Neurological features in SARS-CoV-2-infected patients with smell and taste disorder

By the end of February 2020, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) raided Northern Italy causing an exponential increase of cases. Newonset smell and taste disorders (STD) are common findings in SARS-CoV-2 patients [2], whereas severe neurological symptoms are less commonly observed. The question has been raised whether mild neurological symptoms indicate a neuroinvasive potential of SARS-CoV-2. Ability to invade the central nervous system (CNS) through the olfactory neuroepithelium has been demonstrated for previous strains of coronavirus [3]. Furthermore, nasal epithelial cells display a high expression of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor, angiotensinconverting enzyme 2. CNS involvement is supported by the observation of MRI abnormalities in the olfactory bulb of some patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and STD. We studied a cohort of SARS-CoV-2-infected patients with new-onset STD.