ABSTRACT
Despite the advantages of getting access to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines, their potential ability to induce severe adverse events (AEs) has been a significant concern. Neurological complications are significant among the various adverse events following immunization (AEFI) due to their likely durability and debilitating sequelae. Neurological AEs following COVID-19 vaccination can either exacerbate or induce new-onset neuro-immunologic diseases, such as myasthenia gravis (MG) and Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). The more severe spectrum of AEs post-COVID19 vaccines has included seizures, reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus, strokes, GBS, Bell's palsy, transverse myelitis (TM), and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). Here, we discuss each of these neurological adverse effects separately.
ABSTRACT
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The latest data show that more than 211.7 million people were infected and more than 4.4 million deaths have been reported. The illness presents a wide range of symptoms, ranging from mild to severe. Mild symptoms include cough, fever, dyspnea, fatigue, myalgia and arthralgia, anosmia, and dysgeusia. Furthermore, this virus can affect the central nervous system (CNS) and present a range of mild to severe nervous symptoms, from headache and dysphoria to loss of consciousness, coma, paralysis, and acute cerebrovascular disease. The virus can enter nonneuronal cells of the olfactory epithelium and cause a complete loss of smell. Anosmia and hyposmia are commonly reported in clinics, and being asymptomatic or showing mild symptoms can be primary symptoms in early infected persons. Dysgeusia/hypogeusia is another symptom presented with anosmia/hyposmia. In this article, we reviewed the articles of anosmia and suggested a possible mechanism for this.