NEUROINFLAMMATION AND BRAIN FUNCTION: POSSIBLE IMPLICATIONS IN CHILDREN INFECTED WITH COVID-19

COVID-19, the disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), affects children differently than adults, with milder symptoms. However, several cases of neurological manifestations with neuroinflammatory syndromes, such as multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), have been reported following infection. As with other viral infections such as rubella, influenza, and cytomegalovirus, SARS-CoV-2 causes a massive release of pro-inflammatory cytokines that affect microglial function, which can be critical for brain development. Along with viral induction of neuroinflammation, other non-infectious conditions may interact to cause additional inflammation, such as imbalances in fatty acid and polyunsaturated fatty acid diets and alcohol consumption during pregnancy. In addition, transient thyrotoxicosis caused by SARS-CoV-2 has been reported, with secondary autoimmune hypothyroidism that may go unnoticed during pregnancy. Together, these factors may represent an additional risk of infection by influencing neurodevelopmental mechanisms such as synaptic pruning and the formation of neuronal ensembles. In this review, we discuss these conditions to consider and the possible occurrence of neurodevelopmental disorders in children infected with COVID-19.