Shabani Zahra, Liu Jialing, Su Hua
Center for Cerebrovascular Research, University of California (San Francisco), San Francisco, CA 94131, USA.
Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, University of California (San Francisco), San Francisco, CA 94131, USA.
Biology (Basel). 2023 Aug 9;12(8):1106. doi: 10.3390/biology12081106.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a single-stranded RNA virus and a member of the corona virus family, primarily affecting the upper respiratory system and the lungs. Like many other respiratory viruses, SARS-CoV-2 can spread to other organ systems. Apart from causing diarrhea, another very common but debilitating complication caused by SARS-CoV-2 is neurological symptoms and cognitive difficulties, which occur in up to two thirds of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and range from shortness of concentration and overall declined cognitive speed to executive or memory function impairment. Neuro-cognitive dysfunction and "brain fog" are frequently present in COVID-19 cases, which can last several months after the infection, leading to disruption of daily life. Cumulative evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 affects vasculature in the extra-pulmonary systems directly or indirectly, leading to impairment of endothelial function and even multi-organ damage. The post COVID-19 long-lasting neurocognitive impairments have not been studied fully and their underlying mechanism remains elusive. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the effects of COVID-19 on vascular dysfunction and how vascular dysfunction leads to cognitive impairment in patients.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）是一种单链RNA病毒，属于冠状病毒科，主要影响上呼吸道系统和肺部。与许多其他呼吸道病毒一样，SARS-CoV-2可扩散至其他器官系统。除了引起腹泻外，SARS-CoV-2引起的另一种非常常见但使人虚弱的并发症是神经症状和认知困难，多达三分之二的住院COVID-19患者会出现这些症状，症状范围从注意力不集中和整体认知速度下降到执行功能或记忆功能受损。神经认知功能障碍和“脑雾”在COVID-19病例中很常见，感染后可持续数月，导致日常生活受到干扰。越来越多的证据表明，SARS-CoV-2直接或间接影响肺外系统的血管，导致内皮功能受损甚至多器官损伤。COVID-19后长期存在的神经认知障碍尚未得到充分研究，其潜在机制仍然不明。在这篇综述中，我们总结了目前对COVID-19对血管功能障碍的影响以及血管功能障碍如何导致患者认知障碍的理解。
