Pieter van Doorn

Background

I am trained as a neurologist (1990) and clinical neurophysiologist (1991) at the Erasmus MC (Rotterdam, The Netherlands). I am specialized in neuromuscular diseases. In 2002, I was appointed as full-professor in neuromuscular diseases, with a focus on immune-mediated disorders.

My PhD-research was focused on the use of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIg) in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). I combined lab research (Dept. of immunohematology Leiden University) with the first clinical trials using IVIg in neurological diseases (Erasmus MC). After finishing my thesis (1990, ‘cum laude’), my research was extended to other polyneuropathies, and clinical trials in Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and CIDP.

In 2013, I initiated an ongoing project dedicated to find new risk factors for the development of chronic axonal polyneuropathy. This project is conducted with Prof Arfan Ikram (Dept. of Epidemiology) in ‘the Rotterdam study’.

My third focus is on Pompe disease, a metabolic muscle disease due to lack of a specific enzyme. Within the Pompe Expertise Centre (Erasmus MC) we aim to better understand the disease, and to apply advanced treatment to patients with this neuromuscular disease.

We initiated and collaborated on many clinical studies, made (international) Guidelines for GBS and CIDP, and I served in many boards including as President of the Peripheral Nerve Society (PNS).

My projects

We do our research in a dedicated team that includes staff, many PhD students, and many collaborations within and between departments and institutions.

My research lines cluster around the following topics:

• GBS and CIDP: clinical trials including new protocols and advanced treatments, prognostic factors, assessment of outcome, and better understanding the spectrum of disease (translational research). I am specifically interested in optimizing the diagnosis (adequate and fast) and a better treatment for patients with GBS and CIDP. This is also reflected in the development and publication of new (international) Guidelines.
• Chronic axonal polyneuropathy: we aim to find new risk factors for the development of chronic polyneuropathy. These studies are fully embedded in ‘the Rotterdam study’ a population-based study in a specific part of Rotterdam. We try to find out whether chronic axonal polyneuropathy is often a single entity, or usually related to other diseases. Some risk factors we search for are related to lifestyle (e.g., cardio-vascular risk factors), and chronic use of specific medication. We hope to find potentially modifiable or avoidable risk factors that can contribute to stop or even to prevent the development of chronic axonal polyneuropathy.
• Pompe disease: within the Pompe team we focus on understanding and finding the best treatment for patients. Diagnostics, initiating and optimizing enzyme treatment, careful follow-up using a range of assessments, and preparing for emerging treatments (especially gene therapy) is our core business in this disease.