Treatment in post-COVID syndrome – nicergoline as the therapeutic potential in reduction symptoms of COVID brain fog Review article

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 virus, causing the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), bring about pandemic that made unprecedently repercussions on global health, social and economic. Over 200 million people fell ill worldwide, including about 3 million in Poland [1]. Clinical observations indicate that many patients after an acute period of the COVID-19 still report chronic symptoms/symptoms resulting from dysfunction of various organs and systems [2, 3] despite the virus RNA is no longer detected. The persistence of symptoms/symptoms 4 weeks after the onset of SARS-CoV-2 infection is called the post-COVID syndrome. The available reports on the health consequences of COVID-19 shows that the post-COVID syndrome is quite common. Majority of the observations indicate that the more severe course of SARS-CoV-2 infection (defined e.g., as the need for hospitalization in the intensive care unit or the need for passive and/or active ventilation) predisposes to post-COVID syndrome, including: increased risk of symptoms  from nervous system [4–6]. These symptoms, including the neuro-COVID syndrome, may occur during acute, subacute or chronic COVID-19 phase [7]. Both, the central and peripheral nervous systems, can be affected. In the first case, it is mostly manifested by vascular incidents, brain inflammatory diseases and cognitive disorders (so-called: ‘covid brain fog’); in the second: mostly smell and taste disorders as well as various forms of neuropathy and myopathy. SARS-CoV-2 infection may also lead to the exacerbation of chronic neurological diseases and also have an impact on current treatment. All these complications need to be treated. The pandemic took the world by surprise, so new ways of treating complications are still being sought and practiced on an ongoing basis. In the neurological complications – especially in order to prevent cerebrovascular incidents and improve cognitive functioning in the course of covid brain fog – the use of nicergoline seems to be appropriate and effective.