Publications by authors named "Sascha Alvermann"
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by degeneration of spinal motor neurons leading to muscular weakness. The antisense oligonucleotide nusinersen was approved for the treatment of patients with 5q-associated SMA. Treatment must be repeatedly administered intrathecally by lumbar puncture.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOligoclonal IgG bands (OCB) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) represent a typical marker for inflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and have a predictive and diagnostic value in patients with a first suspected demyelinating event. The detection in tears remains controversial but some reports suggested a replacement of CSF analysis by OCB detection in tears. We aimed to investigate the value of OCB detection in tears systematically in patients with MS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- - The study investigates Botulinum neurotoxin serotype D (BoNT/D) as a potential alternative treatment for patients who do not respond to the widely used BoNT/A and B due to the formation of neutralizing antibodies.
- - BoNT/D was produced in E. coli and tested for its efficacy in both mouse tissues and human volunteers, showing that while it's less potent, it can produce similar effects with a higher dosage and shorter action duration.
- - The findings suggest BoNT/D could be a viable option for patients who don't respond to other serotypes, despite its lower effectiveness compared to approved treatments.
Ocrelizumab, a humanized monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody, has shown pronounced effects in reduction of disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and has recently been approved for the treatment of patients with relapsing MS (RMS) and primary progressive MS (PPMS). CD20 is mainly expressed by B cells, but a subset of T cells (CD3⁺CD20⁺ T cells) also expresses CD20, and these CD20⁺ T cells are known to be a highly activated cell population. The blood of MS patients was analyzed with multicolor flow cytometry before and two weeks after treatment with ocrelizumab regarding the phenotype of peripheral blood mononuclear cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The gold standard in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cell immunophenotyping is flow cytometry. Nevertheless, the small amount of CSF cells and the invasive character of lumbar puncture limit the spectrum of possible investigation. Chipcytometry, a modified approach to slide-based cytometry, might be a useful tool for CSF analysis due to the possibility of iterative staining, imaging, and bleaching cycles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) an immunopathogenic influence of autoantibodies is suspected. In familial GTS a disruption of the contactin-associated protein 2 gene (CNTNAP2), coding for the contactin-associated protein 2 (CASPR2), has been reported. Autoantibodies against CASPR2 are associated with other movement disorders like Morvan's syndrome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is the compartment in closest proximity to the central nervous system (CNS) parenchyma and might reflect immune pathology in inflammatory CNS disorders like multiple sclerosis (MS). Multiparameter flow cytometry is used to characterize immunological alterations in the CSF of patients with MS.
Objectives: To present a comprehensive review of the cellular alterations in CSF that distinguish MS from physiological conditions and other CNS disorders; integrate relevant findings into a model of leukocyte trafficking in the CNS; highlight treatment-related changes in leukocyte subsets; and evaluate the potential of CSF immunophenotyping in the search of novel biomarkers in MS.