COVID-19 and Alzheimer’s disease: Impact of lockdown and other restrictive measures during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 infection initially results in respiratory distress symptoms but can also lead to CNS and neurological manifestations, significantly impacting COVID-19 patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Additionally, strict lockdown measures introduced to curtail the spread of COVID-19 have raised concerns over the wellbeing of patients with dementia and/or Alzheimer’s disease. The aim of this review is to discuss the overlapping molecular pathologies and the potential bi-directional relationship between COVID-19 and Alzheimer’s dementia, as well as the impact of lockdown/restriction measures on the neuropsychiatric symptoms of Alzheimer's dementia patients. Furthermore, we aim to assess the impact of lockdown measures on the neuropsychiatric symptoms of caregivers and how this might influence the degree and quality of care provided to dementia patients. We utilized the PubMed and Google Scholar databases to search for articles on COVID-19, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, lockdown, and caregivers. Our review highlights that patients with Alzheimer’s disease are at an increased risk of COVID-19 infection and complications, such as greater cognitive decline, which likely arise as a result of the SARS-CoV-2 infection and appear to be further exacerbated by restrictive/lockdown measures. Moreover, lockdown measures introduced during the pandemic have negatively impacted both the neuropsychiatric symptoms of caregivers and their perception of the wellbeing of their Alzheimer’s patients. Thus, additional safeguard measures, along with pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches, are needed to protect the wellbeing of dementia patients and their caregivers in light of this and possible future pandemics.