The University of Sheffield
Department of Neuroscience

Dr. Stephen B Wharton MRCPath

Senior clinical lecturer and Honorary consultant in Neuropathology

Dr Stephen Wharton

Department of Neuroscience
Sheffield Institute of Translational Neuroscience
University of Sheffield
Room B34
385a Glossop Road
Sheffield
S10 2HQ
Fax: +44 (0)114 22 22235
Email: s.wharton@sheffield.ac.uk

Secretary: Jo Brodie (Mon, Tue)
Tel: +44 (0)114 22 22262
Email:j.brodie@sheffield.ac.uk

Career History


Qualifications


Research

Current interests lie in the clinical and molecular pathology of brain ageing and neurodegenerative diseases. Major areas:

Pathology of cognitive impairment – through involvement with the MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Study. This study takes a population-based approach to the neuropathology of dementia.

The role of astrocytes in brain ageing and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Oxidative and nucleic acid damage in brain ageing.

White matter pathology in dementia

Motor system pathology and tissue banking in collaboration with Prof Ince and Prof Shaw.

Diagnostic interests in neuro-oncology related to clinical practice in this area.

Current funding sources

Alzheimer’s Research UK, MRC, BBSRC.

Editorial activities


External professional activities – current and recent


Membership of associations and societies - current


Selected publications (last 5 years)

Garwood C, Faizullabhoy A, Wharton SB, Ince PG, Heath P, Shaw PJ, Baxter L, Gelsthorpe C, Matthews FE, Brayne C, Simpson JE, the MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Neuropathology Study Group. Calcium dysregulation in relation to Alzheimer-type pathology in the ageing brain. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol (in press).

Brockington A, Ning K, Heath PR, Wood E, Kirby J, Fusi N, Lawrence N, Wharton SB, Ince PG, Shaw PJ. Unravelling the enigma of selective vulnerability in neurodegeneration: motor neurons show distinct gene expression characteristics and decreased susceptibility to excitotoxicity. Acta Neuropathol In Press

Lace G, Ince PG, Brayne C, Savva GM, Matthews FE, de Silva R, Simpson JE, Wharton SB, On behalf of MRC-CFAS. Mesial temporal astrocyte tau pathology in the MRC-CFAS ageing brain cohort. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 2012; 34:15-24.

Waller R, Woodroofe, MN, Francese S, Heath PR, Wharton SB, Ince PG, Sharrack B, Simpson JE. Isolation of enriched glial populations from post-mortem human CNS material by immuno-laser capture microdissection. J Neurosci Methods 2012; 208:108-113.

Cooper-Knock J, Hewitt C, Highley JR, Brockington A, Milano A, Man S, Martindale J, Hartley J, Walsh T, Gelsthorpe C, Baxter L, Forster G, Fox , Bury J, Mok K, McDermott CJ, Traynor BJ, Kirby J, Wharton SB, Ince PG, Hardy J, Shaw PJ. Clinico-pathological features in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with expansions in C9ORF72. Brain 2012; 135:751-64.

Keage HA, Ince PG, Matthews FE, Wharton SB, McKeith IG, Brayne C, MRC CFAS and CC75C. Impact of less common and “disregarded” pathologies on dementia burden in a population-based cohort. J Alzheimers Dis 2012; 28:486-93.

Viggars AP, Wharton SB, Simpson JE, Matthews FE, Brayne C, Savva GM, Garwood C, Drew D, Shaw PJ, Ince PG. Alterations in the blood brain barrier in ageing cerebral cortex in relationship to Alzheimer-type pathology: a study in the MRC-CFAS population neuropathology cohort. Neurosci Lett 2011; 505:25-30.

Simpson JE, Ince PG, Shaw PJ, Heath PR, Raman R, Garwood CJ, Gelsthorpe C, Baxter L, Forster G, Matthews FE, Brayne C, Wharton SB, on behalf of the MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Neuropathology Study Group. Microarray analysis of the astrocyte transcriptome in the ageing brain: relationship to Alzheimer’s pathology and APOE genotype. Neurobiol Aging 2011; 32:1795-807.

Kirby J, Ning K, Ferraiuolo L, Heath PR, Ismail A, Kuo S-W, Valori CF, Cox L, Sharrack B, Wharton SB, Ince PG, Shaw PJ, Azzouz M. Phosphatase and tensin homologue/protein kinase B pathway linked to motor neuron survival in human superoxide disumutase 1-related amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Brain 2011; 134:506-17

Simpson JE, Wharton SB, Cooper J, Gelsthorpe C, Baxter L, Forster G, Shaw PJ, Savva G, Matthews FE, Brayne C, Ince PG. Alterations of the blood-brain barrier in cerebral white matter lesions in the ageing brain. Neurosci Lett 2010; 486:246-51.

Cox LE, Ferraiuolo L, Goodall EF, Heath PR, Higginbottom A, Mortiboys H, Hollinger HC, Hartley JA, Brockington A, Burness CE, Morrison KE, Wharton SB, Grierson AJ, Ince PG, Kirby J, Shaw PJ. Mutations in CHMP2B in lower motor neuron predominant amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). PLoS One 2010; 5(3):e9872.

Simpson JE, Ince PG, Haynes LJ, Theaker R, Gelsthorpe C, Baxter L, Forster G, Lace GL, Shaw PJ, Matthews FE, Savva GM, Brayne C, Wharton SB, on behalf of the MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Neuropathology Study Group. Population Variation in Oxidative Stress and Astrocyte DNA Damage in Relation to Alzheimer-type Pathology in the Ageing Brain. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2010; 36:25-40.

Kirby J, Goodall EF, Smith W, Highley JR, Masanzu R, Hartley JA, Hibberd R, Hollinger HC, Wharton SB, Morrison KE, Ince PG, McDermott CJ, Shaw PJ. Broad clinical phenotypes associated with TAR-DNA binding protein (TARDBP) mutations in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Neurogenetics 2010; 11:217-225.

Matthews FE, Brayne C, Lowe J, McKeith I, Wharton SB, Ince P. Epidemiological pathology of dementia: attributable-risk at death in the Medical Research Council Cognitive Function and Ageing Study. PLoS Med 2009; 6(11): e1000180.

Savva GM*, Wharton SB*, Ince PG, Forster G, Matthews FE, Brayne C, on behalf of MRC-CFAS. Age, neuropathology and dementia. N Engl J Med 2009; 360:2302-2309. [* joint first authors]. This paper is the subject of an accompanying editorial: DC Ewbank and SE Arnold. Cool with plaques and tangles. N Engl J Med 2009; 360:2357-2359.

SB Wharton, JP O’Callaghan, GM Savva, JAR Nicoll, F Matthews, JE Simpson, G Forster, PJ Shaw, C Brayne, PG Ince, on behalf of the MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Neuropathology Study Group. Population variation in glial fibrillary acidic protein levels in brain ageing: relationship to Alzheimer-type pathology and dementia. Dem Geriat Cog Dis 2009; 27:465-473.

Keage HAD, RO Carare, Friedland RP, Ince PG, Love S, Nicoll JA, Wharton SB, Weller RO, Brayne C. Population studies of sporadic cerebral amyloid angiopathy and dementia: a systematic review. BMC Neurol 2009; 9:3 (pp1-8).

Lace G, Savva G, Forster G, De Silva R, Brayne C, Matthews F, Barclay JJ, Dakin L, Ince PG, Wharton SB, on behalf of MRC-CFAS. Hippocampal tau pathology in an elderly neuropathology cohort: population variation and hierarchy of sub-regional involvement suggesting anterograde progression along neuroanatomical pathways. Brain 2009; 132:1324-1334.

Simpson JE, El-Sayed OH, Wharton SB, Heath PR, Holden H, Fernando MS, Matthews F, Forster G, O’Brien JT, Barber R, Kalaria RN, Brayne C, Shaw PJ, Lewis CE, Ince PG on behalf of the MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Neuropathology Study Group. Microarray expression analysis of cerebral white matter lesions reveals changes in multiple functional pathways. Stroke 2009; 40:369-375.

Simpson JE, Ince PG, Lace G, Forster G, Shaw PJ, Matthews F, Savva G, Brayne C, Wharton SB, on behalf of the MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Neuropathology Study Group. Astrocyte phenotype in relation to Alzheimer-type pathology in the ageing brain. Neurobiol Aging 2010; 31:578-590.

Alafuzoff I, Thal DR, Arzberger T, Bogdanovic N, Al-Sarraj S, Bodi I, Boluda S, Bugiani O, Duyckaerts C, Gelpi E, Gentleman S, Giaccone G, Graeber M, Hortobagyi T, Hoftberger R, Ince P, Ironside JW, Kavantzas N, King A, Korkolopoulou P, Kovacs G, Meyronet D, Monoranu C, Nilsson T, Parchi P, Patsouris E, Pikkarainen M, Revesz T, Rozemuller A, Seilhean D, Schulz-Schaeffer W, Streichenber N, Wharton SB, Kretzschemar H. Assessment of β-amyloid deposits in human brain: a study of the BrainNet Europe Consortium. Acta Neuropathol 2009; 117:309-320.

Simpson JE, Ince PG, Higham CE, Gelsthorpe CH, Fernando MS, Matthews F, Forster G, O’Brien JT, Barber R, Kalaria RN, Brayne C, Shaw PJ, Stoeber K, Williams GH, Lewis, CE, Wharton SB, on behalf of the MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Neuropathology Study Group. Microglial activation in white matter lesions and nonlesional white matter of ageing brains. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2007; 33:670-683.

Simpson JE, Fernando MS, Clark L, Ince PG, Matthews F, Forster G, O’Brien JT, Barber R, Kalaria RN, Brayne C, Shaw PJ, Lewis CE, Wharton SB, MRC-CFAS. White matter lesions in an unselected cohort of the elderly: astrocytic, microglial and oligodendrocyte precursor cell responses. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2007; 33:410-419.