Activation of the trigeminal system as a likely target of SARS-CoV-2 may contribute to anosmia in COVID-19

Meßlinger K, Neuhuber W, May A (2021)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Journal

Cephalalgia Sage Publications

DOI: 10.1177/03331024211036665

Abstract

Clinical publications show consistently that headache is a common symptom in the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19). Several studies specifically investigated headache symptomatology and associated features in patients with COVID-19. The headache is frequently debilitating with manifold characters including migraine-like characteristics. Studies suggested that COVID-19 patients with headache vs. those without headache are more likely to have anosmia. We present a pathophysiological hypothesis which may explain this phenomenon, discuss current hypotheses about how the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 enters the central nervous system and suggest that activation of the trigeminal nerve may contribute to both headache and anosmia in COVID-19.

Authors with CRIS profile

Karl Meßlinger Lehrstuhl für Physiologie Winfried Neuhuber Lehrstuhl für Mikroskopische Anatomie und Molekulare Zellbiologie

Involved external institutions

Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Meßlinger, K., Neuhuber, W., & May, A. (2021). Activation of the trigeminal system as a likely target of SARS-CoV-2 may contribute to anosmia in COVID-19. Cephalalgia. https://doi.org/10.1177/03331024211036665

MLA:

Meßlinger, Karl, Winfried Neuhuber, and Arne May. "Activation of the trigeminal system as a likely target of SARS-CoV-2 may contribute to anosmia in COVID-19." Cephalalgia (2021).

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