Neurological Research and Practice (Sep 2023)

No evidence for neuronal damage or astrocytic activation in cerebrospinal fluid of Neuro-COVID-19 patients with long-term persistent headache

  • Laura de Boni,
  • Alexandru Odainic,
  • Natalie Gancarczyk,
  • Luisa Kaluza,
  • Christian P. Strassburg,
  • Xenia A. K. Kersting,
  • Ullrich Wüllner,
  • Susanne V. Schmidt,
  • Gabor C. Petzold

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s42466-023-00277-1
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 5, no. 1
pp. 1 – 4

Abstract

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Abstract Headache is one of the most common neurological manifestations of COVID-19, but it is unclear whether chronic headache as a symptom of Post-COVID-19 is associated with ongoing CNS damage. We compared cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of markers of CNS damage and inflammation in Post-COVID-19 patients with persistent headache to hospitalized acute COVID-19 patients with neurological symptoms and to non-COVID-19 disease-controls. CSF levels of neurofilament light chain, Ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase L1 and Tau were similar in patients with persistent headache in post-COVID-19 compared to acute COVID-19 patients and all control groups. Levels of glial fibrillary astrocytic protein were lower in patients with persistent headache in post-COVID-19 compared to some control groups of patients with neurological disease. Therefore, our pilot study of CSF markers indicates that persistent post-COVID-19 headache is not a sign of underlying neuronal damage or glial activation.

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