Acute Transverse Myelitis (ATM): An Unexpectedly Frequent Complication of COVID-19


Todd Ackerman A Houston Methodist-led team of researchers have found COVID-19 can result in an unexpectedly frequent occurrence of acute transverse myelitis (ATM), a rare but often devastating spinal cord disorder. The team’s study of documented pandemic cases found that 43 involved ATM, an inflammation of the spinal cord that prevents sensory and motor information […]

Could COVID-19 Be Causing This Rare Spinal Cord Disorder?


Can COVID-19 cause a rare spinal condition called transverse myelitis? Learn what TM is and see the evidence connecting the two conditions. The year 2020 has been one for the books: a worldwide pandemic, government shutdowns, quarantining, virtual learning, working from home, wearing masks, capacity restrictions, social distancing, you name it. COVID-19 has directly impacted […]

Covid-19: Two rare vaccine side effects detected in large global study


BMJ 2024; 384 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/ bmj.q488 (2024) The largest vaccine safety study to date has identified two new, but very rare, side effects associated with covid-19 vaccines—transverse myelitis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. The Global Vaccine Data Network cohort study included 99 million vaccinated people from 10 sites across eight countries. Researchers compared the observed with expected rate for 13 neurological, […]

COVID-19 and emerging spinal cord complications: A systematic review


Ritwick Mondal,a Shramana Deb,b Gourav Shome,c Upasana Ganguly,a Durjoy Lahiri,a,d,⁎ and Julián Benito-Leóne,f,g,⁎⁎ Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2021 Jun; 51: 102917.Published online 2021 Mar 21. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2021.102917 PMCID: PMC7981271 PMID: 33845350 Abstract Background : Spinal cord complications associated with coronavirus infectious disease of 2019 (COVID-19) are being widely reported. The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize so far available pieces of evidence documenting de novo novel severe […]

Spinal cord involvement in COVID-19: A review


Ravindra Kumar Garg,1 Vimal Kumar Paliwal,2 and Ankit Gupta2 J Spinal Cord Med. 2023; 46(3): 390–404. Published online 2021 Mar 11. doi: 10.1080/10790268.2021.1888022 PMCID: PMC10114972PMID: 33705268 Abstract Context: Recent literature points towards myelitis, like encephalitis, as a common central nervous system complication of COVID-19. This review elaborates on disorders of the spinal cord caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Objectives: To review the published data about […]

Coronavirus and the Nervous System


What is SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19? National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Coronaviruses are common causes of usually mild to moderate upper respiratory tract illnesses like the common cold, with symptoms that may include runny nose, fever, sore throat, cough, or a general feeling of being ill. However, a new coronavirus called Severe Acute Respiratory […]

Coronavirus and the Nervous System


What is SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19? What do we know about the effects of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 on the nervous system? What are the immediate (acute) effects of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 on the brain? What is the typical recovery from COVID-19? What are possible long-term neurological complications of COVID-19? How do the long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection/COVID-19 relate […]