Scientists at the Humboldt University of Berlin have proved that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is able to enter the brain through the olfactory nerve, causing direct damage to the central nervous system and dangerous neurological symptoms. The pathogen can also affect the respiratory and cardiovascular control center in the medulla oblongata. This is reported in an article published in the journal Natural Neuroscience.
Researchers have demonstrated the presence of viral RNA in various areas of the nasopharynx and the brain of COVID-19 patients. This confirms that SARS-CoV-2 is indeed capable of penetrating the central nervous system. Previously, it was thought that neurological symptoms manifest themselves indirectly through a violation of the immune system.
As the authors write, they observed pronounced neurotropism in the coronavirus, that is, the ability to infect nerve cells. It penetrates the mucous membrane in the nasal cavity and uses the proximity between the endothelial tissue, the olfactory mucosa and the nervous tissue, including the olfactory and sensory nerve endings, to propagate in the nervous system. Further, through neuroanatomical structures, it penetrates into important centers of the brain, causing neurological disorders.