Virus can infect central nervous system
Print Edition
CHINESE doctors have proved for the first time that the novel coronavirus can cause damage to patients’ central nervous system.
Doctors from Beijing Ditan Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, a designated institution treating COVID-19 disease, announced yesterday that they have cured a male patient whose cerebrospinal fluid had the virus.
Previous studies show that COVID-19 may attack multiple organs, including kidneys, livers and heart, but there are no records about the central nervous system damage.
The patient, 56, was diagnosed with COVID-19 on January 24. He had severe symptoms and failed to respond to regular treatment, according to a hospital statement.
In the intensive care unit, the patient developed symptoms associated with decreased consciousness, though there were no abnormal signs on his head CT images.
The medical staff then conducted gene sequencing on samples of his cerebrospinal fluid and confirmed the presence of COVID-19, diagnosing the patient with encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain.
After the treatment of viral encephalitis, the patient’s neurological symptoms gradually disappeared. He was transferred to the infectious ward on February 18 and was discharged from the hospital on February 25.
Researchers have previously found that the SARS virus and the MERS virus can also invade patients’ nervous systems.
As of Wednesday, the hospital had offered medical treatment to 150 COVID-19 infected patients and found one case with brain inflammation.
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