@article{RottlaenderKuerten2015,
  author    = {Rottlaender, Andrea and Kuerten, Stefanie},
  title     = {Stepchild or prodigy? Neuroprotection in multiple sclerosis (MS) research},
  series = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
  volume    = {16},
  journal   = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
  doi       = {10.3390/ijms160714850},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-148416},
  pages     = {14850-14865},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system (CNS) and characterized by the infiltration of immune cells, demyelination and axonal loss. Loss of axons and nerve fiber pathology are widely accepted as correlates of neurological disability. Hence, it is surprising that the development of neuroprotective therapies has been neglected for a long time. A reason for this could be the diversity of the underlying mechanisms, complex changes in nerve fiber pathology and the absence of biomarkers and tools to quantify neuroregenerative processes. Present therapeutic strategies are aimed at modulating or suppressing the immune response, but do not primarily attenuate axonal pathology. Yet, target-oriented neuroprotective strategies are essential for the treatment of MS, especially as severe damage of nerve fibers mostly occurs in the course of disease progression and cannot be impeded by immune modulatory drugs. This review shall depict the need for neuroprotective strategies and elucidate difficulties and opportunities.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Schampel2017,
  author    = {Schampel, Andrea},
  title     = {Beneficial therapeutic effects of the L-type calcium channel antagonist nimodipine in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis - an animal model for multiple sclerosis},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-148952},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2017},
  abstract  = {Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most prevalent neurological disease of the central nervous system (CNS) in young adults and is characterized by inflammation, demyelination and axonal pathology that result in multiple neurological and cognitive deficits. The focus of MS research remains on modulating the immune response, but common therapeutic strategies are only effective in slowing down disease progression and attenuating the symptoms; they cannot cure the disease. Developing an option to prevent neurodegeneration early on would be a valuable addition to the current standard of care for MS. Based on our results we suggest that application of nimodipine could be an effective way to target both neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. We performed detailed analyses of neurodegeneration in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS, and in in vitro experiments regarding the effect of the clinically well-established L-type calcium channel antagonist nimodipine. Nimodipine treatment attenuated the course of EAE and spinal cord histopathology. Furthermore, it promoted remyelination. The latter could be due to the protective effect on oligodendrocytes and oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) we observed in response to nimodipine treatment. To our surprise, we detected calcium channel-independent effects on microglia, resulting in apoptosis. These effects were cell type-specific and independent of microglia polarization. Apoptosis was accompanied by decreased levels of nitric oxide (NO) and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) in cell culture as well as decreased iNOS expression and reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity in EAE. Overall, application of nimodipine seems to generate a favorable environment for regenerative processes and could therefore be a novel treatment option for MS, combining immunomodulatory effects while promoting neuroregeneration.},
  subject      = {Nimodipin},
  language  = {en}
}