Case fatality of COVID-19 in patients with neurodegenerative dementia. / Análisis de letalidad por COVID-19 en pacientes con demencia neurodegenerativa.

INTRODUCTION: The elderly population is the group most threatened by COVID-19, with the highest mortality rates. This study aims to analyse the case fatality of COVID-19 in a cohort of patients with degenerative dementia. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive case-control study of a sample of patients diagnosed with primary neurodegenerative dementia. RESULTS: Twenty-four of the 88 patients with COVID-19 included in the study died: 10/23 (43.4%) patients diagnosed with dementia and 14/65 (21.5%) controls; this difference was statistically significant. DISCUSSION: Our results suggest that case fatality of COVID-19 is significantly higher among patients with primary degenerative dementia than in other patients with similar mean ages and comorbidities.

Miller-Fisher syndrome after SARS-CoV-2 infection.

INTRODUCTION: On March 11th, 2020, the WHO declared the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic. Syndromes have been detected in relation to COVID-19 such as encephalitis, acute necrotizing hemorrhagic encephalopathy and cerebrovascular complications. There are also cases of peripheral nervous system involvement. METHODS: Our case would be the 3rd patient with MFS associated with COVID-19 as far as we know. RESULTS: We present a 51 years old female diagnosed with MFS two weeks after COVID-19. RTPCR to SARS-CoV-2 was negative but IgG was positive. CONCLUSION: Most of the cases were mild or moderate with typical signs and symptoms. All were treated with IV immunoglobulin with good response in most cases. Despite the short evolution time of the cases surviving the current pandemic, the description of cases of post-infectious neurological syndromes suggests that this is probably not an infrequent complication in the subacute stage of Covid-19 disease.

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases: a delayed pandemic? / Influencia de la infección SARS-CoV-2 sobre enfermedades neurodegenerativas y neuropsiquiátricas: ¿una pandemia demorada?

INTRODUCTION: SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan and has since spread across the world. At present, the virus has infected over 1.7 million people and caused over 100 000 deaths worldwide. Research is currently focused on understanding the acute infection and developing effective treatment strategies. In view of the magnitude of the epidemic, we conducted a speculative review of possible medium- and long-term neurological consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection, with particular emphasis on neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases of neuroinflammatory origin, based on the available evidence on neurological symptoms of acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. DEVELOPMENT: We systematically reviewed the available evidence about the pathogenic mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the immediate and lasting effects of the cytokine storm on the central nervous system, and the consequences of neuroinflammation for the central nervous system. CONCLUSIONS: SARS-CoV-2 is a neuroinvasive virus capable of triggering a cytokine storm, with persistent effects in specific populations. Although our hypothesis is highly speculative, the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the onset and progression of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases of neuroinflammatory origin should be regarded as the potential cause of a delayed pandemic that may have a major public health impact in the medium to long term. Cognitive and neuropsychological function should be closely monitored in COVID-19 survivors.

[Case fatality of COVID-19 in patients with neurodegenerative dementia]. / Análisis de letalidad por COVID-19 en pacientes con demencia neurodegenerativa.

Introduction: The elderly population is the group most threatened by COVID-19, with the highest mortality rates. This study aims to analyse the case fatality of COVID-19 in a cohort of patients with degenerative dementia. Methods: We conducted a descriptive case-control study of a sample of patients diagnosed with primary neurodegenerative dementia. Results: Twenty-four of the 88 patients with COVID-19 included in the study died: 10/23 (43.4%) patients diagnosed with dementia and 14/65 (21.5%) controls; this difference was statistically significant. Discussion: Our results suggest that case fatality of COVID-19 is significantly higher among patients with primary degenerative dementia than in other patients with similar mean ages and comorbidities.

[Myasthenia gravis induced by inmuno checkpoints inhibitors: first case report secondary to avelumab therapy and review of published cases]. / Miastenia grave inducida por tratamiento con inhibidores del punto de control inmunologico: primer caso secundario a avelumab y revision de casos previamente publicados.

INTRODUCTION: The inmuno checkpoints inhibitors are new revolutionary treatment for many neoplastic diseases in advanced stadium. There are described several types of neurological complications induced by nivolumab: polyneuropathy, seizures, radiculitis and myasthenia gravis disease. CASE REPORT: A 65 years old man with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma who presented myasthenia gravis disease induced by avelumab therapy with good response to treatment with pyridostigmine and withdrawal of avelumab. CONCLUSIONS: The exact mechanism by which this drug induces myasthenia gravis is still unknown and there is probably a different pathophysiological process to idiopathic myasthenia gravis. An important fact is the variability in the time of onset of myasthenia gravis after initiating treatment with inmuno checkpoints inhibitors. From the clinical point of view, most of the reported cases appeared with a generalized form of myasthenia gravis with bulbar involvement and later developed ophthalmoparesis and fluctuating palpebral ptosis. Our case as well as the review of the previous literature can be useful to alert the clinical neurologist about the possibility of the development of immune-mediated cases of this nature induced by the treatment with avelumab in clinical practice as well as to guide its clinical, prognostic and clinical characteristics.

TITLE: Miastenia grave inducida por tratamiento con inhibidores del punto de control inmunologico: primer caso secundario a avelumab y revision de casos previamente publicados.Introduccion. Los farmacos inhibidores del punto de control inmunologico han supuesto una revolucion en el tratamiento de varios procesos neoplasicos en estadio avanzado. Sin embargo, se han descrito numerosas complicaciones neurologicas, entre las que se encuentran polineuropatias, crisis epilepticas, radiculitis y miastenia grave. Caso clinico. Varon de 65 años con adenocarcinoma de pulmon en estadio IV en tratamiento con avelumab que desarrolla una miastenia grave ocular seropositiva, con buena respuesta a la piridostigmina y retirada de la medicacion. Conclusiones. El mecanismo exacto por el cual el avelumab induce una miastenia grave aun se desconoce, y probablemente existe un proceso fisiopatologico diferente al de la miastenia grave idiopatica. Un dato importante es la variabilidad en cuanto al tiempo de aparicion de la miastenia grave despues de iniciar el tratamiento con inhibidores del punto de control inmunologico. Desde el punto de vista clinico, la mayoria de los casos descritos comenzo con una forma de miastenia grave generalizada con afectacion bulbar que posteriormente desarrollo oftalmoparesia y ptosis palpebral fluctuante. Este caso, asi como la revision de la bibliografia, puede ser util para alertar al neurologo clinico sobre la posibilidad del desarrollo de cuadros inmunomediados de esta naturaleza inducidos por el tratamiento con avelumab en la practica clinica y para orientar sus caracteristicas clinicas, pronosticas y de tratamiento.