Risk factors of long-term brain health outcomes after hospitalization for critical illness.

Background: Brain health may be impaired years after hospitalization for critical illness, and similar impairments occur after hospitalization for COVID-19. However, it remains unclear which patients are most likely to experience long-term brain health consequences and whether these adverse events differ between non-COVID critical illness and COVID-19.

Methods: In a prospective observational study, we enrolled patients hospitalized for (1) non-COVID critical illness (pneumonia, myocardial infarction, or ICU-requiring conditions) or for (2) COVID-19, from March 2020 to June 2021.

Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in the cerebrospinal fluid of COVID-19 patients and vaccinated controls: a multicentre study.

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of COVID-19 patients possibly reflect blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCB) disruption due to systemic inflammation. However, some studies indicate that CSF antibodies signal a neurotropic infection. Currently, larger studies are needed to clarify this, and it is unknown if CSF antibodies appear solely after infection or also after COVID-19 vaccination.

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This review summarises the current knowledge of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome which is an acute and severe neurological condition characterised by headache, encephalopathy, epileptic seizures, and visual disturbances. Typical radiological findings are cerebral vasogenic oedema, predominantly localised in the posterior cerebral circulation. The exact pathophysiological mechanisms remain unknown but involve dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier.

The Pupillary Light-Off Reflex in Acute Disorders of Consciousness.

Background: In intensive care patients with disorders of consciousness, the pupillary light reflex is a measure of pupillary parasympathetic function. By contrast, the pupillary light-off reflex leads to pupil dilation in response to an abrupt change from light to darkness ("light-off") and reflects combined parasympathetic and sympathetic pupillary function. To our knowledge, this reflex has not been systematically investigated in patients with disorders of consciousness.