Neurology & Neurosurgery

A Case Series of New-Onset Seizures in Three COVID-19 Patients

Jan. 22, 2021

Patients with COVID-19 exhibit neurological symptoms ranging from headache and dizziness to encephalopathy and acute cerebrovascular disease. While seizures are also witnessed, they are likely to be underreported manifestations of COVID-19. There are many theories about the central nervous system (CNS) invasion by COVID-19, but because of the novelty of this coronavirus, the mechanisms underlying the development of seizures are unknown.

In this analysis, published in the Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology, researchers led by Deepa Gotur, MD at Houston Methodist present detailed cases of three COVID-19 patients who developed new-onset seizures, including a 72-year-old woman with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus and a history of breast cancer; a 48-year-old man and a 30-year-old man, both suffering from hypertension, diabetes mellitus and morbid obesity; and all exhibiting EEG-confirmed seizures that were witnessed during treatment for advanced COVID-19.

The analysis also includes discussion of the most recent findings that have indicated the presence of neurotropic features of COVID-19 and theories of how the virus might invade the CNS. Further research on the incidence, etiology and prognosis of seizures as a new neurologic manifestation of COVID-19 is needed.

For the full analysis and case studies, see the Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology.

Topics

Neuro Research COVID-19