Loyola Medicine Opens Neurology Clinic for COVID-19 Patients Living with Long-term Neurological and Cognitive Symptoms
January 24, 2021Categories: Neurology & Neurosurgery
Tags: Neurology Neurosurgery
MAYWOOD, IL – Loyola Medicine is providing multidisciplinary care for patients with long-term neurological, cognitive and other symptoms associated with COVID-19.
"While most patients with COVID-19 have mild-to-moderate symptoms and recover at home, a fraction of severe, typically hospitalized patients (approximately 10%, according to an article in the British Medical Journal) are discharged with lingering, life-altering symptoms," said José Biller, MD, professor and chair, department of neurology, Loyola University Medical Center and Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.
Dr. Biller is leading Loyola Medicine's Neurology COVID-19 Clinic.
Persistent neurological symptoms in patients following acute COVID-19 may include fatigue; brain fog; loss of smell (anosmia); distorted or loss of taste (dysgeusia); headache; vertigo; sleep disturbances; loss of muscle mass and strength (sarcopenia); and neuromuscular aches, cramps and pain (myalgia).
"These 'long-haul' patients may also have neuropsychiatric symptoms, including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder," said Dr. Biller. "As a result of their symptoms, many of these individuals unable to return to work and suffer economic stressors."
For older patients, COVID-19 may increase the risk for or exacerbate cognitive decline and dementia, said Dr. Biller, who co-authored the study, "Correlations between COVID-19 and burden of dementia" in the September 2020 Journal of the Neurological Sciences. "Many patients with dementia decline significantly after contracting COVID-19."
In addition to Dr. Biller, Loyola's Neurology COVID-19 Clinic includes other expert Loyola neurologists. The clinic will refer patients to other specialists – including psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, pulmonologists, cardiologists, gastroenterologists, nephrologists, and nutritionists – as needed.
"The long-term symptoms of COVID-19 may be protracted," said Richard K. Freeman, MD, MBA, regional chief clinical officer, Loyola Medicine. "Loyola Medicine is committed to providing comprehensive, exemplary care to these patients."
About Loyola Medicine
Loyola Medicine, a member of Trinity Health, is a nationally ranked academic, quaternary care system based in Chicago's western suburbs. The three-hospital system includes Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC), Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, MacNeal Hospital, as well as convenient locations offering primary care, specialty care and immediate care services from nearly 2,000 physicians throughout Cook, Will and DuPage counties. LUMC is a 547-licensed-bed hospital in Maywood that includes the William G. and Mary A. Ryan Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine, the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, the John L. Keeley, MD, Emergency Department, a Level 1 trauma center, Illinois's largest burn center, the Nancy W. Knowles Orthopaedic Institute, a certified comprehensive stroke center, transplant center and a children’s hospital. Having delivered compassionate care for over 50 years, Loyola also trains the next generation of caregivers through its academic affiliation with Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine and Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing.
For more information, visit loyolamedicine.org. You can also follow Loyola Medicine on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or X (formerly known as Twitter).
About Trinity Health
Trinity Health is one of the largest not-for-profit, faith-based health care systems in the nation. It is a family of 127,000 colleagues and more than 38,300 physicians and clinicians caring for diverse communities across 26 states. Nationally recognized for care and experience, the Trinity Health system includes 93 hospitals, 107 continuing care locations, the second largest PACE program in the country, 142 urgent care locations and many other health and well-being services. In fiscal year 2024, the Livonia, Michigan-based health system invested $1.3 billion in its communities in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs. For more information, visit us at www.trinity-health.org, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter).