The Encephalitis Podcast Ep 42 - Updates on COVID- CNS study: Bethany Facer and Dr. Brenden Sargent

We are delighted to welcome Bethany Facer and Dr Brendan Sargent to The Encephalitis Podcast. Beth and Brendan talk to host Prav Prathapan about recent research on the neurological effects of Covid-19, including cognitive deficits and long-term effects, and the potential implications for other diseases.

Beth and Brendan also discussed the Covid-19 Clinical Neuroscience Study – a £2.3 million research study looking at the acute neurological and neuropsychiatric complications of Covid-19. This podcast also discusses the future of the Covid-19 Clinical Neuroscience Study, the potential of its data to contribute to understanding cognitive disturbances, and the importance of individualised care and support for those affected by the neurological effects of COVID-19. Links to papers: Posthospitalization COVID-19 cognitive deficits at 1 year are global and associated with elevated brain injury markers and gray matter volume reduction | Nature Medicine Cognitive domains affected post‐COVID‐19; a systematic review and meta‐analysis - Fanshawe - 2025 - European Journal of Neurology - Wiley Online Library

Bethany Facer is a neuroimaging PhD student at the University of Liverpool, focusing on people with newly diagnosed Parkinson’s disease. Bethany is part of the neuroimaging working group for the COVID-Clinical Neuroscience Study and has previously worked on the DexEnceph trial assessing imaging changes in HSV encephalitis. An avid science communicator, she has presented at the Cheltenham Science Festival and has hosted and organised the annual Liverpool Neuroscience Conference.

Brendan Sargent is a junior doctor and clinical research fellow with the Autoimmune Psychosis Group at the University of Oxford. He is part of the neuroimaging working group for the COVID-Clinical Neuroscience Study consortium and has worked with the Infection Neuroscience Lab in Liverpool on the cognitive impacts of COVID-19 illness. He is interested in cognition, neuroimaging and neuroinflammation. For more information about the COVID-CNS study, visit https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/covid-cli...

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