Cure MSA

Country specific patient information

Manchester

Principal investigator:
Dr Alexander Gerhard
MD

Senior Lecturer in Neurology
Honorary Consultant Neurologist
Greater Manchester Neuroscience Centre
Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust
Salford
M6 8HD
tel +44 161 206 2561 (secretary Julie Halsall)
     +44 161 206 2086 (direct line)

 

Expertise of the participating organization:
 

We run a very active clinical service for MSA patients (typically 2 new MSA patients and 8 follow-up patients per month) as part of our clinic for atypical Parkinsonian syndromes. These clinics are also supported by the MSA Trust UK with one of their specialist nurses.
Greater Manchester has a catchment area of 2.5 million people and we get referrals particularly from the North West, but also other parts of the UK.

The emphasis of our research interest in MSA are neuro-imaging studies particularly with positron emission tomography but also the evaluation of genetic and bio-markers together with Prof David Mann, neuropathology.

The members of our team are Dr Alexander Gerhard, Senior lecturer in Neurology and Honorary Consultant Neurologist; Dr Chris Kobylecki Walport Fellow and Registrar in Neurology: Patsy Cotton, Advanced Nurse Practitioner for Parkinson’s disease and Katy McDonald, Research Associate and Psychologist.

 

Recent publications relevant to the EMSA-SG:

- Kobylecki C, Counsell SJ, Cabanel N, Wachter T, Turkheimer FE, Eggert K, Oertel W, Brooks DJ, Gerhard A. Diffusion-weighted imaging and its relationship to microglial activation in parkinsonian syndromes. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2013;19(5):527-32. doi: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2013.01.017. Epub  Feb 18.

 

- Lewis SJ, Pavese N, Rivero-Bosch M, Eggert K, Oertel W, Mathias CJ, Brooks DJ, Gerhard A. Brain monoamine systems in multiple system atrophy: a positron emission tomography study. Neurobiol Dis. 2012;46(1):130-6. Epub 2012 Jan 12.

 

- Foulds PG, Yokota O, Thurston A, Davidson Y, Ahmed Z, Holton J, Thompson JC, Akiyama H, Arai T, Hasegawa M, Gerhard A, Allsop D, Mann DM. Post mortem cerebrospinal fluid alpha-synuclein levels are raised in multiple system atrophy and distinguish this from the other alpha-synucleinopathies, Parkinson's disease and Dementia with Lewy bodies. Neurobiol. 2012;45(1):188-95. Epub 2011 Aug 10.

 

-Dodel R, Spottke A, Gerhard A, Reuss A, Reinecker S, Schimke N, Trenkwalder C, Sixel-Doring F, Herting B, Kamm C, Gasser T, Sawires M, Geser F, Kollensperger M, Seppi K, Kloss M, Krause M, Daniels C, Deuschl G, Bottger S, Naumann M, Lipp A, Gruber D, Kupsch A, Du Y, Turkheimer F, Brooks DJ, Klockgether T, Poewe W, Wenning G, Schade-Brittinger C, Oertel WH, Eggert K. Minocycline 1-year therapy in multiple-system-atrophy: Effect on clinical symptoms and [(11)C] (R)-PK11195 PET (MEMSA-trial). Mov Disord. 2010;25(1):11.

 

- Gerhard A, Banati RB, Goerres GB, Cagnin A, Myers R, Gunn RN, Turkheimer F, Good CD, Mathias CJ, Quinn N, Schwarz J, Brooks DJ. [11C](R)-PK11195 PET imaging of microglial activation in multiple system atrophy. Neurology. 2003 September 9, 2003;61(5):686-9.