Teodoro, Tiago, Chen, Jiaying, Gelauff, Jeannette et al. · European journal of neurology · 2023 · DOI
Researchers reviewed 102 studies about long COVID to see whether some of the neurological symptoms (such as brain fog, headaches, and dizziness) might be functional neurological disorder (FND)—a condition where the nervous system doesn't work properly without obvious physical damage. While these symptoms are common in long COVID, the studies didn't carefully look for the specific patterns that would help diagnose FND, so it remains unclear whether FND plays a role in long COVID.
This review highlights an important gap: neurological symptoms are extremely common in long COVID, but researchers have not adequately tested whether some cases might involve functional neurological processes triggered by acute infection. Understanding whether FND contributes to long COVID could inform diagnosis and treatment strategies, and improve recognition that multiple mechanisms (not just persistent viral infection or tissue damage) might underlie different patients' symptoms.
This study does not prove that FND causes or contributes to long COVID—it only shows that this hypothesis has not yet been rigorously tested. The review cannot establish the frequency of FND in long COVID populations, nor can it rule out FND as a mechanism. The similarities between some long COVID symptoms and FND are suggestive but not diagnostic without proper characterization studies.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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