The ZSE B Center for Amyloidosis organizes interdisciplinary training(event flyer)

Dear colleagues,

We hereby cordially invite you to our first interdisciplinary training event of the newly founded Amyloidosis Center Lower Saxony on February 25, 2023 at 09.00 am.

Amyloidosis is a rare disease with many facets. This makes early diagnosis difficult, but this is crucial for the prognosis of the disease, especially as significant progress has been made in therapeutic options in recent years. Optimal care for these often complex patients, in whom various organ systems are directly or indirectly affected, can only be guaranteed by strong interdisciplinary care. This interdisciplinary care at the Amyloidosis Center Lower Saxony is illustrated in the program. You will get to know the structure of the Amyloidosis Center and the relevant contact persons. In their presentations, the experts from our specialist disciplines will shed light on different forms of amyloidosis and the corresponding diagnostics and therapy. This should help you to recognize patients who may be affected by this rare disease at an early stage in your daily clinical work so that the necessary diagnostics and therapy can be initiated quickly.

The event will take place as a hybrid event. We look forward to welcoming you in person, but you are also welcome to join us online.

We hope to have aroused your interest and look forward to an interesting and interactive morning: see event flyer for registration details.

 

The European Commission is funding a new project at the MHH: SMABEYOND research network investigates the effects of spinal muscular atrophy on organs

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a hereditary neurodegenerative disease. The motor nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain stem, which are connected to the muscles and control their movements, gradually die. The result is massive muscle atrophy, which in severe cases can lead to death in infancy if left untreated. In addition to the loss of motor neurons in the central nervous system (CNS), there is increasing evidence that other cells and organs in the body may also be affected. An international consortium of research groups from Italy, the UK, Spain, the Netherlands and Germany, led by Prof. Dr. Peter Claus, molecular biologist at the Institute of Neuroanatomy and Cell Biology at Hannover Medical School (MHH), now aims to elucidate the effects of SMA on organs and investigate how drugs can be used effectively on an individual basis. The SMABEYOND network is being funded by the European Union for four years with a total of 2.14 million euros as part of the Horizon 2020 science program.

"The disease is caused by a mutation in the SMN1 gene," explains Professor Claus. If the gene is altered or completely lost, the body lacks the blueprint for the corresponding SMN protein, which plays a crucial role in Communications between nerve and muscle cells. It is true that there is a second gene, SMN2, to produce the protein that is so important for muscle function. However, many copies of this gene are required to compensate for the loss of SMN1. "Patients with a small number of these backups are therefore generally more severely affected than those with many SMN2 gene copies," says the molecular biologist. Although SMA is one of the so-called rare diseases and affects around one in 6,500 newborns in Germany, there are already two approved drugs and one pending admission in Germany.

"We are particularly interested in why patients respond differently to the drugs and how the disease and treatment affect the peripheral organs," says Professor Claus. With the help of the research network, it is not only the changes caused by spinal muscular atrophy that are to be clarified at a molecular level. The researchers also want to record the clinical symptoms and use these findings to develop new treatment strategies. Basic science and the Clinical Department are working closely together with patient organizations. SMABEYOND pays particular attention to the next generation of academics. From April 2021, doctoral students will be involved in the research of the individual working groups and work on specific scientific questions.

For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Peter Claus at (0511) 532-2932 or claus.peter@mh-hannover.de.

Author: Kirsten Pötzke. www. mhh.de/presse-news-detailansicht/mehr-als-muskelschwund