Background: Viral infections cause a wide range of pathologies related to their primary site of infection. Intriguingly, many of these viral infections elicit symptoms associated with organ systems outside of their primary sites of infection. Of particular interest are the central nervous system (CNS) symptoms and disorders associated with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). Proposed mechanisms for SARS-CoV-2 reaching the CNS include an ACE2-dependent pathway utilizing the olfactory system, infiltration from blood circulation by crossing the blood brain barrier, and access through infected immune cells. However, the specifics of COVID-19’s CNS manifestations remain unclear. The most common CNS symptoms and disorders associated with SARS-CoV-2 include loss of smell, loss of taste, muscle weakness, tingling or numbness in the hands and feet, dizziness, confusion, delirium, seizures, depression, anxiety, and stroke.

Hypothesis and Aim: The hypothesis is COVID-19 causes CNS dysfunction through different mechanisms other than common viral infections such as, common flu, H1N1, hepatitis, HIV and SARS-CoV-1. The goals of the study were to compare COVID-19 induced CNS disorders and symptoms with other common viral associated CNS pathologies and to determine the specific mechanism(s) of COVID-19 leading to CNS symptoms and disorders. Relevant search terms contributing to the study objective were used across electronic platforms such as, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, up to May 2021. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was referenced for current reported information regarding the viruses. Lexi-Comp was used for drug-specific information. Studies which did not clearly report the outcome of our interest were excluded from the current study. Since there are very few studies that has elucidated the effect of COVID-19 on central nervous system pathologies, we included all the studies.

Results: COVID-19 patients (82%) experienced severe CNS symptoms. The major symptoms are headaches (37%), hyposmia/ hypogeusia (26%). Furthermore, nearly half the patients exhibited encephalopathy (diffuse disease that alters brain function or structure), while 17% were in a coma, and 6% had strokes. Our future studies will compare the COVID-19 related CNS pathologies with other common viral infections.