Epilepsy in patients with COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by SARSCoV-2, appeared in a Chinese city in late 2019. Four months after its emergence it was declared by the World Health Organization as a pandemic. Although the virus has tropism for respiratory tract cells, there is evidence of involvement of systems such as vascular, digestive, hematological, urinary and nervous. Some neurological complications were observed in patients with COVID-19, such as stroke, myopathies and polyneuropathies. Encephalitis may cause seizures, suggesting that the inflammatory process by COVID-19 may be associated with seizures. Objectives: To address the possible association between seizures and SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methodology: The research is na integrative review carried out in a virtual environment, based on articles published between 2020 and 2021, with the theme “COVID-19, epilepsy and seizures”, on the academic Google platforms, SciELO portal and PubMed. Results: It is known that encephalitis and viral infections can trigger epileptic seizures by the pathophysiological mechanisms of activation of the inflammatory cascade. This process involves the release of inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukins 2, 6, 7 and 10, and complement, this neuronal hyper excitability activates Glutamate receptors, triggering seizures. Based on this, epileptic seizures can be explained in patients with neurological impairment by COVID-19. Conclusion: It was observed that inflammatory processes lead to excitation of receptors that trigger seizures. Therefore, the disruption of the blood brain barrier can play a fundamental role in the initiation of this process. However, the pathophysiological mechanism is not yet well elucidated, and further studies are needed on this.