Inflammatory Cytokine Patterns Associated with Neurological Diseases in Coronavirus Disease 2019

Espíndola, Otávio M.; Gomes, Yago C. P.; Brandão, Carlos Otávio; Torres, Rafael C.; Siqueira, Marilda; Soares, Cristiane N.; Lima, Marco Antonio S. D.; Leite, Ana Claudia C. B.; Venturotti, Carolina O.; Carvalho, Ana Julia C.; Torezani, Guilherme; Araujo, Abelardo Q. C.; Silva, Marcus Tulius T.

Patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) can present with distinct neurological manifestations. This study shows that inflammatory neurological diseases were associated with increased levels of interleukin (IL)‐2, IL‐4, IL‐6, IL‐10, IL‐12, chemokine (C‐X‐C motif) ligand 8 (CXCL8), and CXCL10 in the cerebrospinal fluid. Conversely, encephalopathy was associated with high serum levels of IL‐6, CXCL8, and active tumor growth factor β1. Inflammatory syndromes of the central nervous system in COVID‐19 can appear early, as a parainfectious process without significant systemic involvement, or without direct evidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 neuroinvasion. At the same time, encephalopathy is mainly influenced by peripheral events, including inflammatory cytokines. ANN NEUROL 2021