Alastair Compston

Professor of Neurology         e-mail: alastair.compston@medschl.cam.ac.uk

Research Interests

The clinical science of demyelinating disease with programmes on the genetics of multiple sclerosis, in-vitro mechanisms of glial and axonal injury, oligodendrocyte development in the rodent and human nervous systems, and therapeutic immunology.  Clinical and experimental work is carried out in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences (Department of Neurology, Addenbrooke's Hospital, and the Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair).

Lab personnel:

• Dr Alasdair Coles - Wellcome Advanced Fellow
• Dr Amanda Cox - Honorary Clinical Registrar
• Dr Joanna Smith - Honorary Clinical Registrar
• Mrs Sara Thompson - Research Assistant
• Dr Stephen Sawcer - Wellcome Senior Clinician Scientist
• Miss Melanie Maranian - Technician
• Miss Sarah Singlehurst - Technician
• Miss Sheila Skidmore - Research nurse
• Dr Siddharthan Chandran - MRC Clinician Scientist
• Dr Alastair Wilkins - Honorary Clinical Registrar
• Mr Phil Gaughwin - PhD student
• Mr Henry Majed - PhD student
• Ms Kristine Westmore - Technician

Principal collaborators:

• Stephen Hauser, University of California San Francisco and group.
• Margaret Pericak-Vance, Duke University and group.
• Jonathan Haines, Vanderbilt University and group.
• David Haffler, Harvard University and group.
• Eric Lander, Whitehead Institute and group.
• David Miller, Institute of Neurology and group.
• Hermann Waldmann, Dunn School of Pathology and group.

Recent papers

1. Hensiek AE, Sawcer SJ, Feakes R, Deans J, Mander A, Akesson E, Roxborough R, Coraddu F, Smith S, Compston DAS.  HLA-DR 15 is associated with femal gender and younger age at diagnosis in multiple sclerosis.  Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.  2002; 72: 184-7.
2. Sawcer S, Meranian M, Setakis E, Curwen V, Hensiek A, Akesson E, Coraddu F, Roxborough R, Sawcer D, Gray J, Smilie B, Deans J, Goodfellow PN, Walker N, Clayton D, Compston DAS.  A whole genome screen for linkage disequilibrium in multiple sclerosis confirms disease associations with regions previously linked to susceptibility.  Brain.  2002; 125: 1337-47.
3. Nicholas R St J, Stevens S, Wing MG, Compston DAS.  Microglia-derived IGF-2 and CNTF prevent TNFalpha induced death of mature oligodendrocytes in vitro.  Journal of Neuroimmunology.  2002; 124: 36-44.
4. Golde S, Chandran S, Brown GC, Compston DAS.  Different pathways for iNOS-mediated toxicity in vitro dependent on neuronal maturation and NMDA-receptor expression.  Journal of Neurochemistry.  2002; 82: 269-82.
5. Nicholas R, Stevens S, Wing M, Compston DAS.  Oligodendrocyte-derived stress signals can recruit microglia in vitro.  NeuroReport. 2003; 14: 1001-5.
6. Wilkins A, Majed H, Layfield R, Compston DAS, Chandran S.  Oligodendrocytes promote neuronal survival and axconal length by distinct intracellular mechanisms: a novel role for oligodendrocyte-derived glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor.  Journal of Neuroscience.  2003; 23: 4967-74.
7. Zarei M, Chadran S, Hodges JR, Compston DAS.  Cognitive presentation of multiple sclerosis: evidence for a cortical variant.  Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.  2003; 74: 872-7.
8. Hensiek AE, Roxborough R, Maranian M, Seaman S, Yeo T, Compston DAS, Sawcer SJ.  Osteopontin gene and clinical severity of multiple sclerosis.  Journal of Neurology.  2003; 250: 943-7.

Funding

• Wellcome Trust
• Medical Research Council
• Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• National Multiple Sclerosis Society of the USA
• Ilex Oncology Inc.