Dr. Michael Winklehner (Department of Neurology; dept. head: Prof. Raimund Helbok) was presented with the first-place award (endowed with € 3,000) for a study he conducted as part of his PhD program under the academic supervision of Prof. Romana Höftberger.

Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration is a severe clinical condition belonging to a group of paraneoplastic neurological syndromes involving irreversible nerve cell loss resulting from a tumor-induced autoimmune process. The clinical symptoms and detecting autoantibodies (which often appear well in advance of detecting the tumor) are crucial when it comes to diagnostics and can be ascertained at certain centers. These antibodies are associated more specifically with tumors, such as anti-Yo antibodies in breast or ovarian carcinomas, and anti-P/Q-VGCC antibodies in small cell lung carcinomas. The respective pathomechanisms are distinct and have not yet been sufficiently investigated.

As part of a multinational, collaborative study published in the renowned journal "Neurology Neuroimmunology Neuroinflammation", rare autopsy cases involving paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration were clinically and neuropathologically compared, identifying different characteristics. Anti-Yo antibodies revealed a rapidly progressing - and mostly untreatable progression - corresponding to the observed T-cell-mediated tissue damage with almost no treatment approaches available to date. In contrast, anti-P/Q-VGCC antibodies provide evidence of pathogenic antibody effects which, over a longer period of time, may result in neuronal and synaptic dysfunction, and nerve cell loss. In terms of prognosis, early detection and diagnosis along with targeted oncological and immunological treatments are crucial.

On an effort to identify underlying mechanisms and come up with patient treatment options for those suffering from paraneoplastic neurological syndromes, ongoing translational, collaborative studies are in the planning stages.