Movement disorders following Covid-19 infection

Summary

With this project we aim to study the occurrence of movement disorders; a field of neurology which studies disorders such as Parkinson's disease, in people who had been admitted to hospital with a Covid-19 infection. Movement disorders caused by Covid-19 have been described before, but understanding how common they are and who might be at risk of developing them is limited. A better understanding of when and how movement disorders might develop after a Covid-19 infection is important as, for example, some researchers have suggested that Parkinson's disease might be triggered by the infection.

In this study, we wish to determine how often movement disorders occurred in people who were admitted with Covid-19, describe which type of movement disorders occurred, and look at clinical factors (for example age, sex, and self-declared ethnicity) that may have contributed to the development of the movement disorders. In addition, we want to see if specific movement disorders are linked with changes in the brain that can be picked up with magnetic resonance scans (MRI scans) to determine if specific brain areas are more vulnerable in relation to an infection with Covid-19. This could explain the cause of specific movement disorders and the findings would be relevant for future research looking at treatments to improve not only movement disorders, but also other complaints following Covid-19 infections.

Ethics reference numbers: 17/EE/0025