Tag: cognitive neuropsychological changes

Neuropsychological measures of “Long COVID-19 Fog” in older subjects

Abstract:

Covid-19 is known to impact older people more severely and to cause a number of persistent symptoms during the recovery phase, including cognitive and neurological ones. We investigated the cognitive and neurological features of 100 elderly patients with confirmed diagnosis of Covid-19 evaluated in the post-acute phase through a direct neuropsychological evaluation consisting on Mini Mental State Examination and other 8 neuropsychological tests. Overall, a total of 33 subjects were found to perform at a level considered to be pathological; more specifically, 33%, 23% and 20% failed on Trial Making, Digit Span Backwards and Frontal Evaluation Battery tests respectively.

Source: Alessandra Lauria, Angelo Carfì, Francesca Benvenuto, Giulia Bramato, Francesca Ciciarello, Sara Rocchi, Elisabetta Rota, Andrea Salerno, Leonardo Stella, Marcello Tritto, Antonella Di Paola, Cristina Pais, Matteo Tosato, Delfina Janiri, Gabriele Sani, Francesco Cosimo Pagano, Massimo Fantoni, Roberto Bernabei, Francesco Landi, Alessandra Bizzarro. Neuropsychological measures of “Long COVID-19 Fog” in older subjects. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, 2022. ISSN 0749-0690, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cger.2022.05.003. (Full text available as PDF file)

A comparative review of systemic and neurological symptomatology in 12 outbreaks collectively described as chronic fatigue syndrome, epidemic neuromyasthenia, and myalgic encephalomyelitis

Abstract:

Outbreaks of illnesses of unknown etiology typified by a chronic relapsing course of constitutional symptoms and nervous system involvement have collectively been referred to as chronic fatigue syndrome, epidemic neuromyasthenia, and myalgic encephalomyelitis. To examine heterogeneity of clinical presentation, a comparative review was undertaken for 12 well-documented outbreaks reported since 1934.

A systemic syndrome characterized by excessive fatigue, myalgias, headache, low-grade fever, and other constitutional symptoms was common to cases in all outbreaks. However, marked heterogeneity in the range of neurological features was apparent.

On the basis of predominant neurological manifestations, outbreaks could be grouped into four levels of increasing neurological involvement: affective neuropsychological changes (level I); prominent cutaneous sensory symptoms with both affective and cognitive neuropsychological changes (level II); marked objective paresis with cutaneous sensory as well as affective and cognitive neuropsychological changes (level III); and cutaneous sensory, affective and cognitive neuropsychological, posterior column, cranial nerve, and mixed upper and lower motor neuron changes (level IV). Groups with the most prominent objective neurological findings (levels III and IV) comprised exclusively outbreaks reported between the 1930s and 1950s. All but one outbreak in groups with less prominent neurological findings (levels I and II) were reported between the 1960s and 1980s; a range of neurological features was observed for these groups.

Because a complete neurological examination is not emphasized as part of the diagnostic workup in current outbreaks, it is possible that less obvious neurological findings may be overlooked. Careful evaluation of neurological features in epidemic and endemic cases of what is now called chronic fatigue syndrome may be one approach to distinguishing subtypes of what has been described in the past as a nosological entity.

 

Source: Briggs NC, Levine PH. A comparative review of systemic and neurological symptomatology in 12 outbreaks collectively described as chronic fatigue syndrome, epidemic neuromyasthenia, and myalgic encephalomyelitis. Clin Infect Dis. 1994 Jan;18 Suppl 1:S32-42. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8148451