Falch-forelesinga 2023 – Alberto Ascherio

Det medisinske fakultet og Neuro-SysMed har gleden av å invitere til dette årets Falch-forelesning, i år presentert av professor Alberto Ascherio frå Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health og Harvard Medical School. Du må gjerne også delta på ein uformell mingle-lunsj før forelesinga (lunsj 11.30-12.00). Husk berre å melde deg på via påmeldingslenka.

Tittel: "The Epstein-Barr virus as the leading cause multiple sclerosis and the possible viral etiology of other neurodegenerative diseases"

Tid: Onsdag 24. mai 2023 kl. 11.30–13.00 (inkl. mingling med lunsj 11.30–12.00)

Stad: Auditoriet i Armauer Hansens Hus, Haukelandsveien 28, Bergen.

Registrering: Gjennom denne lenka

(Vidare informasjon på engelsk sidan forelesinga vil foregå på engelsk.)

Professor Ascherio will review the data demonstrating that MS is a rare complication of infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), focusing on the recent investigation among over 10 million active-duty military personnel that provides virtually conclusive proof of causality. Further, he will briefly discuss the potential underlying mechanisms, and provide an epidemiological perspective on the potential role of infections in Alzheimer disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.

Ascherio is a Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and a Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ascherio has focused much of his work over the past 25 years on discovering the causes of neurodegenerative diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and cognitive decline. He has conducted longitudinal studies in many populations, which have contributed to identifying several biomarkers and modifiable risk factors for MS (e.g. cigarette smoking, vitamin D insufficiency, and childhood obesity), Parkinson (pesticide exposure, low caffeine intake, low physical activity), and ALS (cigarette smoking, military service, low body mass index), and have in some cases provided the rationale for randomized trials (e.g. on physical activity in Parkinson disease). His most notable scientific contribution stems from the 20-year long investigation of over 10 million young adults that led to the recent breakthrough discovery that MS is a rare complication of infection with the Epstein-Barr virus.