We demonstrate a decrease in the time to multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis and treatment initiation across diagnostic criteria periods. Patients diagnosed in more recent diagnostic criteria periods displayed a lower risk of reaching disability. We saw menopause is not associated with an increased risk of disability and oral contraceptive use does not modify the risk of second attack or disability accrual. We detected humoral response was reduce in anti-CD20-treated patients after natural SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. We confirmed the existence of spinal cord reserve, a counterpart of brain reserve, in a large international cohort of MS patients. We are exploring new biomarkers of the disease based on the analysis of the spatial distribution of the inflammatory-demyelinating lesions in the brain and spinal cord. We proposed the SERPINA3 as a biomarker associated with the progressive forms of MS, and the CHI3L2 as a biomarker associated with long-term disability progression.

Group Leader
Xavier Montalban Gairín

Principal Investigator (PI)
Georgina Arrambide García, Álvaro Cobo Calvo, Manuel Comabella López, Carmen Espejo Ruiz, Nicolás Miguel Fissolo, Sunny Malhotra, Xavier Montalban Gairín, Jaume Sastre-Garriga, Mar Tintoré Subirana, Carmen Tur Gómez, Àngela Vidal Jordana

Researchers
Elisenda Anglada Clofent, María Jesús Arévalo Navinés, René Carvajal Junco, Joaquín Castilló Justribó, Herena Eixarch Ahufinger, Ingrid Galán Cartañá, Edwin Roger Meza Murillo, Andrés Miguez González, Carlos Nos Llopis, Agustín Pappolla, Jordi Río Izquierdo, Xavier Sibera Aresté

PhD Students
Laura Calvo Barreiro, Llucia Coll Benajam, María Dema Etxezarreta, Clara Matute Blanch, Luciana Midaglia Fernández, Rucsanda Pinteac, Miguel Ángel Robles Sánchez, Breogán Rodríguez Acevedo, Ana Zabalza De Torres

Lab Technicians
Mercè Bonastre García, Mireia Castillo Juárez, Lucía Gutiérrez Ruiz

Nursing and Technical Staff
Irene Alarcón Giménez, Montserrat Aroca Alsina, Sara Batlle Sitges, Jordina Beltrán Vallés, Eli Borràs Riba, Sergio Cabello Martínez, Gabriel L. Camiña Rodríguez, Margarida Capell Maymó, Pere Josep Carbonell Miravet, Javier Domeño Baztán, Dolors Fàbregas Xauradó, Sílvia Ferrer López, Núria Filló Papiol, Milagros Fraga Pereira, Rafael García Mérida, Montserrat García Serqueda, Eva González Alonso, Josep Graells Salvador, Ana Isabel Guerrero Pérez, María Gloria Henríquez Gaztañondo, Rosalía Horno Ocaña, Montserrat Janer Cabo, Gaizka Loyola Sanmillán, Helena Llorente Blasco, José David Márquez Parra, Nuria Martínez Royuela, Núria Martínez Sabaté, Tamar Mejías Guillén, Elisabeth Morilla Castillo, Dúnia Muñoz Valdivielso, Margarita Navarro Pérez, Oriol Nualart Mundó, Ana María Pérez Rubio, Lidia Ramos Hernández, Marta Renom Guiteras, Mireia Resina Sallés, Marta Rodríguez Barranco, Montserrat Romero Reinaldos, Julià Enric Rubio Roca, Anna Rumeu Nin, Samuel Sánchez Pous, Carmen Santoyo Medina, Agusto César Sao Avilés, Karen Amanda Segura Davila, Andrea Serrano Mascarós, Sílvia Soler García, Sergio Vergara Ruíz, Cristina Vetoret Vázquez

68

PUBLICATIONS

558

IMPACT FACTOR

8.20

AVERAGE IMPACT FACTOR

SELECTED ARTICLES

Comabella M, Sastre-Garriga J, Borràs E, Villar LM, Saiz A, Martínez-Yelamos S, García-Merino A, Pinteac R, Sánchez López AJ, Blanco Y, Llufriu S, Vidal-Jordana A, Sabidó E, Montalban X.
CSF chitinase 3-like 2 is associated with disability progression in patients with progressive multiple sclerosis.
Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm. 2021 Sep 8;8(6):e1082.
DOI: 10.1212/NXI.0000000000001082
IF: 8.485

Fissolo N, Matute-Blanch C, Osman M, Costa C, Pinteac R, Miró B, Sanchez A, Brito V, Dujmovic I, Voortman M, Khalil M, Borràs E, Sabidó E, Issazadeh-Navikas S, Montalban X, Comabella M.
CSF SERPINA3 Levels Are Elevated in Patients With Progressive MS.
Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm. 2021 Jan 12;8(2):e941.
DOI: 10.1212/NXI.0000000000000941
IF: 8.485

Tintore M, Cobo-Calvo A, Carbonell P, Arrambide G, Otero-Romero S, Río J, Tur C, Comabella M, Nos C, Arévalo MJ, Midaglia L, Galán I, Vidal-Jordana A, Castilló J, Rodríguez-Acevedo B, Zabalza de Torres A, Salerno A, Auger C, Sastre-Garriga J, Rovira À, Montalban X.
Effect of Changes in MS Diagnostic Criteria Over 25 Years on Time to Treatment and Prognosis in Patients With Clinically Isolated Syndrome.
Neurology. 2021 Oct 26;97(17):e1641-e1652.
DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000012726
IF: 9.91

Vidal-Jordana A, Rovira A, Arrambide G, Otero-Romero S, Río J, Comabella M, Nos C, Castilló J, Galan I, Cabello S, Moncho D, Rahnama K, Thonon V, Rodríguez-Acevedo B, Zabalza A, Midaglia L, Auger C, Sastre-Garriga J, Montalban X, Tintoré M.
Optic Nerve Topography in Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis: The Utility of Visual Evoked Potentials.
Neurology. 2021 Jan 26;96(4):e482-e490.
DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000011339
IF: 9.91

Dema M, Eixarch H, Villar LM, Montalban X, Espejo C.
Immunosenescence in multiple sclerosis: the identification of new therapeutic targets.
Autoimmun Rev. 2021 Sep;20(9):102893.
DOI: 10.1016/j.autrev.2021.102893
IF: 9.754

Deciphering clinical features and pathogenesis of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibodies in adult patients with a first demyelinating syndrome
Principal Investigator: Álvaro Cobo
Agency: Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS). Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO, Spain)
Funding: 134,915 €
Period: 1/1/2021 – 31/12/2023

Geomorphometric analysis of brain and cord damage in multiple sclerosis to predict disease progression (the GeoMS study)
Principal Investigator: Carmen Tur
Agency: La Caixa Foundation
Funding: 300,000 €
Period: 01/09/2020 – 31/08/2023

TReatment And VISual Recovery in Optic Neuritis – The TRAVIS study
Principal Investigator: Jaume Sastre-Garriga
Agency: Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS). Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO, Spain)
Funding: 96,800 €
Period: 1/1/2020 – 31/12/2022

Immunosenescence in multiple sclerosis. Innate immunity as potential therapeutic target in multiple sclerosis.
Principal Investigator: Carmen Espejo
Agency: Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS). Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO, Spain)
Funding: 135,520 €
Period: 01/01/2019 – 31/12/2021

Search of chitinase 3-like 1 as prognostic biomarker of neurodegeneration and potential therapeutic target in multiple sclerosis to prevent disease progression.
Principal Investigator: Manuel Comabella
Agency: Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS). Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO, Spain)
Funding: 117,370 €
Period: 1/1/2019 – 31/12/2021

Neurosciences

Research Areas