October 9, 2020

Neuropathology of Patients with COVID-19 in Germany: A Post-Mortem Case Series

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Clinical Characteristics and Health Care Setting

Keywords (Tags): clinical characteristics

• A study of brain tissue from patients who died from COVID-19 indicated that 79% had pronounced neuroinflammatory changes in the brainstem and cerebellum, though in general, neuropathological changes seemed to be mild in most patients. SARS-CoV-2 was detected in 53% of the patients’ brains, and the study found no evidence for central nervous system damage directly caused by SARS-CoV-2. The authors highlight the need for future studies to validate these findings, as no age- or sex-matched controls were included.

Matschke et al. (Oct 2020). Neuropathology of Patients with COVID-19 in Germany: A Post-Mortem Case Series. The Lancet Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(20)30308-2