Doctors observed neurological symptoms, including confusion, stroke, and seizures, in a small group of Corona patients. Neurologists worldwide say that a small subgroup of Covid 19 patients has serious brain disorders.

Although fever, coughing and difficulty breathing are the hallmarks of infection with the new coronavirus, some patients show a change in mental status or encephalopathy, suggesting a dysfunction that can have many underlying causes, in addition to other serious conditions. These neurological syndromes join other unusual symptoms, such as impaired sense of smell and taste in addition to heart disease.

In early March, a 74-year-old man came to the emergency room in Boca Raton, Florida, complaining of coughing and fever, but X-rays ruled out pneumonia and decided to send him home. The next day, when the fever intensified, his family members brought him back to hospital. He was suffering from shortness of breath and could not tell the doctors his name, as he lost the ability to speak.

The patient, who suffers from chronic lung disease and Parkinson's disease, was directing his arms and legs in convulsive movements, and appeared to be suffering from a seizure. Doctors suspected that he had Corona.

On Tuesday, doctors in Detroit reported another disturbing case of a flight employee, in her late fifties, who had a coronavirus, which was confused and complained of a headache. She was able to tell the doctors her name but did not talk a little, and she became less responsive over time. Brain scans showed abnormal swelling and inflammation in several regions and smaller areas, where some cells died. Doctors diagnosed a serious condition called "acute encephalopathy", which is a rare complication of influenza and other viral infections.

The neurologist at Henry Ford Health Center, Dr. Elisa Fury, said that the pattern and manner in which the function developed rapidly, over days, "corresponds to viral infections in the brain," follow-up, "this may indicate that the virus can invade the brain. Immediately, in rare circumstances. " The patient is currently in critical condition.

These local reports follow similar observations by doctors in Italy and other parts of the world, for "Covid" patients, who suffer from strokes, seizures and symptoms similar to encephalitis, and blood clots, in addition to tingling or numbness in the extremities. In some cases, patients experienced delirium even before fever or respiratory disease, according to Dr. Alessandro Padovani, an expert at the University of Brescia, Italy, where a separate unit for the care of those with Corona, who had neurological diseases, was opened.

Patients who develop encephalopathy are confused and feel lethargic, may be in a state of amazement, exhibit strange behavior or stare at the sky. They may also have seizures requiring immediate medical care, and experts warn health care providers who treat these patients that they may have the "Covid 19" virus, and that precautions are needed to protect themselves from infection.

Meanwhile, Dr. Sherry Zhao says that many neurological symptoms are still unknown, but efforts are underway to study the phenomenon. Zhao, a neurologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School, is leading a team of researchers for the Neurological Care Association.

On the other hand, the experts emphasized that most of the "Covid 19" patients are mentally normal. And that sees Robert Stevens, a neurologist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, who tracks neurological observations, "Most people (virus patients) appear awake and alert, and they seem to be neurotransmitters normal." Neurologists also say it is too early to release specific data or define the mechanisms by which the new coronavirus affects the nervous system.

Stevens stressed that all the mechanical explanations at this point are hypotheses because he knows very little, explaining, "It can be as simple as the low levels of oxygen in the bloodstream, caused by respiratory failure, along with increased carbon dioxide, which can It has a major impact on brain function, and leads to states of confusion and lethargy. "