SARS-CoV-2 may enter the brain through the noseA small German autopsy study of COVID-19 victims in Nature Neuroscience today demonstrates the presence of SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—in nasal structures and the brain, suggesting that the virus crosses into the central nervous system (CNS) via nasal surfaces that contain nerve endings for smell.COVID-19 CNS effects—loss of smell and taste, headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, acute cerebrovascular disease, and impaired consciousness—are widely reported and suggest viral penetration of the CNS, but the mechanism of entry remains unclear.The researchers assessed nasal olfactory surfaces, associated nerve structures, and several CNS regions for evidence of viral RNA and proteins