Three Types of Demyelination, Perivenous, Confluent, and Perineuronal Nets-Rich in a COVID-19 Patient With Meningoencephalomyelitis

• Published in: Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 15; no. 12; p. e51049
• Main Authors: Asano, Rei, Hayashi, Koji, Kawahara, Ei, Sato, Mamiko, Miura, Toyoaki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Cureus Inc 24.12.2023; Cureus
• Subjects: Antigens; Autopsies; Chondroitin sulfate; COVID-19; Encephalomyelitis; Gene amplification; Hyaluronic acid; Infections; Infectious Disease; Inflammation; Nervous system; Neurology; Pathogenesis; Pathology; Pneumonia; Proteins; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Spinal cord; venule; confluent demyelination; encephalitis; perineural nets; myelitis; perivenous demyelination; meningitis; covid-19; cytotoxic t cell; medulla oblongata
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.51049

Neurologic symptoms are common in COVID-19, and a variety of neuropathological changes have been reported. One of the important neuropathological findings is demyelination. However, the underlying pathogenesis of demyelination remained poorly understood. We witnessed a case of COVID-19 with distinct types of demyelination in the cerebrum, medulla oblongata, and spinal canal, who died of sepsis. The postmortem examination showed the solitary massive demyelination in the medulla oblongata. The massive lesion was filled with components of perineuronal nets. In the spinal canal, confluent demyelination in bilateral lateral and dorsal funiculi was detected over the entire length from C1 to S5, which was maximum at the level of cervical spinal canal stenosis. Demyelination in the cerebrum was mainly perivenular, and augmented in the area of lacunar infarcts and dilated perivascular spaces. Considering the distribution patterns of the following three types of demyelination, the traces of viral spreading could be highlighted. Discontinuous perivenous demyelination in the cerebrum showed the result of hematogenous spreading. Longitudinal confluent demyelination of the spinal cord should be the picturesque of the trace of axonal spreading. The distribution of demyelination was possibly modified by the underlying diseases, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and spinal canal stenosis.