Charcot Multiple Sclerosis Master (M.Sc.)
In Cooperation with the European Charcot Foundation
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.
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

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

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
Personal Advice

Franziska Ramisch, M.A.
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