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Post-COVID cognitive impairment may represent an important clinical feature of the disease, and may impose an additional and long-lasting burden, especially psychiatric and cognitive issues, particularly among older adults. Moreover, understanding about the pathophysiology of the cognitive impairment following other viral infections will help to better understand the emergence of neuro-cognitive symptoms among COVID-19 survivors. To address this matter, we conducted a comprehensive literature review with different specialists (neurologists, geriatrists, psychiatrists, neuropsychologists), to address the available studies that investigated the occurrence of cognitive decline following the most prevalent acute viral infections. However, there is still a need of further theoretical studies, especially using a multi-specialist approach, to discuss further this matter and guide for future interventional studies. Some experts worldwide, including those from the Alzheimer’s Association, have been interested in studying this potential association, reviewing the most updated evidence towards this topic and proposing a cross-cultural prospective study to assess individuals reporting cognitive impairment and other neuropsychiatric complaints. This may be the case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which currently challenges physicians and health care professionals not only for its high mortality and severity of clinical manifestations, but also for emergence of atypical and unexpected clinical presentations, such as cognitive impairment. In this context, emerging infectious diseases, especially those affecting the population on a pandemic scale, should be monitored for potential neuropsychiatric compromise. Previous reviews have also addressed this topic however, most of them are not specific to acute viral infections, restricted to few viral infections (e.g. Mechanisms underlying viral pathogenesis in these conditions may include a direct viral effect or indirect mechanisms, such as inflammation, epigenetic changes, and hypercoagulable changes, that may impact on brain structure and function in healthy or in cognitively impaired individuals. Viruses, such as herpes viruses, cytomegalovirus, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Varicela zoster virus (VZV), Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), and Hepatitis C virus, have been implicated in Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis. In the last decades, the role of viral infections in cognitive impairment following has been widely discussed. Viral infections significantly impact world’s global burden of medical and neurological diseases.
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The high prevalence and the overlap of both conditions underscore the importance of a better understanding of the role of viral infections in the pathogenesis of dementia. Many studies have shown a direct influence of viral infections on cognition, especially in the development of MCI and dementia. Global prevalence of dementia in the population is 1.3%, and 7.3% in people aged 65 years or more, which is similar to those found in Latin American population. Of these, more than 50% will develop dementia. Population studies have shown that 3–19% of the population older than 65 years meet criteria for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Understanding this scenario might help clinicians and health leaders to deal better with a wave of neuropsychiatric issues that may arise following COVID-19 pandemic as well as with other acute viral infections, to alleviate the cognitive sequelae of these infections around the world.Ĭognitive impairment is a vital healthcare problem worldwide. Recent findings suggest probable short- and long-term COVID-19 impacts in cognition, even in asymptomatic individuals, which could be accounted for by direct and indirect pathways to brain dysfunction.
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To reach this goal, we conducted a narrative review systematizing six acute viral infections as well as the current knowledge about COVID-19 and its impact on human cognition.
![cid episode 1270 cid episode 1270](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pybnrw7szls/maxresdefault.jpg)
This article aims to review the state of the art regarding the knowledge about the impact of acute viral infections on human cognition, laying a foundation to explore the possible cognitive decline followed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Several theories have been proposed, to explain the cognitive decline following an infection as well as to understand better the pathogenesis of human dementia, especially Alzheimer’s disease. Recently, much attention has been drawn to the importance of the impact of infectious disease on human cognition.