Guillain-Barré syndrome in SARS-CoV-2 infection: an instant systematic review of the first six months of pandemic

COVID-19 and the Pediatric Nervous System: Global Collaboration to Meet a Global Need

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected mortality and morbidity across all ages, including children. It is now known that neurological manifestations of COVID-19, ranging from headaches to stroke, may involve the central and/or peripheral nervous system at any age. Neurologic involvement is also noted in the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, a pediatric condition that occurs weeks after infection with the causative virus of COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Knowledge about mechanisms of neurologic disease is scarce but rapidly growing. COVID-19 neurologic manifestations may have particularly adverse impacts on the developing brain. Emerging data suggest a cohort of patients with COVID-19 will have longitudinal illness affecting their cognitive, physical, and emotional health, but little is known about the long-term impact on affected children and their families. Pediatric collaboratives have begun to provide important initial information on neuroimaging manifestations and the incidence of ischemic stroke in children with COVID 19. The Global Consortium Study of Neurologic Dysfunction in COVID-19-Pediatrics, a multinational collaborative, is working to improve understanding of the epidemiology, mechanisms of neurological manifestations, and the long-term implications of COVID-19 in children and their families.

Guillain-Barré syndrome in low-income and middle-income countries: challenges and prospects

The epidemiology, clinical characteristics, management and outcome of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) differ between low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC) and high-income countries (HIC). At present, limited data are available on GBS in LMIC and the true incidence of GBS in many LMIC remains unknown. Increased understanding of GBS in LMIC is needed because poor hygiene and high exposure to infections render populations in LMIC vulnerable to GBS outbreaks. Furthermore, insufficient diagnostic and health-care facilities in LMIC contribute to delayed diagnosis in patients with severe presentations of GBS. In addition, the lack of national clinical guidelines and absence of affordable, effective treatments contribute to worse outcomes and higher mortality in LMIC than HIC. Systematic population-based surveillance studies, cohort and case-control studies are required to understand the incidence and risk factors for GBS. Novel, targeted and cost-effective treatment strategies need to be developed in the context of health system challenges in LMIC. To ensure integrative rehabilitation services in LMIC, existing prognostic models must be validated, and responsive outcome measures that are cross-culturally applicable must be developed. Therefore, fundamental and applied research to improve the clinical management of GBS in LMIC should become a critical focus of future research programmes.

Involvement of the nervous system in COVID-19: The bell should toll in the brain

The world is fuming at SARS-CoV-2 for being the culprit for causing the devastating COVID-19, claiming millions of lives across the globe in the form of respiratory disorders. But lesser known are its effects on the CNS that are slowly surfacing in the worldwide population. Our review illustrates findings that claim SARS-CoV-2's arrival onto the ACE2 receptors of neuronal and glial cells mainly via CSF, olfactory nerve, trigeminal nerve, neuronal dissemination, and hematogenous pathways. The role of SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins in its smooth viral infectivity of the host cannot be ignored, especially the spike proteins that mediate spike attachment and host membrane fusion. Worth mentioning the nucleocapsid, envelope, and membrane proteins make the proliferation of SARS-CoV-2 much simpler than expected in spreading infection. This has led to catastrophic conditions like seizures, Guillain-Barré syndrome, viral encephalitis, meningoencephalitis, acute cerebrovascular disease, and respiratory failures. Placing a magnifying lens on the lesser-explored CNS consequences of COVID-19, we attempt to shift the focus of our readers onto the new supporting threats to which further studies are needed.

Neuromuscular Diseases Care in the Era of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed health systems to their limit and forced readjustment of standards of care for different pathologies. Management of neuromuscular diseases becomes a challenge since most of them are chronic, disabling, progressive, and/or require immunosuppressive drugs. There are three main aspects of COVID-19 that affect neuromuscular diseases care. The first one relates to how SARS-CoV2 directly affects different neuromuscular pathologies. Respiratory weakness, as seen in myasthenia gravis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and myopathies, and the use of immunomodulatory drugs (Myasthenia Gravis and Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy) make this group of patients potentially more vulnerable. Secondly, safety measures also affect proper care, limiting care continuity, and physical rehabilitation (one of the essential aspects of myopathies treatment). Telemedicine can partially solve the problem allowing for a continuum of close care, avoiding unnecessary visits, and even guaranteeing the attention of professionals from tertiary care centers. However, one of the crucial steps in neuromuscular diseases is diagnosis, and in most scenarios, more than one face-to-face visit is needed. Lastly, the global COVID-19 situation will also have an economic impact on patients and their families. This situation is of particular concern given that neuromuscular diseases already present difficulties due to the scarcity of resources in terms of public healthcare and research.

Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: A systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis

Several published reports have described a possible association between Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. This systematic review aimed to summarize and meta-analyze the salient features and prognosis of SARS-CoV-2-associated GBS. We searched the PubMed (Medline), Web of Science and Cochrane databases for articles published between 01 January 2020 and 05 August 2020 using SARS-CoV-2 and GBS-related keywords. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, antecedent symptoms, clinical, serological and electrophysiological features, and hospital outcomes were recorded. We included 45 articles from 16 countries reporting 61 patients with SARS-CoV-2-associated GBS. Most (97.7%) articles were from high- and upper-middle-income countries. Forty-two (68.9%) of the patients were male; median (interquartile range) age was 57 (49-70) years. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for SARS-CoV-2 was positive in 90.2% of patients. One report of SARS-CoV-2-associated familial GBS was found which affected a father and daughter of a family. Albuminocytological dissociation in cerebrospinal fluid was found in 80.8% of patients. The majority of patients (75.5%) had a demyelinating subtype of GBS. Intravenous immunoglobulin and plasmapheresis were given to 92.7% and 7.3% of patients, respectively. Around two-thirds (65.3%) of patients had a good outcome (GBS-disability score ≤ 2) on discharge from hospital. Two patients died in hospital. SARS-CoV-2-associated GBS mostly resembles the classical presentations of GBS that respond to standard treatments. Extensive surveillance is required in low- and lower-middle-income countries to identify and report similar cases/series. Further large-scale case-control studies are warranted to strengthen the current evidence. PROSPERO Registration Number CRD42020201673.

Guillain-Barré syndrome after COVID-19 in Japan

We report the first case of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in Japan. A 54-year-old woman developed neurological symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection. We tested for various antiganglioside antibodies, that had not been investigated in previous cases. The patient was diagnosed with GBS based on neurological and electrophysiological findings; no antiganglioside antibodies were detected. In previous reports, most patients with SARS-CoV-2-infection-related GBS had lower limb predominant symptoms, and antiganglioside antibody tests were negative. Our findings support the notion that non-immune abnormalities such as hyperinflammation following cytokine storms and microvascular disorders due to vascular endothelial damage may lead to neurological symptoms in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our case further highlights the need for careful diagnosis in suspected cases of GBS associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection.