Univ.Prof. Dr. Walter Pirker

Name: Univ.Prof. Dr. Walter Pirker
Position: Abteilungsleiter Neurologische Abteilung

E-Mailadresse: walter.pirker@gesundheitsverbund.at

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Veröffentlichungen

Aktuelle Forschungsschwerpunkte

  • Genetik und Pathogenese des Morbus Parkinson (in Zusammenarbeit mit Prof. Alexander Zimprich, Univ.Klinik für Neurologie, MUW, Prof. Juliane Winkelmann, Institut für Humangenetik, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Dr. Esther Sammler, Universität Dundee; Mitglied des COURAGE-PD Konsortiums)
  • Behandlung motorischer Komplikationen des fortgeschrittenen M. Parkinson mit Geräte-unterstützten Therapien
  • Pathophysiologie des Parkinson-Tremors (in Zusammenarbeit mit Prof. Werner Poewe, Medizinische Universität Innsbruck, Doz. Regina Katzenschlager, Klinik Donaustadt Wien, Dr. Mark Hallett, NIH, USA)
  • Behandlung der Parkinson-Psychose (in Zusammenarbeit mit Prof. Werner Poewe, Medizinische Universität Innsbruck)
  • SPECT Imaging in der Diagnostik von Parkinson-Syndromen

Publikationsliste 2017-2026

  1. Pirker W, Katzenschlager R. Gait disorders in adults and the elderly – a clinical guide. Wiener Klin Wochenschr 2017;129:81-95. DOI: 10.1007/s00508-016-1096-4 Review. Open access – 46.000 accesses
  2. Foki T, Hitzl D, Pirker W, Novak K, Pusswald G, Auff E, Lehrner J. Assessment of individual cognitive changes after deep brain stimulation surgery in Parkinson’s disease using the Neuropsychological Test Battery Vienna short version. Wien Klin Wochenschr 2017 Feb 7. doi: 10.1007/s00508-017-1169-z. [Epub ahead of print]
  3. Schuhmayer N, Weber C, Kieler M, Voller B, Pirker W, Auff E, Haubenberger D. Task-dependent variability of essential tremor. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2017;41:79-85. doi: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2017.05.018. Epub 2017 May 20.
  4. Puska G, Lutz MI, Molnar K, Regelsberger G, Ricken G, Pirker W, Laszlo L, Kovacs GG. Lysosomal response in relation to α-synuclein pathology differs between Parkinson’s disease and multiple system atrophy. Neurobiol Dis 2018;114:140-152. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2018.02.019. [Epub ahead of print]
  5. Foki T, Hitzl D, Pirker W, Novak K, Pusswald G, Lehrner J. Individual cognitive change after DBS-surgery in Parkinson’s disease patients using Reliable Change Index Methodology. Neuropsychiatr 2018;32:149-158. doi: 10.1007/s40211-018-0271-4. Epub 2018 May 16.
  6. 6. Leonhardt B, Tahmasebi R, Jagsch R, Pirker W, Lehrner J. Awareness of olfactory dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease. Neuropsychology 2019 Jul;33:633-641. doi: 10.1037/neu0000544. Epub 2019 Apr 4.
  7. Vollstedt EJ, Kasten M, Klein C; MJFF Global Genetic Parkinson’s Disease Study Group. Using global team science to identify genetic parkinson’s disease worldwide. Ann Neurol 2019;86:153-157. doi: 10.1002/ana.25514. Epub 2019 Jun 26.
  8. Pusswald G, Wiesbauer P, Pirker W, Novak K, Foki T, Lehrner J. Depression, quality of life, activities of daily living, and subjective memory after deep brain stimulation in Parkinson disease-A reliable change index analysis. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2019;34:1698-1705. doi: 10.1002/gps.5184. Epub 2019 Aug 6.
  9. Koll K, Willinger S, Urlesberger K, Pirker W. Acute amnestic syndrome with hippocampal lesion due to influenza B-associated encephalopathy. Wien Klin Wochenschr 2020;132:542-544. doi: 10.1007/s00508-020-01721-x. Online ahead of print.
  10. Stögmann E, Hilger E, Pirker W. Klinik der Demenzen. In: Schloffer H, Prang E, Frick A, eds. Gedächtnistraining. Theoretische und praktische Grundlagen. Berlin: Springer, 2021: 59-92. DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-62300-8.
  11. Domenighetti C et al. Comprehensive Unbiaised Risk Factor Assessment for Genetics and Environment in Parkinson’s Disease (Courage-PD) consortium. Mendelian randomisation study of smoking, alcohol, and coffee drinking in relation to Parkinson’s disease. J Parkinsons Dis 2021 Oct 7. doi: 10.3233/JPD-212851. Online ahead of print.
  12. Domenighetti C et al. Comprehensive Unbiaised Risk Factor Assessment for Genetics and Environment in Parkinson’s Disease (Courage-PD) consortium. Dairy intake and Parkinson’s disease: A Mendelian randomization study. Mov Disord 2022 Jan 8. doi: 10.1002/mds.28902. Online ahead of print.
  13. Endmayr V, Tunc C, Ergin L, De Rosa A, Weng R, Wagner L, Yu TY, Fichtenbaum A, Perkmann T, Haslacher H, Kozakowski N, Schwaiger C, Ricken G, Hametner S, Klotz S, Dutra LA, Lechner C, de Simoni D, Poppert KN, Müller GJ, Pirker S, Pirker W, Angelovski A, Valach M, Maestri M, Guida M, Ricciardi R, Frommlet F, Sieghart D, Pinter M, Kircher K, Artacker G, Höftberger R, Koneczny I. Anti-Neuronal IgG4 Autoimmune Diseases and IgG4-Related Diseases May Not Be Part of the Same Spectrum: A Comparative Study. Front Immunol 2022 Jan 14;12:785247. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.785247. eCollection 2021.
  14. Liu H, Dehestani M, Blauwendraat C, Makarious MB, Leonard H, Kim JJ, Schulte C, Noyce A, Jacobs BM, Foote I, Sharma M; International Parkinson’s Disease Genomics Consortium; Comprehensive Unbiased Risk Factor Assessment for Genetics and Environment in Parkinson’s Disease Consortium, Nalls M, Singleton A, Gasser T, Bandres-Ciga S. Polygenic Resilience Modulates the Penetrance of Parkinson Disease Genetic Risk Factors. Ann Neurol 2022 Aug;92(2):270-278. doi: 10.1002/ana.26416. Epub 2022 Jun 24.
  15. Domenighetti C, Douillard V, Sugier PE, Sreelatha AAK, Schulte C, Grover S, May P, Bobbili DR, Radivojkov-Blagojevic M, Lichtner P, Singleton AB, Hernandez DG, Edsall C, Gourraud PA, Mellick GD, Zimprich A, Pirker W, Rogaeva E, Lang AE, Koks S, Taba P, Lesage S, Brice A, Corvol JC, Chartier-Harlin MC, Mutez E, Brockmann K, Deutschländer AB, Hadjigeorgiou GM, Dardiotis E, Stefanis L, Simitsi AM, Valente EM, Petrucci S, Duga S, Straniero L, Zecchinelli A, Pezzoli G, Brighina L, Ferrarese C, Annesi G, Quattrone A, Gagliardi M, Matsuo H, Nakayama A, Hattori N, Nishioka K, Chung SJ, Kim YJ, Kolber P, van de Warrenburg BPC, Bloem BR, Aasly J, Toft M, Pihlstrøm L, Correia Guedes L, Ferreira JJ, Bardien S, Carr J, Tolosa E, Ezquerra M, Pastor P, Diez-Fairen M, Wirdefeldt K, Pedersen NL, Ran C, Belin AC, Puschmann A, Ygland Rödström E, Clarke CE, Morrison KE, Tan M, KraincMD D, Burbulla LF, Farrer MJ, Krüger R, Gasser T, Sharma M, Vince N, Elbaz A; Comprehensive Unbiased Risk Factor Assessment for Genetics and Environment in Parkinson’s Disease (Courage-PD) Consortium. The Interaction between HLA-DRB1 and Smoking in Parkinson’s Disease Revisited. Mov Disord 2022 Jul 10. doi: 10.1002/mds.29133. Online ahead of print. PMID: 35810454
  16. Grover S, Kumar Sreelatha AA, Pihlstrom L, Domenighetti C, Schulte C, Sugier PE, Radivojkov-Blagojevic M, Lichtner P, Mohamed O, Portugal B, Landoulsi Z, May P, Bobbili D, Edsall C, Bartusch F, Hanussek M, Krüger J, Hernandez DG, Blauwendraat C, Mellick GD, Zimprich A, Pirker W, Tan M, Rogaeva E, Lang A, Koks S, Taba P, Lesage S, Brice A, Corvol JC, Chartier-Harlin MC, Mutez E, Brockmann K, Deutschländer AB, Hadjigeorgiou GM, Dardiotis E, Stefanis L, Simitsi AM, Valente EM, Petrucci S, Straniero L, Zecchinelli A, Pezzoli G, Brighina L, Ferrarese C, Annesi G, Quattrone A, Gagliardi M, Burbulla LF, Matsuo H, Kawamura Y, Hattori N, Nishioka K, Chung SJ, Kim YJ, Pavelka L, van de Warrenburg BPC, Bloem BR, Singleton AB, Aasly J, Toft M, Guedes LC, Ferreira JJ, Bardien S, Carr J, Tolosa E, Ezquerra M, Pastor P, Diez-Fairen M, Wirdefeldt K, Pedersen NL, Ran C, Belin AC, Puschmann A, Hellberg C, Clarke CE, Morrison KE, Krainc D, Farrer MJ, Kruger R, Elbaz A, Gasser T, Sharma M; and the Comprehensive Unbiased Risk Factor Assessment for Genetics and Environment in Parkinson’s Disease (COURAGE-PD) Consortium. Genome-wide Association and Meta-analysis of Age at Onset in Parkinson Disease: Evidence From the COURAGE-PD Consortium. Neurology 2022 Aug 16;99(7):e698-e710. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000200699. Epub 2022 May 26. PMID: 35970579
  17. Sugier PE, Lucotte EA, Domenighetti C, Law MH, Iles MM, Brown K, Amos C, McKay JD, Hung RJ, Karimi M, Bacq-Daian D, Boland-Augé A, Olaso R, Deleuze JF, Lesueur F, Ostroumova E, Kesminiene A, de Vathaire F, Guénel P; EPITHYR consortium; Sreelatha AAK, Schulte C, Grover S, May P, Bobbili DR, Radivojkov-Blagojevic M, Lichtner P, Singleton AB, Hernandez DG, Edsall C, Mellick GD, Zimprich A, Pirker W, Rogaeva E, Lang AE, Koks S, Taba P, Lesage S, Brice A, Corvol JC, Chartier-Harlin MC, Mutez E, Brockmann K, Deutschländer AB, Hadjigeorgiou GM, Dardiotis E, Stefanis L, Simitsi AM, Valente EM, Petrucci S, Straniero L, Zecchinelli A, Pezzoli G, Brighina L, Ferrarese C, Annesi G, Quattrone A, Gagliardi M, Matsuo H, Nakayama A, Hattori N, Nishioka K, Chung SJ, Kim YJ, Kolber P, van de Warrenburg BPC, Bloem BR, Aasly J, Toft M, Pihlstrøm L, Guedes LC, Ferreira JJ, Bardien S, Carr J, Tolosa E, Ezquerra M, Pastor P, Diez-Fairen M, Wirdefeldt K, Pedersen N, Ran C, Belin AC, Puschmann A, Rödström EY, Clarke CE, Morrison KE, Tan M, Krainc D, Burbulla LF, Farrer MJ, Kruger R, Gasser T, Sharma M; Comprehensive Unbiased Risk Factor Assessment for Genetics and Environment in Parkinson’s Disease (Courage-PD) consortium; Truong T, Elbaz A. Investigation of Shared Genetic Risk Factors Between Parkinson’s Disease and Cancers. Mov Disord 2023;38:604-615. doi: 10.1002/mds.29337.
  18. Pirker W, Katzenschlager R, Hallett M, Poewe W. Pharmacological Treatment of Tremor in Parkinson’s Disease Revisited [Review]. J Parkinsons Dis 2023;13:127-144. doi: 10.3233/JPD-225060.
  19. Gomes S, Garrido A, Tonelli F, Obiang D, Tolosa E, Marti MJ, Ruiz-Martinez J, Vinagre Aragon A, Hernandez-Eguiazu H, Croitoru I, Marshall VL, Koenig T, Hotzy C, Hsieh F, Sakalosh M, Tengstrand E, Padmanabhan S, Merchant K, Bruecke C, Pirker W, Zimprich A, Sammler E. Elevated urine BMP phospholipids in LRRK2 and VPS35 mutation carriers with and without Parkinson’s disease. NPJ Parkinson Dis 2023;9:52.
  20. Domenighetti C, Sugier PE, Ashok Kumar Sreelatha A, Schulte C, Grover S, Portugal B, Lee PC, May P, Bobbili D, Radivojkov Blagojevic M, Lichtner P, Singleton AB, Hernandez D, Edsall C, Mellick GD, Zimprich AA, Pirker W, Rogaeva EA, Lang AE, Koks S, Taba P, Lesage S, Brice A, Corvol JC, Chartier-Harlin MC, Mutez E, Brockmann K, Deutschlander AB, Hadjigeorgiou GM, Dardiotis E, Stefanis L, Simitsi AM, Valente EM, Petrucci S, Straniero L, Zecchinelli AL, Pezzoli G, Brighina L, Ferrarese C, Annesi G, Quattrone A, Gagliardi M, Matsuo H, Nakayama A, Hattori N, Nishioka K, Chung SJ, Kim YJ, Kolber P, Van De Warrenburg BPC, Bloem BR, Toft M, Pihlstrøm L, Correia Guedes L, Ferreira JJ, Bardien S, Carr J, Tolosa E, Ezquerra M, Pastor P, Diez-Fairen M, Wirdefeldt K, Pedersen NL, Ran C, Belin AC, Puschmann A, Hellberg C, Clarke CE, Morrison KE, Tan MM, Krainc D, Burbulla LF, Farrer M, Kruger R, Gasser T, Sharma M, Elbaz A; Comprehensive Unbiased Risk Factor Assessment for Genetics and Environment in Parkinson’s Disease (COURAGE-PD) Consortium. Association of Body Mass Index and Parkinson Disease: A Bidirectional Mendelian Randomization Study. Neurology 2024;103:e209620. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000209620.
  21. Berger-Sieczkowski E, Endmayr V, Haider C, Ricken G, Jauk P, Macher S, Pirker W, Högl B, Heidbreder A, Schnider P, Bradley-Zechmeister E, Mariotto S, Koneczny I, Reinecke R, Kasprian G, Weber C, Bergmann M, Milenkovic I, Berger T, Gaig C, Sabater L, Graus F, Gelpi E, Höftberger R. Analysis of inflammatory markers and tau deposits in an autopsy series of nine patients with anti-IgLON5 disease. Acta Neuropathol 2023;146:631-645. doi: 10.1007/s00401-023-02625-6.
  22. Menon PJ, Sambin S, Criniere-Boizet B, Courtin T, Tesson C, Casse F, Ferrien M, Mariani LL, Carvalho S, Lejeune FX, Rebbah S, Martet G, Houot M, Lanore A, Mangone G, Roze E, Vidailhet M, Aasly J, Gan Or Z, Yu E, Dauvilliers Y, Zimprich A, Tomantschger V, Pirker W, Álvarez I, Pastor P, Di Fonzo A, Bhatia KP, Magrinelli F, Houlden H, Real R, Quattrone A, Limousin P, Korlipara P, Foltynie T, Grosset D, Williams N, Narendra D, Lin HP, Jovanovic C, Svetel M, Lynch T, Gallagher A, Vandenberghe W, Gasser T, Brockmann K, Morris HR, Borsche M, Klein C, Corti O, Brice A, Lesage S, Corvol JC; French Parkinson disease Genetics Study Group (PDG). Genotype-phenotype correlation in PRKN-associated Parkinson’s disease. NPJ Parkinsons Dis 2024;10:72. doi: 10.1038/s41531-024-00677-3.
  23. Chia R, Ray A, Shah Z, Ding J, Ruffo P, Fujita M, Menon V, Saez-Atienzar S, Reho P, Kaivola K, Walton RL, Reynolds RH, Karra R, Sait S, Akcimen F, Diez-Fairen M, Alvarez I, Fanciulli A, Stefanova N, Seppi K, Duerr S, Leys F, Krismer F, Sidoroff V, Zimprich A, Pirker W, Rascol O, Foubert-Samier A, Meissner WG, Tison F, Pavy-Le Traon A, Pellecchia MT, Barone P, Russillo MC, Marín-Lahoz J, Kulisevsky J, Torres S, Mir P, Periñán MT, Proukakis C, Chelban V, Wu L, Goh YY, Parkkinen L, Hu MT, Kobylecki C, Saxon JA, Rollinson S, Garland E, Biaggioni I, Litvan I, Rubio I, Alcalay RN, Kwei KT, Lubbe SJ, Mao Q, Flanagan ME, Castellani RJ, Khurana V, Ndayisaba A, Calvo A, Mora G, Canosa A, Floris G, Bohannan RC, Moore A, Norcliffe-Kaufmann L, Palma JA, Kaufmann H, Kim C, Iba M, Masliah E, Dawson TM, Rosenthal LS, Pantelyat A, Albert MS, Pletnikova O, Troncoso JC, Infante J, Lage C, Sánchez-Juan P, Serrano GE, Beach TG, Pastor P, Morris HR, Albani D, Clarimon J, Wenning GK, Hardy JA, Ryten M, Topol E, Torkamani A, Chiò A, Bennett DA, De Jager PL, Low PA, Singer W, Cheshire WP, Wszolek ZK, Dickson DW, Traynor BJ, Gibbs JR, Dalgard CL, Ross OA, Houlden H, Scholz SW. Genome sequence analyses identify novel risk loci for multiple system atrophy. Neuron 2024;112:2142-2156.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.04.002.
  24. Landoulsi Z, Sreelatha AAK, Schulte C, Bobbili DR, Montanucci L, Leu C, Niestroj LM, Hassanin E, Domenighetti C, Pavelka L, Sugier PE, Radivojkov-Blagojevic M, Lichtner P, Portugal B, Edsall C, Kru Ger J, Hernandez DG, Blauwendraat C, Mellick GD, Zimprich A, Pirker W, Tan M, Rogaeva E, Lang AE, Koks S, Taba P, Lesage S, Brice A, Corvol JC, Chartier-Harlin MC, Mutez E, Brockmann K, Deutschländer AB, Hadjigeorgiou GM, Dardiotis E, Stefanis L, Simitsi AM, Valente EM, Petrucci S, Straniero L, Zecchinelli A, Pezzoli G, Brighina L, Ferrarese C, Annesi G, Quattrone A, Gagliardi M, Burbulla LF, Matsuo H, Nakayama A, Hattori N, Nishioka K, Chung SJ, Kim YJ, Kolber P, van de Warrenburg BP, Bloem BR, Singleton AB, Toft M, Pihlstrom L, Guedes LC, Ferreira JJ, Bardien S, Carr J, Tolosa E, Ezquerra M, Pastor P, Wirdefeldt K, Pedersen NL, Ran C, Belin AC, Puschmann A, Clarke CE, Morrison KE, Krainc D, Farrer MJ, Lal D, Elbaz A, Gasser T, Krüger R, Sharma M, May P. Genome-wide association study of copy number variations in Parkinson’s disease. medRxiv [Preprint]. 2024 Aug 22:2024.08.21.24311915. doi: 10.1101/2024.08.21.24311915.
  25. Brücke C, Brücke T, Pirker W, Zimprich A. A rare variant in the UQCRC1 gene, p.(Gly405Val) in three Austrian Parkinson’s Patients. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2025;131:107250. doi: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2024.107250.
  26. Pirker W. Clozapine for quetiapine-refractory psychosis in Parkinson’s disease: A long-term single-center retrospective study. Parkinsons Dis 2025 Mar 10;2025:1068722. doi: 10.1155/padi/1068722.
  27. Kulisevsky J, García-Ruíz P, Outeiro TF, Gurevich T, Klivènyi P, Van Laar T, Milanov I, Pirker W, Popescu BO, Toft M, Szász JA. Pharmacogenetics in advanced Parkinson’s disease. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 2025 Nov;132(11):1719-1726.
  28. Pirker W, Ferreira JJ, Rascol O, Poewe W. Management of Parkinson’s disease psychosis-a European perspective. Lancet Reg Health Eur 2026 Jan 5;62:101569.
  29. Ray A, Chia R, Rasheed M, Bayram E; International MSA Genomics Consortium; Dickson DW, Traynor BJ, Gibbs JR, Dalgard CL, Ross OA, Houlden H, Scholz SW. Chromosome X-wide association study in multiple system atrophy identifies sex-differential risk loci. Brain 2026 Feb 13:awag062. doi: 10.1093/brain/awag062. Online ahead of print.

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