Reader Response: EEG Abnormalities and Their Radiographic Correlates in a COVID-19 Inpatient Cohort
Nitin K.Sethi, Associate Professor of Neurology, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY 10065
Submitted December 26, 2021
I read with interest the results of the study by Hwang et al. studying EEG abnormalities and corresponding radiological correlates in a cohort of admitted COVID-19 patients.1 It is still unclear whether neurological symptoms are due to the direct neurotoxic effect of SARS-CoV-2 or more likely a systemic effect of virus-mediated inflammation leading to a cytokine storm and aberrant immune response.2 EEG findings in admitted patients are not unique to infection with SARS-COV2 infection. They merely reflect the degree of cerebral dysfunction and severity of CNS involvement by the disease process. Similar to other infectious/inflammatory disease processes, EEG abnormalities mirror structural damage on imaging and vice versa.
Disclosure
The author reports no relevant disclosures. Contact journal@neurology.org for full disclosures.
References
Hwang ST, Ballout AA, Sonti AN, Kapyur A, Kirsch C, Singh N, Markowitz N, Leung TM, Chong DJ, Temes R, Pacia SV, Kuzniecky RI, Najjar S. EEG Abnormalities and Their Radiographic Correlates in a COVID-19 Inpatient Cohort. Neurol Clin Pract Oct 2021, 10.1212/CPJ.0000000000001136; DOI: 10.1212/CPJ.0000000000001136
Ramani A, Pranty AI, Gopalakrishnan J. Neurotropic Effects of SARS-CoV-2 Modeled by the Human Brain Organoids. Stem Cell Reports. 2021 Mar 9;16(3):373-384. doi: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2021.02.007. Epub 2021 Feb 12. PMID: 33631123; PMCID: PMC7879157.
I read with interest the results of the study by Hwang et al. studying EEG abnormalities and corresponding radiological correlates in a cohort of admitted COVID-19 patients.1 It is still unclear whether neurological symptoms are due to the direct neurotoxic effect of SARS-CoV-2 or more likely a systemic effect of virus-mediated inflammation leading to a cytokine storm and aberrant immune response.2 EEG findings in admitted patients are not unique to infection with SARS-COV2 infection. They merely reflect the degree of cerebral dysfunction and severity of CNS involvement by the disease process. Similar to other infectious/inflammatory disease processes, EEG abnormalities mirror structural damage on imaging and vice versa.
Disclosure
The author reports no relevant disclosures. Contact journal@neurology.org for full disclosures.
References