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SARS-CoV-2 more than a respiratory virus: Its potential role in neuropathogenesis.

Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has emerged as one of the major outbreaks to be mentioned in history in coming times. Like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a respiratory virus infecting the lungs with fever, dry cough and acute pneumonia being the major symptoms. It infects the epithelial cells expressing Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, which is crucial for the viral entry. Based on evolving clinical evidence, it is now unfitting to label SARS-CoV-2 as just a respiratory virus, as lately there are various reports that substantiate its pathogenicity in other organs of the body, including brain. In this review, we discuss the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in comparison to SARS and MERS along with possibilities of viral entry into central nervous system (CNS) tissues. The review provides detailed information about the virulence, epidemiology and insights into molecular pathways involved in the infectivity of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, along with in-depth view of current concepts about the neurological significance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its neuropathological competence. The review also touches upon our current understanding of placental transmission of SARS-CoV-2, an important aspect of vertical transmission. Furthermore, the review provides the current update on strategies that have been used, being used or under trial for treating the disease.