Historical Perspectives on the Neurologic Manifestations of Viral Pandemics

Kathryn B. Holroyd; Aaron L. Berkowitz

doi:10.1055/s-0043-1767714

Seminars in Neurology, Table of Contents

Semin Neurol 2023; 43(02): 187-194
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1767714

Review Article

Historical Perspectives on the Neurologic Manifestations of Viral Pandemics

Authors

Kathryn B. Holroyd

¹Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
Aaron L. Berkowitz

²Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Pasadena, California

Abstract

Neurologic symptoms have been reported in over 30% of hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but the pathogenesis of these symptoms remains under investigation. Here, we place the neurologic complications of COVID-19 within the context of three historical viral pandemics that have been associated with neurologic diseases: (1) the 1918 influenza pandemic, subsequent spread of encephalitis lethargica, and lessons for the study of COVID-19-related neuroinflammation; (2) the controversial link between the 1976 influenza vaccination campaign and Guillain–Barré Syndrome and its implications for the post- and parainfectious complications of COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccination; and (3) potential applications of scientific techniques developed in the wake of the human immunodeficiency virus pandemic to the study of postacute sequelae of COVID-19.

Keywords

COVID-19 - encephalitis lethargica - pandemic - influenza

Full Text

References

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