Tim Coolen1, Valentina Lolli1, Niloufar Sadeghi1, Antonin Rovai1, Nicola Trotta1, Fabio Silvio Taccone1, Jacques Creteur1, Sophie Henrard1, Jean-Christophe Goffard1, Olivier Dewitte1, Gilles Naeije1, Serge Goldman1, Xavier De Tiège2. 1. From the Department of Radiology (T.C., V.L., N.S.), Department of Nuclear Medicine (A.R., N.T., S.G., X.D.T.), Intensive Care Unit (F.S.T., J.C.), Department of Internal Medicine (S.H., J.-C.G.), Department of Neurosurgery (O.D.W.), and Department of Neurology (G.N.), CUB Hôpital Erasme, and Laboratoire de Cartographie fonctionnelle du Cerveau (T.C., V.L., A.R., N.T., S.G., X.D.T.), UNI-ULB Neuroscience Institute, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium. 2. From the Department of Radiology (T.C., V.L., N.S.), Department of Nuclear Medicine (A.R., N.T., S.G., X.D.T.), Intensive Care Unit (F.S.T., J.C.), Department of Internal Medicine (S.H., J.-C.G.), Department of Neurosurgery (O.D.W.), and Department of Neurology (G.N.), CUB Hôpital Erasme, and Laboratoire de Cartographie fonctionnelle du Cerveau (T.C., V.L., A.R., N.T., S.G., X.D.T.), UNI-ULB Neuroscience Institute, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium. xdetiege@ulb.ac.be.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is considered to have potential neuroinvasiveness that might lead to acute brain disorders or contribute to respiratory distress in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study investigates the occurrence of structural brain abnormalities in non-survivors of COVID-19 in a virtopsy framework. METHODS: In this prospective, monocentric, case series study, consecutive patients who fulfilled the following inclusion criteria benefited from an early postmortem structural brain MRI: death <24 hours, SARS-CoV-2 detection on nasopharyngeal swab specimen, chest CT scan suggestive of COVID-19, absence of known focal brain lesion, and MRI compatibility. RESULTS: Among the 62 patients who died of COVID-19 from March 31, 2020, to April 24, 2020, at our institution, 19 decedents fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Parenchymal brain abnormalities were observed in 4 decedents: subcortical microbleeds and macrobleeds (2 decedents), cortico-subcortical edematous changes evocative of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES; 1 decedent), and nonspecific deep white matter changes (1 decedent). Asymmetric olfactory bulbs were found in 4 other decedents without downstream olfactory tract abnormalities. No brainstem MRI signal abnormality was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Postmortem brain MRI demonstrates hemorrhagic and PRES-related brain lesions in non-survivors of COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2-related olfactory impairment seems to be limited to olfactory bulbs. Brainstem MRI findings do not support a brain-related contribution to respiratory distress in COVID-19.
OBJECTIVES: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is considered to have potential neuroinvasiveness that might lead to acute brain disorders or contribute to respiratory distress in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study investigates the occurrence of structural brain abnormalities in non-survivors of COVID-19 in a virtopsy framework. METHODS: In this prospective, monocentric, case series study, consecutive patients who fulfilled the following inclusion criteria benefited from an early postmortem structural brain MRI: death <24 hours, SARS-CoV-2 detection on nasopharyngeal swab specimen, chest CT scan suggestive of COVID-19, absence of known focal brain lesion, and MRI compatibility. RESULTS: Among the 62 patients who died of COVID-19 from March 31, 2020, to April 24, 2020, at our institution, 19 decedents fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Parenchymal brain abnormalities were observed in 4 decedents: subcortical microbleeds and macrobleeds (2 decedents), cortico-subcortical edematous changes evocative of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES; 1 decedent), and nonspecific deep white matter changes (1 decedent). Asymmetric olfactory bulbs were found in 4 other decedents without downstream olfactory tract abnormalities. No brainstem MRI signal abnormality was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Postmortem brain MRI demonstrates hemorrhagic and PRES-related brain lesions in non-survivors of COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2-related olfactory impairment seems to be limited to olfactory bulbs. Brainstem MRI findings do not support a brain-related contribution to respiratory distress in COVID-19.
Authors: Stanislav A Groppa; Dumitru Ciolac; Carolina Duarte; Christopher Garcia; Daniela Gasnaș; Pavel Leahu; Daniela Efremova; Alexandru Gasnaș; Tatiana Bălănuță; Daniela Mîrzac; Alexandru Movila Journal: Adv Exp Med Biol Date: 2022 Impact factor: 2.622
Authors: Johann Sellner; Thomas M Jenkins; Tim J von Oertzen; Claudio L Bassetti; Ettore Beghi; Daniel Bereczki; Benedetta Bodini; Francesco Cavallieri; Giovanni Di Liberto; Raimund Helbok; Antonella Macerollo; Luis F Maia; Celia Oreja-Guevara; Serefnur Özturk; Martin Rakusa; Antonio Pisani; Alberto Priori; Anna Sauerbier; Riccardo Soffietti; Pille Taba; Marialuisa Zedde; Michael Crean; Anja Burlica; Alex Twardzik; Elena Moro Journal: Eur J Neurol Date: 2021-02-05 Impact factor: 6.288
Authors: Maria C Barbosa-Silva; Maiara N Lima; Denise Battaglini; Chiara Robba; Paolo Pelosi; Patricia R M Rocco; Tatiana Maron-Gutierrez Journal: Crit Care Date: 2021-07-06 Impact factor: 9.097