Charcot Multiple Sclerosis Master (M.Sc.)

In Cooperation with the European Charcot Foundation

    

Become a leading multiple sclerosis professional

  • under the academic leadership of the European Charcot Foundation and recognized active European Charcot MS researchers
  • for physicians with advanced training in neurology and other MS professionals with academic background
  • Master of Science (M.Sc. with 60 ECTS points)
  • the programme is fully accredited by the accredition, certification and quality assurance institute ACQUIN
  • based on the successfully established German master's programme
  • the study programme reflects the concentrated expertise of the European Charcot Foundation Board, and thus with the highest-ranking MS researches of Europe, Asia and America

In spring 2022, Prof. Dr. Giancarlo Comi, President of the European Charcot Foundation, the experienced neurologist and recognized multiple sclerosis expert Prof. Dr. med. Tjalf Ziemssen and Dresden International University have entered into a close cooperation to jointly offer the first international part-time multiple sclerosis master programme. The master's degree programme is the only comprehensive and curricular continuing education programme in the world that allows professionals to specialize in multiple sclerosis management at the master's level.

Aims of the master's progamme

  • to treat patients with chronic inflammatory neurological diseases comprehensively in their individual disease pattern according to current scientific knowledge and thus improve patient’s quality of life
  • specialization in multiple sclerosis management at a master's level
  • prepares the MS researchers of the future

Study format

  • maximum 30 international students
  • a cloud-based digital hub mainly virtually in the form of lectures, expert discussions, events, tutorials, case conferences and journal clubs
  • on-site meetings/sessions in selected clinics, MS centers and specialist congresses

The feedback from the participants and lecturers of the first German-speaking matriculation course is very positive and shows that the course concept is working well and that the course objectives are being met. The first pioneer study programme was presented in the Brain Science Paper of 2021: "Innovation in Digital Education: Lessons Learned from the Multiple Sclerosis Management Master´s Program".

The first study intake began in November 2022! The course was inaugurated and hosted at the symposium "30th Annual Meeting of the European Charcot Foundation", 17 - 19 November 2022, in Baveno, Italy. The thematic focus of the symposium was "Progressive MS from pathology to treatment".

Application information

The tuition fee is 20.000 EUR. You can apply for the international intake as well as for the scholarship programme.  If you would like to apply for the program, please email to charcot-msm@di-uni.de

  • your curriculum vitae
  • Your letter of motivation
  • Your school and university transcripts.

Target group

  • Physicians with advanced training in neurology
  • Advanced MS Nurses with academic background
  • Therapists with academic background
  • MS Scientists in clinic, science and practice
  • MS Professionals from the pharmaceutical industry
  • Biologists with professional MS Focus
  • Psychologists

Module overview

Module 1

Theoretical Principles

Pathology

  • history
  • Inflammatory Demyelinating Diseases
  • Lesion pathology of early and relapsing MS
  • Pathology of progressive MS
  • Gray matter pathology
  • Neuronal and axonal damage in MS
  • Demyelination and Remyelination
  • Inflammation
  • Pathological differential diagnosis of MS ‐ PML ‐ IRIS
  • MRI / Pathology Correlates
  • Spinal cord optic nerve pathology

Pathophysiology

  • Genetics (Basic Genetics, GWAS, Immunogenetics, Twin Studies)
  • Epidemiology (Descripted E., Infections, Mirobiota, Vit.D; Pregnancy, Environment Interactions)
  • Immunology (Basic, Immune surveillance of the CNS, Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, Experimental models viral, Experimental models viral/autoimmune, T-cells, B-cells, Macrphages/Microglia, Mechanisms of immune mediated brain damage, Immunological biomarkers)

Neurobiology

  • Oligodendroglial cells and CNS myelination
  • demyelination and remyelination
  • Mechanisms of neuronal, axonal and synaptic pathology
  • The nodes of Ranvier during myelination, demyelination and repair
  • Experimental models of demyelination and to assess remyelination
  • Blood and CSF biomarkers for CNS damage

Journal Club

Practical workshop Pathogenesis and Pathology

Module 2

Clinical & Diagnostic Aspects

Symptoms

  • Sensory symptoms
  • Coordination and tremor
  • Optic neuritis, Brainstem syndromes, Oculomotor
  • Pain and paroxysmal disorders
  • Cerebellar
  • Motor symptoms
  • Symptoms in PPMS
  • Cognitive symptoms
  • Fatigue
  • Urinary symptoms
  • Sexual dysfunction
  • Psychiatric disorders
  • Mood disorders

Diagnosis and differential diagnosis

  • Current diagnostic criteria according to McDonald. Concept of exclusion diagnosis
  • Differential diagnosis: vasculotides, collagenoses and neurosarcoidosis
  • Differential diagnosis: Susac syndrome, CLIPPERS syndrome and other rare diagnoses
  • Differential diagnosis: Leukodystrophies
  • Differential diagnosis: neoplasms, special mention to lymphomas
  • Differential diagnosis: ADEM
  • Differential diagnosis: infections

Special forms

  • Pediatric MS: Epidemiology, Etiology, Diagnosis, Differential Diagnosis
  • NMO I: Neuromyelitis optica (NMO, Devic syndrome). Pathogenesis and lab diagnosis
  • NMO II:  Neuromyelitis optica (NMO, Devic-Syndrom). Symptoms
  • MOG spectrum disorders
  • Journal Club

Diagnosis: CSF and blood test

  • Physiology of the CSF
  • CSF cytology
  • Protein analysis in CSF (immunoglobulins, MRZ reaction, UKB)
  • Importance of CSF in MS diagnostics and monitoring
  • Neurodestruction markers in the CSF
  • Biomarkers in serum: NFL (diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring) and others

Diagnosis: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

  • MS routine protocol
  • MRI pathology of multiple sclerosis: cerebral, orbital and spinal
  • Monitoring MS disease activity
  • MRI in clinical trials: logistics of a clinical research organization
  • Quantitative MRI: magnetization transfer and susceptibility-weighted imaging
  • Consensus MRT Guidelines MS (MAGNIMS)
  • Pharmacovigilance of MS under therapy
  • Quantitative MR imaging
  • MR proton spectroscopy
  • functional MRI
  • value of MRI in the assessment of progression
  • Basics of OCT examination
  • OCT as a progression and diagnostic marker in MS

Diagnosis: Neurophysiological examinations

  • Visual evoked potentials (VEP incl. mfVEP), auditory evoked potentials (AEP)
  • Motor evoked potentials (MEP), Somatosensitive evoked potentials (SSEP)
  • Neuropsychological Diagnostics I: Basics and Screening Procedures
  • Neuropsychological Diagnostics II: detailed neuropsychological diagnostics

Practical Part l I: Hands-On Units

  • Gait Analysis
  • Neuroophthalmology
  • CSF Diagnostics
  • Neurodestructive markers
  • Introduction to MRI
  • MRI differential diagnosis and monitoring
  • MRI for PML assessment
  • OCT
  • neurophysiological examinations
  • Urodynamics incl. neurourolog. Diagnostics
  • Neuropsychological testing

Practical Part II: 6 case conferences

    Module 3

    Studies & Statistics

    Essential concepts of statistics

    Clinical Studies

    • Statistical Introduction
    • Application Perspective

    Real World Data

    Practical part: Congress participation ECTRIMS

    • Congress Preliminary Meeting
    • Congress participation
    • Congress review

    Tutorial

    Module 4

    Therapy I

    Therapy strategies and goals

    • Introduction Module 4/Treatment Strategies and goals
    • Immunomodulation from the immunologist's point of view
    • DMD therapies in guidelines

    Drug development in MS therapy

    • From animal models to MS therapy
    • Phase I-IV
    • Learning from failed trial

    Therapy of the MS and NMO relapse

    MS first line treatment

    • Interferon
    • Copaxone
    • Dimethyl fumarate
    • Teriflunomide

    MS second line/escalation treatment

    • Natalizumab
    • S1P modulation
    • Alemtuzumab
    • Cladibrine
    • B- Cell depletion
    • Immunosuppressants incl. Mitoxantrone
    • Stem cell transplantation

    Treatment of progressive MS

    • Treatment  in PPMS and SPMS
    • Treatment of progressive MS in practice

    NMO/MOGAD treatment

    Treatment algorithms and specific treatment situations

    • Treatment decision: Shared decision relapse/immunotherapy
    • Safety issues with disease-modifying treatments
    • Initiation of disease-modifying therapy in RRMS
    • Treatment monitoring/MS treatment sequences/switch in RRMS
    • Treatment of paediatric MS
    • MS Treatment and infections
    • MS treatment and pregnancy
    • MS treatment and vaccination

    Future and experimental therapeutic strategies

    • Personalized Therapy, Digital Twin, Precision medicine
    • Overview of future treatments in RRMS
    • Overview of future treatments in progressive MS
    • Perspectives on neuroprotection and remyelination

    Active part I: Journal Clubs

    Active part III: Case conferences

    Module 5

    Therapy II

    Symptomatic Therapy

    • Introduction Guidelines, Symptoms
    • Gait Disordernon-pharmacologic treatment: robotics, virtual reality
    • Fatigue
    • cognitive disorder
    • Bladder / bowel
    • Sexuality
    •  Ataxia and tremor
    • Pain
    • Depression

    Hands On Units  Symptomatic Therapy

    Complementary Therapies for Multiple Sclerosis

    Non invasive Neuromodulation

    Neurobiological basis of brain plasticity

    Rehabilitation and Patient Coaching

    • Rehabilitation and Patient Coaching
    • E-rehabilitation
    • Occupational therapy / vocational therapy
    • Shared decision Making 
    • Assistive devices

    Palliative medical aspects

    Practical part I: Hospitation

    Practical part II: 5 case conferences

    Practical part III: Congress participation ECTRIMS

    Journal Clubs

    Tutorial

    Module 6

    Monitoring & Documentation

    Clinical documentation incl. monitoring

    Patient communication

    MRI monitoring

    Neuropsychological monitoring

    Monitoring by eHealth devices

    Patient reported outcomes

    • methodological aspects
    • scientific and clinical application

    Socio-medical aspects

    Health economic aspects

    MS Register and Real World data collection

    Networks and associations

    Practical part I: Hospitation

    Practice part II: 5 case conferences

    Journal Club

    Master's thesis

    Master's Thesis

    Master's Thesis

    • Master's thesis or scientific paper in a peer-reviewed or Pubmed-listed journal (thematic review, meta-analysis, original scientific paper)
    • topic is submitted by the student and finalized by the scientific director of the program

    It is important to have a list of the MS centres that will be involved for students’ visits, probably we will need from 5 to 8 MS centres to accommodate 2/4 students.

    Timetable for modules in MSM master's programme with indication of ECTS credits

     

    Masterstudiengang Multiple Sklerose Management International

    Scientific Committee

    Prof. Dr. med. Giancarlo Comi

    Academic leadership of the Scientific Committee of the European Charcot MS Management Master in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Tjalf Ziemssen

    President of the European Charcot Foundation

    European Charcot Foundation Homepage

    Prof. Dr. med. Tjalf Ziemssen

    Scientific director of the course Multiple Sclerosis Management M. Sc.

    in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Giancarlo Comi Academic Leadership of the Scientific Committee of the European Charcot MS Management Master

    Specialist in neurology, senior consultant and deputy director of the neurological clinic and head of the multiple sclerosis center at the

    To The Expert Profile

    Prof. Dr. Gilles Edan

    Member Scientific Committee of the European Charcot MS Management Master

    Member of the Executive Board of the European Charcot Foundation – France

    Professor of Clinical Neurology and chair of the Department of Neurosciences, University Hospital of Rennes, Rennes, France.

    Prof. Dr. Kazuo Fujihara

    Member Scientific Committee of the European Charcot MS Management Master

    Member of Board of the European Charcot Foundation - Japan

    Fukushima Medical University School of Medicinem, Fukushima, Japan

    Prof. em. Dr. Hans-Peter Hartung

    Member Scientific Committee of the European Charcot MS Management Master

    Member of the Executive Board of the European Charcot Foundation - Germany

    Departement of Neurology Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany

    Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h. c. Hans Lassmann

    Member Scientific Committee of the European Charcot MS Management Master

    Member of the Executive Board of the European Charcot Foundation - Austria

    Center for Brain Research, Dept. of Neuroimmunology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria

    Prof. Dr. Letizia Leocani

    Member Scientific Committee of the European Charcot MS Management Master

    Member of the Board of the European Charcot Foundation - Italy

    Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele | UniSR · Department of Neurology MD, PhD, Neurologist,Milano, Italy

    Prof. Dr. med. Xavier Montalban

    Member Scientific Committee of the European Charcot MS Management Master

    Member of the Board of the European Charcot Foundation - Spain

    Director of Multiple Sclerosis Centre of Catalonia (Cemcat), Spain

    Prof. Dr. Jacqueline Palace

    Member Scientific Committee of the European Charcot MS Management Master

    Member of the Board of the European Charcot Foundation – United Kingdom

    University of Oxford, Nuffield Departement of Clinical Neurosciences, Medical Scienes Devisision, United Kingdom

    Prof. Dr. Per Soelberg Sørensen,

    Member Scientific Committee of the European Charcot MS Management Master

    Member of the Executive Board of the European Charcot Foundation - Denmark

    Danish Multiple Sclerosis Center, Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Denmark

    Prof. Dr. Maria Trojano

    Member Scientific Committee of the European Charcot MS Management Master

    Member Scientific Committee of the European Charcot MS Management Master

    Professor of Neurology & Head of the Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sense Organs, University of Bari, Italy

    Dieser Studiengang ist akkreditiert

    Alle Bewertungen lesen

     

     

    Personal Advice

    Overview

    degree:
    Master of Science (M.Sc.)
    place of study: 
    Primarly virtual
    Field trips in MS Centres with hands-on units, shadowing and practical workshops in combination with congresses visits
    programme start:
    Each year in November
    tuition fees: 20.000 EUR
     
     
     
    duration:
    4 semesters
    ECTS (European Credit Transfer System):
    60 ECTS
    mode of study: 
    part time
    course language:
    English