Abstract:
Background and Objectives: Its well known that the COVID-19 is disease causes a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), less known that the COVID-19 can attach the brain through the olfactory nerve in the nasal cavity and damage neurons that control breathing of central nervous system (CNS). The aim of this study is to understand the multiple adverse impact of the COVID-19 on mental and neurological health, to urge the physicians and healthcare staff to apply psychological first aid regarding the anxiety and stress as well as to attract specific attention to the neurological implications.
Methods: A literature research was carried out through PubMed and Psyc INFO between 1990 and 2020. One hundred and fifteen articles were recruited. A first part of this review describes the COVID-19 crisis and consequences. The second part focuses on research about the interrelation between COVID-19, mental and neurological diseases.
Results: It reveals that the Psychological and behavioural states and CNS processes are associated with immune functions and there is a relationship between stress, anxiety and the immune system. Long-term anxiety and panic attacks based on the COVID-19 pandemic can cause the brain to release stress hormones on a regular basis which weakness the immune system. It also reveals that third of the COVID-19 Chinese patients had damage in the nervous system which cause a severe acute respiratory syndrome.
Conclusion: Anxiety and stress (AS) can be serious symptom of the COVID-19 pandemic. AS can cause the brain to release stress hormones that weakness the immune system which in turn infect the body with the COVID-19. The corona virus can go into the brain trans-neuronally through the olfactory pathways to cause serious complication. Hence, the respiratory syndrome can occur due to brainstem involvement. Thus, brain imaging and pathological evaluation of the brain are necessary to understand the full impact of the COVID-19.
