The neurological damage from COVID-19 has been reported from loss of senses to strokes, but the extent of the effects remain unknown.
"The story of how such a virus, with so little genetic information, can wreak havoc to our nervous system is really fascinating," Dr. Majid Fotuhi, medical director of NeuroGrow Brain Fitness Center and affiliate staff at Johns Hopkins Medicine, told CNN.
"There are people who have a measured response to the virus and their immune system can manage it without overreacting," Fotuhi added. "Healthy people who are asymptomatic are the ones who had just enough immune response to destroy the virus without creating a cytokine storm or blood clots."
This global coronavirus pandemic is as much widespread as it is novel, according to neuroinfectious disease expert at the University of California-San Francisco Dr. Felicia Chow.
"Neurologic involvement seems to be a prominent feature of this particular coronavirus," Chow told CNN. "What's been reported so far isn't really something that we see that commonly with at least certain types of respiratory viruses.
"But it's hard to say with the still limited information that we have. A much deeper dive is needed to understand the true neurologic burden and sequelae of this pandemic."
The key to reducing the impact of COVID-19 infection is the same as any for health experts: Diet, rest, and exercise.
A healthy lifestyle can help the immune system and "improve their odds of a faster and more favorable recovery," Fotuhi told CNN.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.