Olfactory nerve;

Is loss of sense of smell or taste much less common in Omicron-related Covid-19 compared to earlier strains of SARS-CoV-2?

FA Manian MD, MPH, , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Absolutely! Although loss of smell was a cardinal symptom of Covid-19 with earlier strains of SARS-CoV-2 (eg, Wuhan, alpha, delta), on average omicron causes olfactory dysfunction in only 13% of patients, 3-4 times lower than the earlier strains.1

But why is omicron less likely to causes loss of smell or taste? There may be at least 2 explanations. First explanation revolves around the solubility of omicron in the olfactory mucus. Recall that to access the olfactory epithelium, viruses and other pathogens have to first dissolve in and penetrate the mucus layer that not only allows odorants to reach the olfactory receptors but also protects the olfactory epithelium from toxins and pathogens. Hydrophilic and acid proteins can penetrate the mucus barrier more easily because they are more soluble in the mucus layer.1

What does this have to do with omicron? Well, it turns out that omicron with all its mutations in the spike protein is actually more alkaline than the Wuhan and delta strains. This means that omicron may have lower solubility in mucus and have a harder time reaching and infecting the olfactory epithelium. 1 Since the composition of olfactory mucous differs significantly from other mucus layers in the respiratory tract, omicron may still cause disease.2

Another potential mechanism may be related to the inefficiency of omicron in other steps necessary to infect nonneuronal cells of the olfactory epithelium within the nasal cavity, such as the endosomal route. 1 It turns out that cells of the olfactory epithelium express less of the endosomal membrane fusion proteases (cathepsins) which omicron prefers for cell entry! Fascinating! 

Bonus Pearl: Did you know that only 5-10% of functional olfactory neurons are required for a relatively normal sense of smell? This means that SARS-CoV-2 needs to eliminate at least 90% of all support cells of the olfactory neurons within a 3-4 day period (before their regeneration) for the host to notice anosmia?

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References

  1. Butowt R, Bilinska K, von Bartheld C. Why does the omicron variant largely spare olfactory function? Implications for the pathogenesis of anosmia in coronavirus disease 2019. J Infect Dis 2022;226:1304-1308. Why Does the Omicron Variant Largely Spare Olfactory Function? Implications for the Pathogenesis of Anosmia in Coronavirus Disease 2019 – PubMed (nih.gov)
  2. Yoshikawa K, Wang H, Jaen C, et al. The human olfactory cleft mucus proteome and its age-related changes. Sci Rep 2018;8:17170. The human olfactory cleft mucus proteome and its age-related changes – PMC (nih.gov)
  3. Harding JW, Getchell TV, Margolis FL. Degeneration of the primary olfactory pathway in mice. V. Long-term effect of intranasal ZNS04 irrigation on behavior, biochemistry and morphology. Brain Res 1978;140:271-85. Denervation of the primary olfactory pathway in mice. V. Long-term effect of intranasal ZnSO4 irrigation on behavior, biochemistry and morphology – PubMed (nih.gov)

Disclosures: The listed questions and answers are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of Mercy Hospital-St. Louis, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Catalyst, Harvard University, their affiliate academic healthcare centers, or its contributors. Although every effort has been made to provide accurate information, the author is far from being perfect. The reader is urged to verify the content of the material with other sources as deemed appropriate and exercise clinical judgment in the interpretation and application of the information provided herein. No responsibility for an adverse outcome or guarantees for a favorable clinical result is assumed by the author. Thank you!

Is loss of sense of smell or taste much less common in Omicron-related Covid-19 compared to earlier strains of SARS-CoV-2?

How common are neurological symptoms in patients with Covid-19 infection?

FA Manian MD, MPH, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Although we usually think of it as primarily a respiratory tract disease, neurological manifestations with Covid-19 are not at all uncommon,1-6 occurring in over one-third of hospitalized patients with Covid-19 according to one medRxiv report.1

In a Chinese study1 involving 214 hospitalized patients with Covid-19, 36.4% had 1 or more neurological symptoms, with the majority involving the central nervous system (CNS) (25.0%), of which the most common complaints were dizziness (17%) and headache (13.0%). Some patients (9.0%) had cranial nerve/peripheral nerve complaints of which the most common were difficulty with taste (hypogeusia) (6.0%) and sense of smell (hyposmia) (5.0%).  A fewer number of patients had impaired consciousness, acute cerebrovascular disease (including ischemic stroke and cerebral hemorrhage). Although not strictly-speaking a neurological manifestation, the study also reported “muscle injury” in ~20.0% of patients     (defined as myalgia plus CK >200 IU/L).

Descriptions of Covid-19 encephalopathy, including one associated with acute hemorrhagic necrotizing process, are also beginning to appear in the literature.3-5 Reports of “Neuro-Covid-19 units” in Italy further underlines the common occurrence of neurological symptoms in these patients.6

More than one mechanism for neurological complications in Covid-19 are likely,  including:1-2

  1. Direct viral invasion into the CNS which could explain the associated headache, high fever, vomiting, convulsions, and consciousness disorders. Some have reported normal CSF parameters but a report of PCR positive CSF suggests direct injury from the virus itself.2 Covid-19 virus may gain access to the CNS through direct invasion of neuronal pathways (eg. olfactory nerve given recent reports of difficulty with sense of smell) or through blood circulation.
  2. Indirect CNS injury through extreme systemic derangements such as hypoxia, or immune/inflammatory response-related injury (eg, through cytokines, hypercoagulability related to infection). Some have also posited that binding of Covid-19 virus to ACE2 may cause abnormally elevated blood pressure and increase the risk of cerebral hemorrhage.2

The fact that Covid-19 is so versatile and affects the nervous system as well shouldn’t surprise us. Neurological complications have been reported with couple of other related respiratory Coronaviruses such as those of SARS and MERS.2

 

Bonus pearl: Did you know that as early 1970-80s some coronaviruses were shown to cause “nasoencephalopathy” when injected intranasally in mice with subsequent spread to the CNS through the olfactory nerve?7 Maybe we shouldn’t be too surprised that sense of smell is impaired in some Covid-19 patients. If we could only stop the virus at the nose!

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References

  1. Mao L, Wang M, Chen S, et al. Neurological manifestations of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective case series study. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.02.22.20026500v1
  2. Wu Y, Xu X, Chen Z, et al. Nervous system involvement after infection with COVID-19 and other coronaviruses. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 2020, March 30. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159120303573
  3. Xiang et al. 2020. First case of 2019 novel Coronavirus disease with encephalitis. ChinaXiv, T202003 (2020), p. 00015 (obtained from reference 2).
  4. Poyiadji N, Shain G, Noujaim D, et al. COVID-19-associated acute hemorrhagic necrotizing encephalopathy: CT and MRI features. Radiology 2020 https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.2020201187
  5. Filatov A, Sharma P, Hindi F, et al. Neurological complications of coronavirus (COVID-19): encephalopathy. Cureus 12(3): e7352. DOI 10.7759/cureus.7352 https://www.cureus.com/articles/29414-neurological-complications-of-coronavirus-disease-covid-19-encephalopathy
  6. Talan J. COVID-19: Neurologists in Italy to Colleagues in US: Look for poorly-defined neurologic conditions in patients with the Coronavirus. Neurology Today 2020, March 27. https://journals.lww.com/neurotodayonline/blog/breakingnews/pages/post.aspx?PostID=920
  7. Perlman S, Jacobsen G, Afifi A. Spread of a neurotropic murine Coronavirus into the CNS via the trigeminal and olfactory nerves. Virology 1989;170:556-560 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0042682289904467

Disclosures: The listed questions and answers are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Catalyst, Harvard University, its affiliate academic healthcare centers, or its contributors. Although every effort has been made to provide accurate information, the author is far from being perfect. The reader is urged to verify the content of the material with other sources as deemed appropriate and exercise clinical judgment in the interpretation and application of the information provided herein. No responsibility for an adverse outcome or guarantees for a favorable clinical result is assumed by the author. Thank you!

How common are neurological symptoms in patients with Covid-19 infection?