Neurological side effects of SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccinations

Abstract

Though SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations are usually sold as well tolerated, they can cause mild-to-severe side effects in some patients. 1 Since the benefit for the global population outweighs these adverse reactions, and since political and pecuniary interests create the image of a "safe and indispensable" tool against the currently dominant global burden, there is only moderate reporting and discussion about them. 2There is also an anti-vaccine movement in the world nowadays that also contributes to the biased assessment of these adverse effects.Usually, single case reports, case series, or registration studies report these side effects but systematic, transnational, multicenter, postmarketing investigations on this matter are infrequently done. This shortage of published information about type, frequency, severity, and therapeutic management of vaccination-related side effects is in contradiction to the daily experience of healthcare workers and affected probands, and may contribute to the individual or organized resistance and reservations against the vaccination from parts of the populations, the only moderate effect of vaccination campaigns, and the tendency to introduce compulsory vaccination. 3 Neurological side effects to SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations are usually mild, of short duration, self-limiting, and ambulatorily manageable.However, in some cases, these side effects are severe and require hospitalization or even admission to an intensive care unit (ICU). 4 Only, rarely these side effects can be fatal. 5 Since the virus and the adverse reactions to vaccinations show a tropism for neuronal structures and tissues this narrative review about the neurological side effects was conducted to collect and discuss published data in order to discover type, frequency, treatment, and outcome of these side effects and to eventually discover if certain patients are prone to

Neurological Conditions Following COVID-19 Vaccinations: Chance or Association?

“…SARS-CoV-2 and adverse reactions to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines exhibit a tropism for neuronal structures and tissues [ 9 ]. Molecular mimicry has been proposed as a pathogenic mechanism for COVID-19 vaccine-related neurological side effects [ 10 , 11 ].…”

“…This was following the administration of 51,755,447 dosages of the COVID-19 vaccines [ 4 ]. Finsterer [ 9 ] in his review paper published in November 2021, reported 11 published cases of transverse myelitis following COVID-19 vaccines, listing this complication as the fourth most common neurological serious adverse effect. Seven cases occurred following the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine while one published case occurred after an mRNA vaccine (Moderna) [ 9 ].…”

“…Finsterer [ 9 ] in his review paper published in November 2021, reported 11 published cases of transverse myelitis following COVID-19 vaccines, listing this complication as the fourth most common neurological serious adverse effect. Seven cases occurred following the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine while one published case occurred after an mRNA vaccine (Moderna) [ 9 ]. Fitzsimmons and Nance [ 22 ] described a case in which a 63-year-old male developed symptoms of transverse myelitis one day after the second dose of an mRNA vaccine (Moderna).…”

Letter to the Editor Regarding: What Triggers Takotsubo After a SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination? Heart Lung Circ. 2021;30(12):e119–20

“…Since SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations of any brand are not free of side effects [ 6 ], it would be interesting to know if the index patient reported any complaints in addition to fever and dyspnoea. Since headache is the most frequent neurological side effect and since headache can trigger TTS, we would like to know if the patient complained of a headache.…”

“…Since the third most frequent neurological side effect of SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations is venous sinus thrombosis (VST), and VST is compulsorily associated with headache, we would like to know if there were any indications for VST. Since Guillain Barre syndrome (GBS) is the second most frequent neurological side effect of SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations [ 6 ], and GBS can go along with dysautonomia either in association with motor or sensory deficits or without, we would like to know if pure dysautonomic GBS was appropriately excluded. The authors themselves consider a sympatho-vagal imbalance towards adrenergic predominance as a possible pathophysiological mechanism.…”