Carsten Wessig

TL;DR: It is shown that ablation of the prion protein PrPC triggers a chronic demyelinating polyneuropathy in four independently targeted mouse strains, indicating that neuronal expression and regulated proteolysis of PrPC are essential for myelin maintenance.

TL;DR: These experiments support the hypothesis of a pathogenetic role of antibodies to amphiphysin, thus adding paraneoplastic SPS to the group of antibody-mediated autoimmune disorders and support therapeutic attempts to eliminate these autoantibodies by plasmapheresis.

TL;DR: It is shown that intrathecal application of purified anti-amphiphysin immunoglobulin G antibodies induces stiff person syndrome-like symptoms in rats, including stiffness and muscle spasms, and that autoantibodies can alter the function of inhibitory synapses in vivo upon binding to an intraneuronal key protein by disturbing vesicular endocytosis.

TL;DR: MRI is a promising diagnostic tool for the early detection of acute axonal nerve lesions and monitoring of nerve regeneration, and finds MR findings in denervation and reinnervation parallel the electrophysiological changes.

TL;DR: It is concluded that myelin-related axonal loss is a process having some features in common with Wallerian degeneration, and introducing the Wldsgene would be a promising approach to delaying detrimental axonal Loss in myelin disorders.