RESUMEN
COVID-19 can affect many organ systems, including the CNS, with symptoms of altered mental status and seizures. We present a case of a 30-year-old man with cerebral palsy who developed seizures after a COVID-19 infection. Admission labs were remarkable for hypernatremia, and elevated creatine kinase, and troponin levels as well as creatinine above baseline. MRI was performed demonstrating a small, evolving acute/subacute abnormality in the midline splenium of the corpus callosum. An EEG showed moderate to severe abnormalities with low-voltage delta waves. The patient was treated with medication and advised to follow up with a neurologist. One month later, no residual CT abnormality corresponding to the previously reported lesion in the midline splenium of the corpus callosum was observed. Although epilepsy is a common finding in patients with cerebral palsy, the complete lack of seizure activity throughout this patient's early life, coupled with previously unremarkable brain imaging, further supports our claim that his recent onset of seizures was directly related to COVID-19. This case highlights the possibility of new seizures in patients with pre-existing neurological conditions after COVID-19 infection and emphasizes the need for more research.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Geminiviruses (family Geminiviridae) are prevalent plant viruses that imperil agriculture globally, causing serious damage to the livelihood of farmers, particularly in developing countries. The virus evolves rapidly, attributing to its single-stranded genome propensity, resulting in worldwide circulation of diverse and viable genomes. Genomics is a prominent approach taken by researchers in elucidating the infectious mechanism of the virus. Currently, the NCBI Viral Genome website is a popular repository of viral genomes that conveniently provides researchers a centralized data source of genomic information. However, unlike the genome of living organisms, viral genomes most often maintain peculiar characteristics that fit into no single genome architecture. By imposing a unified annotation scheme on the myriad of viral genomes may downplay their hallmark features. For example, the viron of begomoviruses prevailing in America encapsulates two similar-sized circular DNA components and both are required for systemic infection of plants. However, the bipartite components are kept separately in NCBI as individual genomes with no explicit association in linking them. Thus, our goal is to build a comprehensive Geminivirus genomics database, namely gb4gv, that not only preserves genomic characteristics of the virus, but also supplements biologically relevant annotations that help to interrogate this virus, for example, the targeted host, putative iterons, siRNA targets, etc. METHODS: We have employed manual and automatic methods to curate 508 genomes from four major genera of Geminiviridae, and 161 associated satellites obtained from NCBI RefSeq and PubMed databases. RESULTS: These data are available for free access without registration from our website. Besides genomic content, our website provides visualization capability inherited from UCSC Genome Browser. DISCUSSION: With the genomic information readily accessible, we hope that our database will inspire researchers in gaining a better understanding of the incredible degree of diversity of these viruses, and of the complex relationships within and between the different genera in the Geminiviridae. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: The database can be found at: http://gb4gv.lafayette.edu.