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Friedrich Rainer von Coelln, DrMed

Academic Title:

Assistant Professor

Primary Appointment:

Neurology

Email:

rvoncoelln@som.umaryland.edu

Location:

Paca/Pratt, 03-072

Phone (Primary):

410-328-7809

Fax:

410-328-0617

Download CV

Education and Training

Medical School: 

Ruprecht-Karls University, Heidelberg, Germany 

Internship: 

Harbor Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland 

Neurology Residency:

University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

University of Maryland Medical System  

Fellowship: 

Johns Hopkins University, Dept. of Neurology: Movement Disorders

Certifications: 

American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Board-certified Neurologist, Germany

Biosketch

Dr. von Coelln received his Doctor of Medicine (Dr. med., equivalent to the U.S. degree of M.D./Ph.D) from the University of Heidelberg, Germany. He completed a Neurology residency both in his native Germany and at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, MD. His extensive research experience includes cell biology and animal models of Parkinson disease (PD), as well as clinical research on PD and other movement disorders. In 2014, he received a prestigious 2-year career development grant by the American Academy of Neurololgy and the American Brain Foundation. His current research focuses on genotype-phenotype correlation in PD and quantitative gait and balance analysis using portable biosensors. This aspect of his research is supported by a pilot grant from the University of Maryland Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (UM-OAIC). 

Research/Clinical Keywords

Parkinson's disease, Parkinson disease, PSP, MSA, CBS/CBD, dystonia, ataxia, tics, chorea, involuntary movements, genetics, gait analysis, big data, data visualization.

Highlighted Publications

  1. von Coelln R., Thomas B., Savitt J. M., Lim K.L., Sasaki M., Hess E.J., Dawson V.L., Dawson T.M. Loss of Locus Coeruleus Neurons and Reduced Startle in Parkin Null Mice. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2004;101:10744-10749.
  2. von Coelln R.*, Thomas B.*, Andrabi S.A., Lim K.L., Savitt J.M., Saffary R., Stirling W., Bruno K., Hess E.J., Lee M.K., Dawson V.L., Dawson T.M. Inclusion Body Formation and Neurodegeneration are Parkin-Independent in a Mouse Model of α-Synucleinopathy. J. Neurosci. 2006;26:3685-3696. *Co-first authors.
  3. von Coelln, R., Barr E., Gruber-Baldini A.L., Reich S.G., Armstrong M.J., Shulman L.M. Motor Subtypes of Parkinson Disease are Unstable Over Time. Neurology 2015:84 Suppl 14:S48.002.
  4. von Coelln R., Barr E., Gruber-Baldini A.L, Reich S.G., Armstrong M.J., Hanna-Pladdy B., Shulman L.M. Can we predict motor subtype fidelity in patients with tremor-dominant Parkinson disease? Mov Dis 2015;30 Suppl 1:130.
  5. von Coelln R., Shulman L.M. Clinical subtypes and genetic heterogeneity: of lumping and splitting in Parkinson disease. Curr. Opin. Neurol. 2016; 2016 Oct 5. [Epub ahead of print].

Additional Publication Citations

  1. von Coelln R., Unsicker K., Krieglstein K. Screening of interleukins for survival-promoting effects on cultured mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons from embryonic rat brain. Dev. Brain Res. 1995; 89:150-154.
  2. Schulz J.B., Weller M., Matthews R.T., Heneka M.T., Groscurth P., Martinou J.C., Lommatzsch J., von Coelln R., Wüllner U., Löschmann P.A., Beal M. F., Dichgans J., Klockgether T. Extended therapeutic window for caspase inhibition and synergy with MK-801 in the treatment of cerebral histotoxic hypoxia. Cell Death Diff. 1998;5:847-857.
  3. Eberhardt O., von Coelln R., Kügler S., Lindenau J., Rathke-Hartlieb S., Gerhardt E., Haid S., Isenmann S., Gravel C., Srinivasan A., Bähr M., Weller M., Dichgans J., Schulz J.B. Protection by synergistic effects of adenovirus-mediated X-chromosome-linked inhibitor of apoptosis and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor gene transfer in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine model of Parkinson’s disease. J. Neurosci. 2000;20:9126-9134.
  4. von Coelln R., Kügler S., Bähr M., Weller M., Dichgans J., Schulz J.B. Rescue from death but not from functional impaiment: caspase inhibition protects dopaminergic cells against 6-hydroxydopamine-induced apoptosis but not against the loss of their terminals. J. Neurochem. 2001;77:263-273.
  5. von Coelln R., Thomas B., Savitt J. M., Lim K.L., Sasaki M., Hess E.J., Dawson V.L., Dawson T.M. Loss of Locus Coeruleus Neurons and Reduced Startle in Parkin Null Mice. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2004;101:10744-10749.
  6. von Coelln R., Dawson V.L., Dawson T.M. Parkin-associated Parkinson's disease. (Review). Cell Tissue Res. 2004;318:175-184.
  7. Ko HS., von Coelln R., Sriram S.R., Kim S.W., Chung K.K., Pletnikova O., Troncoso J., Johnson B., Saffary R., Goh E.L., Song H., Park B.J., Kim M.J., Kim S., Dawson V.L., Dawson T.M. Accumulation of the authentic parkin substrate aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase cofactor, p38/JTV-1, leads to catecholaminergic cell death. J. Neurosci. 2005;25:7968-7978. (Dissected animals, prepared samples).
  8. von Coelln R.*, Thomas B.*, Andrabi S.A., Lim K.L., Savitt J.M., Saffary R., Stirling W., Bruno K., Hess E.J., Lee M.K., Dawson V.L., Dawson T.M. Inclusion Body Formation and Neurodegeneration are Parkin-Independent in a Mouse Model of α-Synucleinopathy. J. Neurosci. 2006;26:3685-3696. *Co-first authors.
  9. Thomas B., von Coelln R., Mandir A.S., Trinkaus D.B., Farah M.H., Leong Lim K., Calingasan N. Y., Flint Beal M., Dawson V.L., Dawson T.M. MPTP and DSP-4 susceptibility of substantia nigra and locus coeruleus catecholaminergic neurons in mice is independent of parkin activity. Neurobiol. Dis. 2007;26:312-322. (Determined methods, treated animals, prepared samples)
  10. von Coelln R., Raible A., Gasser T., Asmus F. Ultrasound-guided injection of the iliopsoas muscle with botulinum toxin in camptocormia. Mov. Dis. 2008;23:889-892.
  11. Asmus F., von Coelln R., Boertlein A., Gasser T., Mueller J. (2009): Reverse sensory geste in cervical dystonia. Mov. Dis. 24, 297-300. (Involved in patient care, videotaping, preparation of manuscript)
  12. Pantazis G, Psaras T, Krope K, von Coelln R., Fend F, Bock T, Schittenhelm J, Melms A, Meyermann R, Bornemann A. Cerebral low-grade lymphoma and light chain deposition disease: exceedingly high IgG levels in the cerebrospinal fluid as a diagnostic clue. Clin Neuropathol 2010;29(6):378-83. (Involved in patient care, preparation of manuscript)
  13. Asamoah V, von Coelln R., Savitt J, Lee LA. The many faces of celiac disease. Gastroenterol Hepatol (N Y). 2011;7(8):549-54. (Involved in patient care, preparation of manuscript)
  14. von Coelln R., Shulman L.M. Clinical subtypes and genetic heterogeneity: of lumping and splitting in Parkinson disease. Curr. Opin. Neurol. 2016; 2016 Oct 5. [Epub ahead of print].

Research Interests

Thorough and detailed phenotyping of PD patients is a key element in identifying genotype-phenotype correlations in PD. I am working on novel and innovative approaches to characterize and quantify motor symptoms in PD, using wearable sensors. Biosensors are exciting and promising tools to advance our ability to achieve such “next-generation phenotyping”. Therefore, my main research interest is the Implementation and validation of such wearable sensors in our clinical evaluation of PD patients, and how to link the results of this “deep phenotyping” with the information on genetic variability in PD.

Clinical Specialty Details

I treat patients with Parkinson disease (PD), as well as "PD-look-alikes" like Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), Corticobasal Degeneration/Syndrome (CBD/CBS), drug-induced parkinsonism, and vascular parkinsonism. 

Essential tremor and other forms of tremor also fall into my area of expertise. 

Furthermore, I see patients with ataxia, chorea, Huntington disease, tics, dystonia, cognitive impairment, and involuntary movements of unknown cause or mechnism. 

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