COVID-19 and neurodegenerative diseases: reciprocal impacts, medical care strategies and underlying mechanisms

ABSTRACT

Objective: To elucidate the relationship between COVID-19 and neurodegenerative diseases. Background(s) Recently, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with neurodegenerative disease, as well as the specific neurological manifestations of COVID-19 have aroused great interests. However, there are still many issues of concern to us that need to be clarified. Method(s) We reviewed the current literature on the complex relationship between neurodegenerative diseases [including Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD)] and COVID-19. We summarized the impact of COVID-19 infection on symptom severity, disease progression and mortality of neurodegenerative disease, and discussed whether COVID-19 infection could trigger neurodegenerative disease. The vulnerability to COVID-19 infection and prognosis of COVID-19 positive individuals in patients with neurodegenerative disease were also included. Modification of care strategy, specific drug therapies and vaccines during the pandemic were also listed. At last, mechanisms underlying the link between COVID-19 and neurodegenerative disease were reviewed. Result(s) There is an interaction between COVID-19 infection and neurodegenerative diseases, including worsening symptomatic severity and accelerating neurodegeneration by COVID-19 infection in PD and AD patients, and vice versa, neurodegenerative diseases increasing the vulnerability to COVID-19 infection and enhancing the risks of hospitalization and death after virus infection. Many potential molecular and cellular pathways were hypothesized to be the link between COVID-19 infection and neurodegenerative diseases, but further studies are still needed to verify the mechanisms. COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly changed the way of medical care, telemedicine, vaccines and specific drug therapies are promising for the better management of PD and AD patients [Table 1] [Table2]. Conclusion(s) COVID-19 and neurodegenerative diseases have reciprocal impact on each other.