Psychological Aspects of Neuroinflammatory Disorders in COVID-19 Era

Abstract

Although the COVID-19 pandemic was initially manifested as a contagious respiratory infection, its other aspects quickly became apparent. Accordingly, the disease could affect various organs such as skin, digestive system, and the central nervous system. Apart from these diverse manifestations, it was rapidly cleared that the virus could potentially play a role in causing a wide range of autoimmune diseases. Moreover, various anthropological aspects of COVID-19 and its effects on human life were considered. In this regard, one of the important issues is its psychological effects, not only on the population of healthy people, but also on people suffering from underlying diseases. Inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system are included as one group of these diseases. Since these diseases can cause many psychological problems in patients, it is very important to pay attention to them during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the following section, the psychological aspects of COVID-19 in patients with neuroinflammatory diseases are described.

Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis Patients’ Knowledge and Behavioral Practice Regarding COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia

“…Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19) is an infectious disease caused by a coronavirus subtype called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 is a ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus that may lead to mild disease (fever, dry cough, and shortness of breath) or severe, critical disease (respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome [ARDS], and multiple organ dysfunction syndromes [MODS]) [1,2].…”

“…The disease's progressive nature predominates, and PRMS is thought to be quite similar to PPMS; superimposed relapses affect around 10-15% of persons with PPMS [17,18]. COVID-19 may cause MS patients stress, including anxiety, depression, and panic attacks, and increase respiratory diseases, such as severe pneumonia and pulmonary edema, which may develop into ARDS [19,20]. COVID-19 is a viral infection that may exacerbate the disease and its relapses.…”