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Group leader: Molecular Neurology Research

Prof. Dr. Orhan Aktas
Department of Neurology
Heinrich-Heine-University
Moorenstrasse 5 40225 Düsseldorf


Research Interest

Overall interest: Clinical and experimental neuroimmunology Clinical focus:

  • Multiple Sclerosis and related inflammatory diseases of the CNS
  • Neuromyelitis optica (NMO or Devic’s syndrome) and NMO-spectrum disorders
  • Development of novel clinical markers for neurodegeneration such as optical coherence tomography (OCT)
  • Transfer of novel therapy strategies into clinical studies (investigator-initiated trials, IITs)

Experimental focus:

  • Mechanisms of inflammatory degeneration and disturbed regeneration in the CNS
  • Epigenetic regulation of neural progenitor cell (NPC) homeostasis, with focus on redox-dependent histone deacetylases (sirtuins)
  • Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE)
Selected Publications
  1. Kleiter, I., Hellwig, K., Berthele, A., Kümpfel, T., Linker, R.A., Hartung, H.-P., Paul, F.*, Aktas, O.*, for the Neuromyelitis Optica Study group (NEMOS) (2012). Failure of Natalizumab to Prevent Relapses in Neuromyelitis Optica. Arch Neurol. 69(2):239-45. * equal contribution PubMed
  2. Seifert, U., Bialy, L. P., Ebstein, F., Bech-Otschir, D., Voigt, A., Schröter, F., Prozorovski, T., Lange, N., Steffen, J., Rieger, M., Kuckelkorn, U., Aktas, O., Kloetzel, P.-M.*, Krüger, E.* (2010). Immunoproteasomes preserve protein homeostasis upon interferon-induced oxidative stress. Cell 142:613-24. *equal contribution PubMed
  3. Aktas, O., Kieseier, B., Hartung, H.-P. (2010). Neuroprotection, regeneration and immunomodulation: broadening the therapeutic repertoire in multiple sclerosis. Trends Neurosci. 33:140-152. PubMed
  4. Schulze-Topphoff, U., Prat, A., Prozorovski, T., Siffrin, V., Paterka, M., Herz, J., Bendix, I., Ifergan, I., Schadock, I., Mori, M. A., Van, H. J., Schroter, F., Smorodchenko, A., Han, M. H., Bader, M., Steinman, L., Aktas, O.*, Zipp, F.* (2009). Activation of kinin receptor B1 limits encephalitogenic T lymphocyte recruitment to the central nervous system. Nat. Med. 15:788-793. *equal contribution PubMed
  5. Paul, F., Waiczies, S., Wuerfel, J., Bellmann-Strobl, J., Dörr, J., Waiczies, H., Haertle, M., Wer-necke, K. D., Volk, H. D., Aktas, O.*, Zipp, F.*. (2008). Oral High-Dose Atorvastatin Treatment in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis. PLoS ONE 3:e1928. *equal contribution PubMed
  6. Prozorovski, T., Schulze-Topphoff, U., Glumm, R., Baumgart, J., Schroter, F., Ninnemann, O., Siegert, E., Bendix, I., Brustle, O., Nitsch, R., Zipp, F.*, Aktas, O.*. (2008). Sirt1 contributes critically to the redox-dependent fate of neural progenitors. Nat. Cell Biol. 10:385-394. *equal contribution PubMed
  7. Zipp, F., Aktas, O. (2006). The brain as a target of inflammatory processes: common pathways link inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. Trends Neurosci. 29:518-527 PubMed
  8. Aktas, O.*, Smorodchenko, A.*, Brocke, S., Infante-Duarte, C., Topphoff, U. S., Vogt, J., Prozorovski, T., Meier, S., Osmanova, V., Pohl, E., Bechmann, I., Nitsch, R., Zipp, F. (2005). Neuronal damage in autoimmune neuroinflammation mediated by the death ligand TRAIL. Neuron 46:421-432. *equal contribution PubMed
  9. Aktas, O.*, Prozorovski, T.*, Smorodchenko, A., Savaskan, N. E., Lauster, R., Kloetzel, P.-M., Infante-Duarte, C., Brocke, S., Zipp, F. (2004). Green tea epigallocatechin-3-gallate mediates T cellular NF-kappaB inhibition and exerts neuroprotection in autoimmune encephalomyelitis. J. Immunol. 173:5794-5800. *equal contribution PubMed
  10. Aktas, O., Waiczies, S., Smorodchenko, A., Dorr, J., Seeger, B., Prozorovski, T., Sallach, S., Endres, M., Brocke, S., Nitsch, R., Zipp, F. (2003). Treatment of relapsing paralysis in experimental encephalomyelitis by targeting Th1 cells through atorvastatin. J. Exp. Med. 197:725-733. PubMed
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