“Neurocovid”: An Analysis of the Impact of Covid-19 on the Older Adults. Evolving Psychological and Neuropsychological Understanding
Open Access
- 8 December 2021
- book chapter
- Published by IntechOpen
Abstract
When SARS-CoV-2 began to spread, older adults experienced disproportionately greater adverse effects from the pandemic, including exacerbation of pre-existing physical and cognitive frailty conditions. More severe complications, higher mortality, and concerns about disruptions to their daily routines and access to care. Knowledge about the impact of COVID-19 on the brain is rapidly accumulating and this is reflected in the increasing use of the term “neurocovid”. Co-involvement of the central and peripheral nervous system had already been observed in SARS patients, but COVID-19 seems to invade it with greater affinity than other coronaviruses. This chapter provides an overview of the expanding understanding of the multiple ways in which COVID-19 affects the human brain, discuss the likelihood of long-term sequelae of neurocovid, and their implications for cognitive functions and behaviors in the elderly.Keywords
This publication has 61 references indexed in Scilit:
- Evidence of the COVID-19 Virus Targeting the CNS: Tissue Distribution, Host–Virus Interaction, and Proposed Neurotropic MechanismsACS Chemical Neuroscience, 2020
- Mechanisms Linking Olfactory Impairment and Risk of MortalityFrontiers in Neuroscience, 2020
- Vulnerability and Social Exclusion: Risk in Adolescence and Old AgePublished by IntechOpen ,2019
- Delirium in Older PersonsJAMA, 2017
- Human Coronavirus OC43 Associated with Fatal EncephalitisThe New England Journal of Medicine, 2016
- Psychological impact on SARS survivors: Critical review of the English language literature.Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne, 2015
- Brain Pathology Contributes to Simultaneous Change in Physical Frailty and Cognition in Old AgeThe Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 2014
- Determinants of FrailtyJournal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2010
- Possible Central Nervous System Infection by SARS CoronavirusEmerging Infectious Diseases, 2004
- Frailty in Older Adults: Evidence for a PhenotypeThe Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 2001