies reported EEG recorded with limited montage and number of electrodes that may limit the detection of EEG abnormalities. EEG is not a systematic exam in the diagnostic workup of COVID-19 patients. All patients reported in the current literature had an EEG for an urgent clinical indication due to concerning neurological symptoms. A wider neurological multimodality screening, including EEG, of COVID-19 patients may be suggested to grow the body of knowledge on the SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, it will face many logistic difficulties and ethical and safety concerns regarding the availability of trained personnel to EEG recordings and the risk of contamination with the SARS-CoV-2.

It should be pointed out that many EEG abnormalities reported were recorded over anterior or frontal regions. Regardless of EEG montage used by clinicians and neurophysiologists, it thus seems essential to include frontal electrodes. Periodicity, morphology, and reactivity of these frontal abnormalities were not mentioned in all studies. Moreover, a few reported periodic patterns, as GPDs (Ayub et al., 2020; Beach et al., 2020; Delorme et al., 2020; Louis et al., 2020; Pellinen et al., 2020; Petrescu et al., 2020), GPDs with bifrontal predominance (Galanopoulou et al., 2020; Vellieux et al., 2020; Vespignani et al., 2020), and LPDs (Conte et al., 2020; Le Guennec et al., 2020; Pellinen et al., 2020; Petrescu et al., 2020; Vespignani et al., 2020; Young et al., 2020). In particular, these frontal periodic discharges were monomorphic and displayed a short interval, and the absence of reactivity was noted (Vellieux et al., 2020; Vespignani et al., 2020). These frontal periodic discharges may indicate an acute neurological process linked to the brain SARS-CoV-2 infection. In COVID-19 patients, the combination of the frontal localization of these EEG discharges, the frequently reported anosmia (Yazdanpanah et al., 2020), the olfactory bulb abnormalities found on brain imaging (Lin et al., 2020), and the hypometabolism within the orbitofrontal cortex on functional brain imaging (Karimi-Galougahi et al., 2020) may support the hypothesis whereby SARS-CoV-2 could invade the brain through the olfactory pathway. Then, it could spread transneuronally to other related brain areas particularly to frontal lobes, especially the orbital prefrontal cortex, which are adjacent to olfactory structures (Huang J. et al., 2020).

Conclusion

In the context of the SARS-CoV-2 infection, increasing EEG results were published along with clinical reports describing various neurological symptoms in patients with COVID-19. Due to the suspected neuroinvasion of SARS-CoV-2, the major issue when interpreting EEG is to determine whether the observed abnormalities reflect this viral neuroinvasion, a severe encephalopathy with systemic and brain inflammation, hypoxemia and hyperthermia, and/or many confounding factors especially due to critical illness. At this time, no study had described specific EEG abnormalities of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. The majority of currently reported EEGs showed generalized slowing, focal slowing, epileptiform discharges with seizures, and SE. However, frontal discharges, for some periodic, may integrate in the olfactory hypothesis of the CNS invasion of SARS-CoV-2. It reinforces the need to accumulate precise neurophysiological observations of COVID-19 patients worldwide and to aggregate multimodality screening of these patients also with clinical, radiological, biological, and neuropathological data.

Author Contributions

GV collected the data and wrote the manuscript. RS, SV, PJ, and AR-T revised the manuscript. M-PO suggested and revised the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Funding Statement

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

References

Abdel-Mannan, O., Eyre, M., Löbel, U., Bamford, A., Eltze, C., Hameed, B., et al. (2020). Neurologic and radiographic findings associated with COVID-19 infection in children. JAMA Neurol. 77:e202687. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.2687

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Abel, D., Shen, M. Y., Abid, Z., Hennigan, C., Boneparth, A., Miller, E. H., et al. (2020). Encephalopathy and bilateral thalamic lesions in a child with MIS-C associated with COVID-19. Neurology 95, 745–748. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000010652

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Abenza-Abildúa, M. J., Novo-Aparicio, S., Moreno-Zabaleta, R., Algarra-Lucas, M. C., Rojo Moreno-Arcones, B., and Salvador-Maya, M. Á, et al. (2020). Encephalopathy in severe SARS-CoV2 infection: inflammatory or infectious? Int. J. Infect. Dis. 98, 398–400. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.07.020

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Anand, P., Al-Faraj, A., Sader, E., Dashkoff, J., Abdennadher, M., Murugesan, R., et al. (2020). Seizure as the presenting symptom of COVID-19: a retrospective case series. Epilepsy Behav. 112:107335. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2020.107335

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Andriuta, D., Roger, P.-A., Thibault, W., Toublanc, B., Sauzay, C., Castelain, S., et al. (2020). COVID-19 encephalopathy: detection of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in CSF. J. Neurol. 11, 1–2. doi: 10.1007/s00415-020-09975-1

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Ashraf, M., and Sajed, S. (2020). Seizures related to coronavirus disease (COVID-19): case series and literature review. Cureus 12:e9378. doi: 10.7759/cureus.9378

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Ayub, N., Cohen, J., Jing, J., Jain, A., Tesh, R., Mukerji, S. S., et al. (2020). Clinical electroencephalography findings and considerations in hospitalized patients with coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. medRxiv [Preprint]. doi: 10.1101/2020.07.13.20152207

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Balloy, G., Leclair-Visonneau, L., Péréon, Y., Magot, A., Peyre, A., Mahé, P.-J., et al. (2020). Non-lesional status epilepticus in a patient with coronavirus disease 2019. Clin. Neurophysiol. 131, 2059–2061. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2020.05.005

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Beach, S. R., Praschan, N. C., Hogan, C., Dotson, S., Merideth, F., Kontos, N., et al. (2020). Delirium in COVID-19: a case series and exploration of potential mechanisms for central nervous system involvement. Gen. Hosp. Psychiatry 65, 47–53. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2020.05.008

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Benameur, K., Agarwal, A., Auld, S. C., Butters, M. P., Webster, A. S., Ozturk, T., et al. (2020). Encephalopathy and Encephalitis Associated with Cerebrospinal Fluid Cytokine Alterations and Coronavirus Disease, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 2020. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 26, 2016–2021. doi: 10.3201/eid2609.202122

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Bernard-Valnet, R., Pizzarotti, B., Anichini, A., Demars, Y., Russo, E., Schmidhauser, M., et al. (2020). Two patients with acute meningoencephalitis concomitant with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Eur. J. Neurol. doi: 10.1111/ene.14298 [Epub ahead of print].

CrossRef Full Text | PubMed Abstract | Google Scholar

Brun, G., Hak, J.-F., Coze, S., Kaphan, E., Carvelli, J., Girard, N., et al. (2020). COVID-19-White matter and globus pallidum lesions: demyelination or small-vessel vasculitis? Neurol. Neuroimmunol. Neuroinflamm. 7:e777. doi: 10.1212/NXI.0000000000000777

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Canham, L. J. W., Staniaszek, L. E., Mortimer, A. M., Nouri, L. F., and Kane, N. M. (2020). Electroencephalographic (EEG) features of encephalopathy in the setting of Covid-19: a case series. Clin Neurophysiol Pract. 5, 199–205. doi: 10.1016/j.cnp.2020.06.001

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Cecchetti, G., Vabanesi, M., Chieffo, R., Fanelli, G., Minicucci, F., Agosta, F., et al. (2020). Cerebral involvement in COVID-19 is associated with metabolic and coagulation derangements: an EEG study. J. Neurol. doi: 10.1007/s00415-020-09958-2 [Epub ahead of print].

CrossRef Full Text | PubMed Abstract | Google Scholar

Chaumont, H., San-Galli, A., Martino, F., Couratier, C., Joguet, G., Carles, M., et al. (2020). Mixed central and peripheral nervous system disorders in severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. J. Neurol. 267, 3121–3127. doi: 10.1007/s00415-020-09986-y

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Chen, W., Toprani, S., Werbaneth, K., and Falco-Walter, J. (2020). Status epilepticus and other EEG findings in patients with COVID-19: a case series. Seizure 81, 198–200. doi: 10.1016/j.seizure.2020.08.022

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Chougar, L., Shor, N., Weiss, N., Galanaud, D., Leclercq, D., Mathon, B., et al. (2020). Retrospective observational study of brain magnetic resonance imaging findings in patients with acute SARS-CoV-2 infection and neurological manifestations. Radiology 297:202422. doi: 10.1148/radiol.2020202422

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Conte, G., Avignone, S., Carbonara, M., Meneri, M., Ortolano, F., Cinnante, C., et al. (2020). COVID-19-associated PRES-like encephalopathy with perivascular gadolinium enhancement. AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol. 41, 2206–2208. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A6762

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

De Stefano, P., Nencha, U., De Stefano, L., Mégevand, P., and Seeck, M. (2020). Focal EEG changes indicating critical illness associated cerebral microbleeds in a Covid-19 patient. Clin. Neurophysiol. Pract. 5, 125–129. doi: 10.1016/j.cnp.2020.05.004

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Delamarre, L., Gollion, C., Grouteau, G., Rousset, D., Jimena, G., Roustan, J., et al. (2020). COVID-19–associated acute necrotising encephalopathy successfully treated with steroids and polyvalent immunoglobulin with unusual IgG targeting the cerebral fibre network. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 91, 1004–1006. doi: 10.1136/jnnp-2020-323678

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Delorme, C., Paccoud, O., Kas, A., Hesters, A., Bombois, S., Shambrook, P., et al. (2020). Covid-19-related encephalopathy: a case series with brain FDG-PET/CT findings. Eur. J. Neurol. 27, 2651–2657. doi: 10.1111/ene.14478

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Díaz-Pérez, C., Ramos, C., López-Cruz, A., Muñoz Olmedo, J., Lázaro González, J., De Vega-Ríos, E., et al. (2020). Acutely altered mental status as the main clinical presentation of multiple strokes in critically ill patients with COVID-19. Neurol. Sci. 41, 2681–2684. doi: 10.1007/s10072-020-04679-w

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Dixon, L., Coughlan, C., Karunaratne, K., Gorgoraptis, N., Varley, J., Husselbee, J., et al. (2020). Immunosuppression for intracranial vasculitis associated with SARS-CoV-2: therapeutic implications for COVID-19 cerebrovascular pathology. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry doi: 10.1136/jnnp-2020-324291 [Epub ahead of print].

CrossRef Full Text | PubMed Abstract | Google Scholar

Dugue, R., Cay-Martínez, K. C., Thakur, K. T., Garcia, J. A., Chauhan, L. V., Williams, S. H., et al. (2020). Neurologic manifestations in an infant with COVID-19. Neurology 94, 1100–1102. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000009653

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Duong, L., Xu, P., and Liu, A. (2020). Meningoencephalitis without respiratory failure in a young female patient with COVID-19 infection in Downtown Los Angeles, early April 2020. Brain Behav. Immun. 87:33. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2020.04.024

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Edén, A., Kanberg, N., Gostner, J., Fuchs, D., Hagberg, L., Andersson, L.-M., et al. (2020). CSF biomarkers in patients with COVID-19 and neurological symptoms: a case series. Neurology 96, e294–e300. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000010977

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Ekstrand, J. J., Herbener, A., Rawlings, J., Turney, B., Ampofo, K., Korgenski, E. K., et al. (2010). Heightened neurologic complications in children with pandemic H1N1 influenza. Ann. Neurol. 68, 762–766. doi: 10.1002/ana.22184

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Elgamasy, S., Kamel, M. G., Ghozy, S., Khalil, A., Morra, M. E., and Islam, S. M. S. (2020). First case of focal epilepsy associated with SARS-coronavirus-2. J. Med. Virol. 92, 2238–2242. doi: 10.1002/jmv.26113

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Ellul, M. A., Benjamin, L., Singh, B., Lant, S., Michael, B. D., Easton, A., et al. (2020). Neurological associations of COVID-19. Lancet Neurol. 19, 767–783. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(20)30221-0

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

El-Zein, R. S., Cardinali, S., Murphy, C., and Keeling, T. (2020). COVID-19-associated meningoencephalitis treated with intravenous immunoglobulin. BMJ Case Rep. 13:e237364. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2020-237364

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Emami, A., Fadakar, N., Akbari, A., Lotfi, M., Farazdaghi, M., Javanmardi, F., et al. (2020). Seizure in patients with COVID-19. Neurol. Sci. doi: 10.1007/s10072-020-04731-9 [Epub ahead of print].

CrossRef Full Text | PubMed Abstract | Google Scholar

Espinosa, P. S., Rizvi, Z., Sharma, P., Hindi, F., and Filatov, A. (2020). Neurological complications of coronavirus disease (COVID-19): encephalopathy, mri brain and cerebrospinal fluid findings: case 2. Cureus 12:e7930. doi: 10.7759/cureus.7930

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Farhadian, S., Glick, L. R., Vogels, C. B. F., Thomas, J., Chiarella, J., Casanovas-Massana, A., et al. (2020). Acute encephalopathy with elevated CSF inflammatory markers as the initial presentation of COVID-19. BMC Neurol. 20:248. doi: 10.1186/s12883-020-01812-2

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Farley, M., and Zuberi, J. (2020). COVID-19 precipitating status epilepticus in a pediatric patient. Am. J. Case Rep. 21:e925776. doi: 10.12659/AJCR.925776

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Fasano, A., Cavallieri, F., Canali, E., and Valzania, F. (2020). First motor seizure as presenting symptom of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Neurol. Sci. 41, 1651–1653. doi: 10.1007/s10072-020-04460-z

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Filatov, A., Sharma, P., Hindi, F., and Espinosa, P. S. (2020). Neurological complications of coronavirus disease (COVID-19): encephalopathy. Cureus 12:e7352. doi: 10.7759/cureus.7352

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Fischer, D., Threlkeld, Z. D., Bodien, Y. G., Kirsch, J. E., Huang, S. Y., Schaefer, P. W., et al. (2020). Intact brain network function in an unresponsive patient with COVID -19. Ann. Neurol. 88, 851–854.

Google Scholar

Flamand, M., Perron, A., Buron, Y., and Szurhaj, W. (2020). Pay more attention to EEG in COVID-19 pandemic. Clin. Neurophysiol. 131, 2062–2064. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2020.05.011

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Freij, B. J., Gebara, B. M., Tariq, R., Wang, A.-M., Gibson, J., El-Wiher, N., et al. (2020). Fatal central nervous system co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and tuberculosis in a healthy child. BMC Pediatr. 20:429. doi: 10.1186/s12887-020-02308-1

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Galanopoulou, A. S., Ferastraoaru, V., Correa, D. J., Cherian, K., Duberstein, S., Gursky, J., et al. (2020). EEG findings in acutely ill patients investigated for SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19: a small case series preliminary report. Epilepsia Open 5, 314–324. doi: 10.1002/epi4.12399

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

García-Howard, M., Herranz-Aguirre, M., Moreno-Galarraga, L., Urretavizcaya-Martínez, M., Alegría-Echauri, J., Gorría-Redondo, N., et al. (2020). Case report: benign infantile seizures temporally associated with COVID-19. Front. Pediatr. 8:507. doi: 10.3389/fped.2020.00507

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Gaughan, M., Connolly, S., Direkze, S., and Kinsella, J. A. (2020). Acute new-onset symptomatic seizures in the context of mild COVID-19 infection. J. Neurol. doi: 10.1007/s00415-020-10214-w [Epub ahead of print].

CrossRef Full Text | PubMed Abstract | Google Scholar

Grimaldi, S., Lagarde, S., Harle, J.-R., Boucraut, J., and Guedj, E. (2020). Autoimmune encephalitis concomitant with SARS-CoV-2 infection: insight from 18F-FDG PET imaging and neuronal autoantibodies. J. Nucl. Med. 61, 1726–1729. doi: 10.2967/jnumed.120.249292

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Gupta, A., Madhavan, M. V., Sehgal, K., Nair, N., Mahajan, S., Sehrawat, T. S., et al. (2020). Extrapulmonary manifestations of COVID-19. Nat. Med. 26, 1017–1032. doi: 10.1038/s41591-020-0968-3

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Haddad, S., Tayyar, R., Risch, L., Churchill, G., Fares, E., Choe, M., et al. (2020). Encephalopathy and seizure activity in a COVID-19 well controlled HIV patient. IDCases 21:e00814. doi: 10.1016/j.idcr.2020.e00814

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Handa, R., Nanda, S., Prasad, A., Anand, R., Zutshi, D., Dass, S. K., et al. (2020). Covid-19-associated acute haemorrhagic leukoencephalomyelitis. Neurol. Sci. doi: 10.1007/s10072-020-04703-z [Epub ahead of print].

CrossRef Full Text | PubMed Abstract | Google Scholar

Harrogate, S., Mortimer, A., Burrows, L., Fiddes, B., Thomas, I., and Rice, C. M. (2020). Non-aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage in COVID-19. Neuroradiology doi: 10.1007/s00234-020-02535-4 [Epub ahead of print].

CrossRef Full Text | PubMed Abstract | Google Scholar

Helms, J., Kremer, S., Merdji, H., Clere-Jehl, R., Schenck, M., Kummerlen, C., et al. (2020a). Neurologic Features in Severe SARS-CoV-2 Infection. N. Engl. J. Med. 382, 2268–2270. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2008597

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Helms, J., Kremer, S., Merdji, H., Schenck, M., Severac, F., Clere-Jehl, R., et al. (2020b). Delirium and encephalopathy in severe COVID-19: a cohort analysis of ICU patients. Crit. Care 24:491. doi: 10.1186/s13054-020-03200-1

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Hepburn, M., Mullaguri, N., George, P., Hantus, S., Punia, V., Bhimraj, A., et al. (2020). Acute symptomatic seizures in critically ill patients with COVID-19: is there an association? Neurocrit. Care doi: 10.1007/s12028-020-01006-1 [Epub ahead of print].

CrossRef Full Text | PubMed Abstract | Google Scholar

Huang, H., Eichelberger, H., Chan, M., Valdes, E., Kister, I., Krupp, L., et al. (2020). Pearls and Oy-sters: leukoencephalopathy in critically ill COVID-19 patients. Neurology 95, 753–757. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000010636

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Huang, J., Zheng, M., Tang, X., Chen, Y., Tong, A., and Zhou, L. (2020). Potential of SARS-CoV-2 to cause CNS infection: biologic fundamental and clinical experience. Front. Neurol. 11:659. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2020.00659

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Hussein, O., Abd Elazim, A., and Torbey, M. T. (2020). Covid-19 systemic infection exacerbates pre-existing acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). J. Neuroimmunol. 349:577405. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2020.577405

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Ibrahim, F., and Haddad, N. (2014). New onset refractory status epilepticus in a young man with H1N1 infection. Case Rep. Neurol. Med. 2014:585428. doi: 10.1155/2014/585428

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Jang, K., Khatri, A., and Majure, D. T. (2020). COVID-19 leading to acute encephalopathy in a patient with heart transplant. J. Heart Lung Transplant. 39, 853–855. doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2020.05.016

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Kajani, R., Apramian, A., Vega, A., Ubhayakar, N., Xu, P., and Liu, A. (2020). Neuroleptic malignant syndrome in a COVID-19 patient. Brain Behav. Immun. 88, 28–29. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2020.05.042

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Karimi-Galougahi, M., Yousefi-Koma, A., Bakhshayeshkaram, M., Raad, N., and Haseli, S. (2020). 18FDG PET/CT scan reveals hypoactive orbitofrontal cortex in anosmia of COVID-19. Acad. Radiol. 27, 1042–1043. doi: 10.1016/j.acra.2020.04.030

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Kedia, S., Stroud, B., Parsons, J., Schreiner, T., Curtis, D. J., Bagdure, D., et al. (2011). Pediatric neurological complications of 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1). Arch. Neurol. 68, 455–462. doi: 10.1001/archneurol.2010.318

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Khoo, A., McLoughlin, B., Cheema, S., Weil, R. S., Lambert, C., Manji, H., et al. (2020). Postinfectious brainstem encephalitis associated with SARS-CoV-2. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 91, 1013–1014. doi: 10.1136/jnnp-2020-323816

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Kihira, S., Delman, B. N., Belani, P., Stein, L., Aggarwal, A., Rigney, B., et al. (2020). Imaging features of acute encephalopathy in patients with COVID-19: a case series. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 41, 1804–1808. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A6715

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Klironomos, S., Tzortzakakis, A., Kits, A., Öhberg, C., Kollia, E., Ahoromazdae, A., et al. (2020). Nervous System Involvement in COVID-19: results from a retrospective consecutive neuroimaging cohort. Radiology 297:202791. doi: 10.1148/radiol.2020202791

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Le Guennec, L., Devianne, J., Jalin, L., Cao, A., Galanaud, D., Navarro, V., et al. (2020). Orbitofrontal involvement in a neuroCOVID-19 patient. Epilepsia 61, e90–e94. doi: 10.1111/epi.16612

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Lim, S. T., Janaway, B., Costello, H., Trip, A., and Price, G. (2020). Persistent psychotic symptoms following COVID-19 infection. BJPsych Open 6:e105. doi: 10.1192/bjo.2020.76

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Lin, E., Lantos, J. E., Strauss, S. B., Phillips, C. D., Campion, T. R., Navi, B. B., et al. (2020). Brain imaging of patients with COVID-19: findings at an academic institution during the height of the outbreak in New York City. AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol. 41, 2001–2008. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A6793

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Llansó, L., and Urra, X. (2020). Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome in COVID-19 disease: a case-report. SN Compr. Clin. Med. doi: 10.1007/s42399-020-00470-2 [Epub ahead of print].

CrossRef Full Text | PubMed Abstract | Google Scholar

Llorente Ayuso, L., Torres Rubio, P., Beijinho do Rosário, R. F., Giganto Arroyo, M. L., and Sierra-Hidalgo, F. (2020). Bickerstaff encephalitis after COVID-19. J. Neurol. doi: 10.1007/s00415-020-10201-1 [Epub ahead of print].

CrossRef Full Text | PubMed Abstract | Google Scholar

Logmin, K., Karam, M., Schichel, T., Harmel, J., and Wojtecki, L. (2020). Non-epileptic seizures in autonomic dysfunction as the initial symptom of COVID-19. J. Neurol. 267, 2490–2491. doi: 10.1007/s00415-020-09904-2

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Louis, S., Dhawan, A., Newey, C., Nair, D., Jehi, L., Hantus, S., et al. (2020). Continuous electroencephalography characteristics and acute symptomatic seizures in COVID-19 patients. Clin. Neurophysiol. 131, 2651–2656. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2020.08.003

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Lyons, S., O’Kelly, B., Woods, S., Rowan, C., Brady, D., Sheehan, G., et al. (2020). Seizure with CSF lymphocytosis as a presenting feature of COVID-19 in an otherwise healthy young man. Seizure 80, 113–114. doi: 10.1016/j.seizure.2020.06.010

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Manganelli, F., Vargas, M., Iovino, A., Iacovazzo, C., Santoro, L., and Servillo, G. (2020). Brainstem involvement and respiratory failure in COVID-19. Neurol. Sci. 41, 1663–1665. doi: 10.1007/s10072-020-04487-2

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Méndez-Guerrero, A., Laespada-García, M. I., Gómez-Grande, A., Ruiz-Ortiz, M., Blanco-Palmero, V. A., Azcarate-Diaz, F. J., et al. (2020). Acute hypokinetic-rigid syndrome following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Neurology 95, e2109–e2118. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000010282

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Morassi, M., Bagatto, D., Cobelli, M., D’Agostini, S., Gigli, G. L., Bnà, C., et al. (2020). Stroke in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection: case series. J. Neurol. 267, 2185–2192. doi: 10.1007/s00415-020-09885-2

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Muccioli, L., Pensato, U., Cani, I., Guerra, L., Provini, F., Bordin, G., et al. (2020a). COVID-19-related encephalopathy presenting with aphasia resolving following tocilizumab treatment. J. Neuroimmunol. 349:577400. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2020.577400

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Muccioli, L., Rondelli, F., Ferri, L., Rossini, G., Cortelli, P., and Guarino, M. (2020b). Subcortical myoclonus in COVID-19: comprehensive evaluation of a patient. Mov. Disord. Clin. Pract. 7, 971–973. doi: 10.1002/mdc3.13046

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Panariello, A., Bassetti, R., Radice, A., Rossotti, R., Puoti, M., Corradin, M., et al. (2020). Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis in a psychiatric Covid-19 patient: a case report. Brain Behav. Immun. 87, 179–181. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2020.05.054

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Panda, P. K., Sharawat, I. K., Panda, P., Natarajan, V., Bhakat, R., and Dawman, L. (2020). Neurological Complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J. Trop. Pediatr. doi: 10.1093/tropej/fmaa070 [Epub ahead of print].

CrossRef Full Text | PubMed Abstract | Google Scholar

Parauda, S. C., Gao, V., Gewirtz, A. N., Parikh, N. S., Merkler, A. E., Lantos, J., et al. (2020). Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome in patients with COVID-19. J. Neurol. Sci. 416:117019. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2020.117019

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Parsons, T., Banks, S., Bae, C., Gelber, J., Alahmadi, H., and Tichauer, M. (2020). COVID-19-associated acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). J. Neurol. doi: 10.1007/s00415-020-09951-9 [Epub ahead of print].

CrossRef Full Text | PubMed Abstract | Google Scholar

Pasini, E., Bisulli, F., Volpi, L., Minardi, I., Tappatà, M., Muccioli, L., et al. (2020). EEG findings in COVID-19 related encephalopathy. Clin. Neurophysiol. 131, 2265–2267. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2020.07.003

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Pastor, J., Vega-Zelaya, L., and Martín Abad, E. (2020). Specific EEG encephalopathy pattern in SARS-CoV-2 patients. J. Clin. Med. 9:1545. doi: 10.3390/jcm9051545

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Paterson, R. W., Brown, R. L., Benjamin, L., Nortley, R., Wiethoff, S., Bharucha, T., et al. (2020). The emerging spectrum of COVID-19 neurology: clinical, radiological and laboratory findings. Brain 143, 3104–3120. doi: 10.1093/brain/awaa240

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Pati, S., Toth, E., and Chaitanya, G. (2020). Quantitative EEG markers to prognosticate critically ill patients with COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study. Clin. Neurophysiol. 131, 1824–1826. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2020.06.001

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Pellinen, J., Carroll, E., Friedman, D., Boffa, M., Dugan, P., Friedman, D. E., et al. (2020). Continuous EEG findings in patients with COVID-19 infection admitted to a New York academic hospital system. Epilepsia 61, 2097–2105. doi: 10.1111/epi.16667

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Perrin, P., Collongues, N., Baloglu, S., Bedo, D., Bassand, X., Lavaux, T., et al. (2020). Cytokine release syndrome-associated encephalopathy in patients with COVID-19. Eur. J. Neurol. 28, 248–258. doi: 10.1111/ene.14491

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Petrescu, A.-M., Taussig, D., and Bouilleret, V. (2020). Electroencephalogram (EEG) in COVID-19: a systematic retrospective study. Neurophysiol. Clin. 50, 155–165. doi: 10.1016/j.neucli.2020.06.001

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Pilotto, A., Masciocchi, S., Volonghi, I., Crabbio, M., Magni, E., De Giuli, V., et al. (2020a). Clinical presentation and outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 related encephalitis: the ENCOVID multicentre study. J. Infect. Dis. 28:jiaa609. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa609

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Pilotto, A., Odolini, S., Masciocchi, S., Comelli, A., Volonghi, I., Gazzina, S., et al. (2020b). Steroid-responsive encephalitis in coronavirus disease 2019. Ann. Neurol. 88, 423–427. doi: 10.1002/ana.25783

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Princiotta Cariddi, L., Tabaee Damavandi, P., Carimati, F., Banfi, P., Clemenzi, A., Marelli, M., et al. (2020). Reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) in a COVID-19 patient. J. Neurol. doi: 10.1007/s00415-020-10001-7 [Epub ahead of print].

CrossRef Full Text | PubMed Abstract | Google Scholar

Pugin, D., Vargas, M.-I., Thieffry, C., Schibler, M., Grosgurin, O., Pugin, J., et al. (2020). COVID-19-related encephalopathy responsive to high doses glucocorticoids. Neurology 95, 543–546. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000010354

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Rábano-Suárez, P., Bermejo-Guerrero, L., Méndez-Guerrero, A., Parra-Serrano, J., Toledo-Alfocea, D., Sánchez-Tejerina, D., et al. (2020). Generalized myoclonus in COVID-19. Neurology 95, e767–e772. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000009829

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Radmanesh, A., Derman, A., and Ishida, K. (2020). COVID-19-associated delayed posthypoxic necrotizing leukoencephalopathy. J. Neurol. Sci. 415:116945. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2020.116945

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Radmard, S., Epstein, S. E., Roeder, H. J., Michalak, A. J., Shapiro, S. D., Boehme, A., et al. (2020). Inpatient neurology consultations during the onset of the SARS-CoV-2 New York city pandemic: a single center case series. Front. Neurol. 11:805. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2020.00805

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Radnis, C., Qiu, S., Jhaveri, M., Da Silva, I., Szewka, A., and Koffman, L. (2020). Radiographic and clinical neurologic manifestations of COVID-19 related hypoxemia. J. Neurol. Sci. 418:117119. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2020.117119

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Rasmussen, C., Niculescu, I., Patel, S., and Krishnan, A. (2020). COVID-19 and involvement of the corpus callosum: potential effect of the cytokine storm? AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol. 41, 1625–1628. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A6680

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Rodrigo-Armenteros, P., Uterga-Valiente, J. M., Zabala-Del-Arco, J., Taramundi-Argüeso, S., Erburu-Iriarte, M., Antón-Méndez, L., et al. (2020). Non-convulsive status epilepticus in a patient with COVID-19 infection. Clin. Neurophysiol. 131, 2588–2590. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2020.08.005

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Romero-Sánchez, C. M., Díaz-Maroto, I., Fernández-Díaz, E., Sánchez-Larsen, Á, Layos-Romero, A., García-García, J., et al. (2020). Neurologic manifestations in hospitalized patients with COVID-19: the ALBACOVID registry. Neurology 95, e1060–e1070. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000009937

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Roy-Gash, F., De Mesmay, M., Devys, J.-M., Vespignani, H., Blanc, R., and Engrand, N. (2020). COVID-19-associated acute cerebral venous thrombosis: clinical, CT, MRI and EEG features. Crit. Care 24:419. doi: 10.1186/s13054-020-03131-x

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Schupper, A. J., Yaeger, K. A., and Morgenstern, P. F. (2020). Neurological manifestations of pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome potentially associated with COVID-19. Childs Nerv. Syst. 36, 1579–1580. doi: 10.1007/s00381-020-04755-8

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Scullen, T., Keen, J., Mathkour, M., Dumont, A. S., and Kahn, L. (2020). Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19)-associated encephalopathies and cerebrovascular disease: the new orleans experience. World Neurosurg. 141, e437–e446. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2020.05.192

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Sethi, N. K. (2020). EEG during the COVID-19 pandemic: what remains the same and what is different. Clin. Neurophysiol. 131:1462. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2020.04.007

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Shekhar, R., Sheikh, A. B., Suriya, S. S., Upadhyay, S., and Zafar, A. (2020). Neurological complications among native americans with COVID-19: our experience at a tertiary care academic hospital in the U.S. J. Stroke Cerebrovasc. Dis. 29:105260. doi: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2020.105260

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Sohal, S., and Mansur, M. (2020). COVID-19 Presenting with Seizures. IDCases 20:e00782. doi: 10.1016/j.idcr.2020.e00782

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Soldatelli, M. D., do Amaral, L. F., Veiga, V. C., Rojas, S. S. O., Omar, S., and Marussi, V. H. R. (2020). Neurovascular and perfusion imaging findings in coronavirus disease 2019: case report and literature review. Neuroradiol. J. 33, 368–373. doi: 10.1177/1971400920941652

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Somani, S., Pati, S., Gaston, T., Chitlangia, A., and Agnihotri, S. (2020). De novo status epilepticus in patients with COVID-19. Ann. Clin. Trans. Neurol. 7, 1240–1244. doi: 10.1002/acn3.51071

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Svedung Wettervik, T., Kumlien, E., Rostami, E., Howells, T., von Seth, M., Velickaite, V., et al. (2020). Intracranial pressure dynamics and cerebral vasomotor reactivity in coronavirus disease 2019 patient with acute encephalitis. Crit. Care Explor. 2:e0197. doi: 10.1097/CCE.0000000000000197

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Umapathi, T., Jason, Q. W. M., Min, Y. J., Wai, K. H. S., Yuan, M. Y., Yee, J. C. C., et al. (2020). Encephalopathy in COVID-19 patients; viral, parainfectious, or both? eNeurologicalSci 21:100275. doi: 10.1016/j.ensci.2020.100275

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Vandervorst, F., Guldolf, K., Peeters, I., Vanderhasselt, T., Michiels, K., Berends, K. J., et al. (2020). Encephalitis associated with the SARS-CoV-2 virus: a case report. Interdiscip. Neurosurg. 22:100821. doi: 10.1016/j.inat.2020.100821

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Vellieux, G., Rouvel-Tallec, A., Jaquet, P., Grinea, A., Sonneville, R., and d’Ortho, M.-P. (2020). COVID-19 associated encephalopathy: is there a specific EEG pattern? Clin. Neurophysiol. 131, 1928–1930. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2020.06.005

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Vespignani, H., Colas, D., Lavin, B. S., Soufflet, C., Maillard, L., Pourcher, V., et al. (2020). Report on electroencephalographic findings in critically ill patients with COVID -19. Ann. Neurol. 88, 626–630. doi: 10.1002/ana.25814

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Virhammar, J., Kumlien, E., Fällmar, D., Frithiof, R., Jackmann, S., Sköld, M. K., et al. (2020). Acute necrotizing encephalopathy with SARS-CoV-2 RNA confirmed in cerebrospinal fluid. Neurology 95, 445–449. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000010250

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Vollono, C., Rollo, E., Romozzi, M., Frisullo, G., Servidei, S., Borghetti, A., et al. (2020). Focal status epilepticus as unique clinical feature of COVID-19: a case report. Seizure 78, 109–112. doi: 10.1016/j.seizure.2020.04.009

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Yazdanpanah, N., Saghazadeh, A., and Rezaei, N. (2020). Anosmia: a missing link in the neuroimmunology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Rev. Neurosci. doi: 10.1515/revneuro-2020-0039 [Epub ahead of print].

CrossRef Full Text | PubMed Abstract | Google Scholar

Young, M. J., O’Hare, M., Matiello, M., and Schmahmann, J. D. (2020). Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in a man with COVID-19: SARS-CoV-2-accelerated neurodegeneration? Brain Behav. Immun. 89, 601–603. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2020.07.007

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Zahid, M. J., Baig, A., Galvez-Jimenez, N., and Martinez, N. (2020). Hemorrhagic stroke in setting of severe COVID-19 infection requiring Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO). J. Stroke Cerebrovasc. Dis. 29:105016. doi: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2020.105016

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Zanin, L., Saraceno, G., Panciani, P. P., Renisi, G., Signorini, L., Migliorati, K., et al. (2020). SARS-CoV-2 can induce brain and spine demyelinating lesions. Acta Neurochir. 162, 1491–1494. doi: 10.1007/s00701-020-04374-x

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Zoghi, A., Ramezani, M., Roozbeh, M., Darazam, I. A., and Sahraian, M. A. (2020). A case of possible atypical demyelinating event of the central nervous system following COVID-19. Mult. Scler. Relat. Disord. 44:102324. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2020.102324

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, COVID-19, encephalopathy, neurophysiology, EEG

Citation: Vellieux G, Sonneville R, Vledouts S, Jaquet P, Rouvel-Tallec A and d’Ortho M-P (2021) COVID-19-Associated Neurological Manifestations: An Emerging Electroencephalographic Literature. Front. Physiol. 11:622466. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2020.622466

Received: 28 October 2020; Accepted: 29 December 2020;
Published: 19 February 2021.

Edited by:

Georges Leftheriotis, Université Côte d’Azur, France

Reviewed by:

Simona Mrakic-Sposta, Italian National Research Council, Italy
Marion Simonetta-Moreau, INSERM UMR 1214 ToNIC, France

Copyright © 2021 Vellieux, Sonneville, Vledouts, Jaquet, Rouvel-Tallec and d’Ortho. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Geoffroy Vellieux, geoffroy.vellieux@aphp.fr; geoffroyvellieux@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.