The University of Sheffield
The Medical School

Dr Christopher McDermott (MBChB FRCP PhD)

Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Neurologist

Dr Christopher McDermott

University of Sheffield
Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health
Department of Neuroscience
Sheffield Institute of Translational Neuroscience
385a Glossop Road
Sheffield
United Kingdom, S10 2HQ

Telephone: 0114 22 22236
Fax: 0114 22 22290
Email:c.j.mcdermott@sheffield.ac.uk

Secretary: Rebecca Brown
Telephone: 0114 22 22261
Email: rebecca.brown@sheffield.ac.uk


Career History

I am interested in studying mechanisms of neurodegeneration in order to develop treatments for patients with motor neuron disease and hereditary spastic paraplegia. My current active projects include:

2006-Present
Clinical Senior Lecturer in Neurology.

2002-2006
Specialist Training in Neurology (CCT), Sheffield

2000-2002
Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellowship (PhD), University of Sheffield.

1998-2000
Clinical Research Fellow, University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

1997-1998
Specialist Training in Neurology, Leeds.

1994-1997
General professional training (MRCP), Leeds Teaching Hospitals.

1989-1994
Medicine (MBChB), University of Leeds.


External Commitments:

Member of DeNDRoN MND CSG
Member of NICE NIV Guideline Development Group
Member of Royal College of Physicians Neurology Speciality Advisory Committee
South Yorkshire Neurology Training Programme Director/ Chair Specialty Training Committee

Invited lectures:

Association of British Neurologists, Bournemouth 2010
Familial Spastic Paraplegia Support Group UK 2008
European Neurological Society, Rhodes 2007


Principal Funding Source:


Members of Research Group:


Representative Publications:

Christopher Hewitt, MBChB; Janine Kirby, PhD; J. Robin Highley, DPhil; Judith A. Hartley; Rachael Hibberd, DipHE; Hannah C. Hollinger, MA; Tim L. Williams, PhD;Paul G. Ince, MD; Christopher J. McDermott, PhD; Pamela J. Shaw, MD. Novel FUS/TLS Mutations and Pathology in Familial and Sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Arch Neurol. 2010;67:455-461.

C Douglass, R Kandler, PJ Shaw and CJ McDermott. An evaluation of neurophysiological criteria used in the diagnosis of Motor Neurone Disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Neuropsych 2010; In Press

J Kirby, E Goodall W Smith, J R Highley, R Masanzu, JA Hartley, R Hibberd, HC Hollinger, SB Wharton, K Morrison, PG Ince, CJ McDermott and PJ Shaw. Broad clinical phenotypes associated with TAR-DNA binding protein (TARDBP) mutations in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Neurology 2009; In press.

Randomised controlled trial of methotrexate for chronic inflammatory
demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (RMC trial): a pilot, multicentre study. RMC Trial Group. Lancet Neurol. 2009;8:158-64.

C Hewamadduma, C McDermott, J Kirby, A Grierson, M Panayi, A Dalton, Y Rajabally, P Shaw. New pedigrees and novel mutation expand the phenotype of REEP1-associated hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP). Neurogenetics. 2009;10:105-8

PR Kasher, KJ De Vos, SB Wharton, C Manser, EJ Bennett, M Bingley, JD Wood, R Milner, CJ McDermott, CC Miller, PJ Shaw, AJ Grierson. Direct evidence for axonal transport defects in a novel mouse model of mutant
spastin-induced hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) and human HSP patients. J Neurochem 2009;110:34-44.

CA Harwood, CJ McDermott, PJ Shaw. Physical activity as an exogenous risk factor in motor neuron disease (MND): A review of the evidence. Amyotroph Lateral Sclerosis 2009;10:191-204

CA Hewamadduma, J Kirby, C Kershaw, J Martindale, A Dalton, CJ McDermott, PJ Shaw. HSP60 is a rare cause of hereditary spastic paraparesis, but may act as a genetic modifier. Neurology. 2008;70:1717-8.

CJ McDermott and PJ Shaw The clinical diagnosis and management of MND. BMJ 2008.

CJ McDermott, CE Burness, J Kirby, A Dalton, et al. Clinical features of hereditary spastic paraplegia due to spastin mutation. Neurology 2006 ;67:45-51

JD Wood, JA Landers, M Bingley, CJ McDermott, V Thomas-McArthur, LJ Gleadhall, PJ Shaw, VT Cunliffe. The microtubule severing protein spastin is essential for axon outgrowth in the zebrafish embryo. Human Molecular genetics 2006;15:2763-2771

CJ McDermott and PJ Shaw. Hereditary spastic paraplegia. Chapter 16. In : Handbook of Handbook of Clinical Neurology Series 3rd Edition. Motor Neuron Disorders. Elsevier. Editors Andrew Eisen, Pamela J Shaw. 2006

SB Wharton, CJ McDermott, A Grierson, C Gelsthorpe, PG Ince, PJ Shaw. The cellular and molecular pathology of the motor system in hereditary spastic paraparesis due to mutation of the spastin gene. J Neuropath Exp Neurol 2003; 62:166-77

CJ McDemott, AJ Grierson, JD Wood, M Bingley, SB Wharton, KMD Bushby, PJ Shaw. Hereditary spastic paraparesis: Disrupted intracellular transport associated with spastin mutation. Annals of Neurology 2003;54:796-803

CJ McDermott, DM Turnbull, KMD Bushby, PJ Shaw. Analysis of mitochondrial function in hereditary spastic paraparesis. NeuroReport 2003;14:485-48

CJ McDermott, RK Dayaratne, KMD Bushby, M Johnson, C Hayes, D Turnbull, PJ Shaw. Paraplegin gene analysis in hereditary spastic paraparesis (HSP) pedigrees in northeast England. Neurology 2001;56:467-471.

CJ McDermott, K White, K Bushby, PJ Shaw. Hereditary spastic paraparesis: A review of new developments. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2000;6:150-160.