| Abstract | The Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has manifested in many clinical presentations. Central nervous system (CNS) involvement is not a rare complication of this virus. In the current analysis, we postulate that: (1) pre-morbid brain health may be a significant modifiable risk factor when considering clinical sequelae; and (2) a framework similar to concussion management may provide helpful guidance in next-steps for COVID-19 clinical management. In this way, CNS related concerns can be represented as treating an “over-stressed” nervous system. It is not desirable, from a public health perspective, to create a unifying diagnosis that potentially “medicalizes” COVID-19 related CNS symptomatology and dysfunction to the detriment of empowering environmental and lifestyle choices that are within a patient's control.
This article first summarizes current state of knowledge pertaining to neuroinflammation and the neurological consequences related to COVID-19, then suggests “brain health” risk factors amenable to modification, and proposes means to measure cognitive brain function in a cost-effective and efficient manner, with simple strategies to potentially mitigate long-term consequences of post COVID-19 “brain fog.” Similar concepts around brain fog have been identified in association with concussion, anoxic insult, and chemotherapy. While any one of these may serve as a potential model, given its prevalence the concussion model is adopted in this brief analysis. |
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