Possible mechanisms involved in neurological manifestation of COVID-19: A short review

COVID-19 resulted in a pandemic causing respiratory infection due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It started from the Wuhan city of China in mid-December 2019 and then spread all over the world in a very short time. COVID19 is mainly responsible for acute respiratory syndrome however, there are reports of involvement of some neurological symptoms and conditions wise; headache, dizziness, fatigue, insomnia, confusion and myalgia, encephalitis etc. The severe neurological effects consist of acute ischemic stroke, cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, subarachnoid hemorrhage, acute necrotizing hemorrhagic encephalopathy, meningitis/encephalitis, and acute Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Neurological conditions could be due to the entrance of the virus into the brain via nasal passage through the olfactory bulb or the initiation of a storm of cytokines that cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). It can also have a long-term effect in the form of demyelination of neurons which can lead to neurodegenerative diseases. This review deals with the general mechanisms which might be involved in the entrance of COVID-19 into the brain and its possible effects.