Announcement: Appointment of New Editor-in-Chief Lechoslaw (Les) Turski, MD, PhD

Figure 1: Les Turski

IOS Press, now part of Sage, is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Editor-in-Chief for Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience (RNN): Les Turski, MD, PhD.

Dr. Turski has served the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Bonn in North Rhine-Westphalia/Germany since 2012.

Dr. Turski completed his medical studies in 1978 at the Medical University in Lublin/Poland and became a licensed physician at the early age of only 22 years. He started his scientific and professional career in 1978 at the Medical University in Lublin. He continued his research at the Max-Planck-Institute for Experimental Medicine, at the Georg-August-University in Göttingen, and at the University of London beginning in 1981. Since 1987 he worked for Schering AG in Berlin and then for the Eisai Research Laboratories at the University College London. In 1999 he joined Solvay Pharmaceuticals in Weesp/The Netherlands, Hannover/Germany and Dijon/France as Executive VP and Head of Global Research. Since 1993 he is Professor of Pharmacology at the Georg-August-University in Göttingen. He obtained Board certification in Pharmacology and Toxicology and in Clinical Pharmacology in Berlin/Germany.

His research efforts have been focused on revealing and exploring the mechanisms responsible for generation and spread of seizures, neuronal death in the injured adult and developing brain, and pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Scientific achievements of Dr. Turski are marking turn-around in thinking about pathogenesis of neurological diseases and form a foundation for design of novel therapies for these disabling conditions.

Dr. Turski and his team discovered in 1983 that cholinomimetic drugs such as pilocarpine induce seizures and brain damage in both rats and mice subsequently leading to development of spontaneous seizures lasting for life (Turski et al., 1983). The pilocarpine model of epilepsy as described by Dr. Turski and his team is one of the most widely used experimental models of epilepsy worldwide (Rubio et al., 2023).

His next major contribution pertained to involvement of glutamate in movement disorders. Drs Klockgether and Turski hypothesized in 1989 that glutamate may contribute to symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and suggested that glutamate antagonists may be useful in symptomatic treatment of this disease (Klockgether and Turski, 1989; Klockgether and Turski, 1990). These principles are employed therapeutically in multiple antiparkinsonian drugs.

Subsequently, Drs Klockgether and Turski suggested that glutamate may be involved in parkinsonian dyskinesia and explained why glutamate antagonists should be used in prevention and therapy of Parkinson’s disease (Klockgether and Turski, 1993; Turski et al., 1991).

A new concept for therapy of traumatic brain injury with glutamate antagonists emphasizing clinically relevant time window appeared in 1996 (Bernert and Turski, 1996). The first glutamate AMPA antagonist ZK200775 created at Schering AG Berlin under his leadership reached clinical trials in stroke patients in 1998 marking a significant milestone in worldwide efforts toward design of drugs rescuing the brain (Turski et al., 1998). Another glutamate AMPA antagonist Perampanel (Fycompa) created at Eisai under his team guidance has been licensed worldwide for use in therapy of epilepsy in individuals older than 12 years in July 2012.

In 2000 the team led by Dr. Turski established a new concept for therapy of multiple sclerosis with glutamate antagonists breaking a 50-years-old tradition attributing pathogenesis of this disease solely to immunological disturbances (Smith et al., 2000).

Dr. Turski’s scientific output includes 189 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 42 book chapters, which have garnered more than 14,000 citations and earned him an impressive h-factor of 54.

Having served as an Associate Editor of RNN, Dr. Turski looks forward to taking over this new position, to continue and build upon the success the journal has achieved. He comments, “I am very excited to be appointed as Editor-in-Chief of Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, carrying forward Professor Sabel’s vision for the journal. His unmatched dedication and inspiration set a remarkable standard for the journal’s future. We wish him all the best as he embarks on his well-deserved retirement.”

The new Editor-in-Chief will be supported by Deputy Editor Andrea Antal, MD, PhD (University of Göttingen), as well as newly appointed Deputy Editors Doychin Angelov, MD, PhD (University of Cologne), and Chandramouli Krishnan, PhD (University of Michigan).

The journal greatly acknowledges the expert leadership of retiring Editor-in-Chief Bernhard Sabel, who managed the scientific excellence of the journal over the course of 26 years, supported by his editorial staff Steffi Matzke and Dr. Sylvia Prilloff. In 2022 he authored an Editorial commemorating the 40 published Volumes of RNN and the journal’s landmark achievements (Sabel, 2022). Prof Sabel remains on the editorial board as Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, alongside the journal’s founding editor Donald G. Stein.