COVID-19 encephalopathy guidance
Professor Benedict Michael co-Chairs the Global NeuroCOVID Coalition Task Force on Acute Clinical Care for Neurological complications of COVID-19. The task force has compiled clinical guidelines for the management of COVID-19 Encephalopathy. This has been a global collaboration to gain consensus on how to treat this neurological complication. The guidance is available to read in the The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences (at peer-review stage).
WHO COVID-neuro clinical exchange
Professor Benedict Michael also sits on the WHO Expert Forum on Neurology and COVID-19. Together with the Global Health Network and the Global NeuroCOVID Coalition he co-organises the COVID-Neuro Clinical Exchange Platform. Professor Michael chairs this clinical exchange alongside the Global Health Network. Professor Michael and Dr Greta Wood have coordinated a monthly interchange with clinicians located all over the world to share experiences faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal is to promote discussion around neurological care and COVID-19 in all settings, with themes such as clinical challenges, essential services, workforce and diagnostics.
Global Brain Health Clinical Exchange Platform
The Global Brain Health Clinical Exchange Platform is co-organised by the The Global Health Network and members of the COVID-CNS team.
The workshops are interactive and are open to all policy makers, academics and clinicians who are interested in gaining insights into practice in different settings. For more information and future dates see Global Brain Health Clinical Exchange Platform.
Inter-observer variability study
The WHO and the WFN have supported a global inter-observer variability study of the COVID-CNS n-Case Record Form, that the COVID-CNS team use to record all in-patient data. The inter-observer variability study has been conducted across 45 countries worldwide, in high, middle and low income settings. See the publication in the Journal of Neurological Sciences: Global uncertainty in the diagnosis of neurological complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection by both neurologists and non-neurologists: An international inter-observer variability study.
Global Neuro Research Coalition
The Global Neuro Research Coalition was formed by 24 expert neurologists and researchers from around the world. Together, they issued a call to the global neurology community to establish a coalition in which members could exchange ideas, share their latest research into the intersection of COVID-19 and neurology, and create open lines of communication between international colleagues and institutions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Read more about the Global Neuro Research Coalition.
WHO expert workshop on encephalitis
Dr Ava Easton, CEO of Encephalitis International and Chair of the COVID-CNS PPI panel, and Professor Michael are working with the WHO to support expert workshops to develop global policy, looking at implementation and setting a research agenda on encephalitis, with greater emphasis on lower and middle income countries (LMICs). This workshop addresses policymakers, service providers, academics, researchers and civil society representatives. For more information, see media and news.
Panels
Professor Michael sits on the advisory panel for the Academy of Medical Sciences and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) with regards to research and management of neurological complications of COVID-19 respectively. He also forms part of the WHO expert panel on COVID-19 neurology, as part of the WHO’s Brain Health Unit.
WHO scientific brief on neurology and COVID-19
As members of the WHO Neurology and COVID-19 Global Forum Professor Michael, Professor Solomon and Dr Wood have contributed to the WHO's Scientific Brief on Neurology and COVID-19. The Scientific Brief gives an overview of what is currently known about the acute neurological manifestations of COVID-19; the neurological symptoms associated with post-COVID-19 condition; the risk of infection, severe illness and mortality from COVID-19 for people with pre-existing neurological conditions; as well as the emerging evidence for neurological complications following COVID-19 vaccination.