Barcelona

Principal investigator:
Prof. Eduardo Tolosa

Universitat de Barcelona
Hospital ClínicDepartment of Neurology
Villarroel, 170
E-08036 Barcelona
etolosa(at)clinic.ub.es

Expertise of the participating organization:

The Barcelona group has a strong clinical background in movement disorders and in particular atypical parkinsonisms. Professor Eduardo Tolosa Chief of the Neurology Service at the University Hospital is a widely recognized expert in the field and in particular in neurodegenerative disorders such as progressive supranuclear palsy and MSA. He has organized and participated in numerous symposia dedicated to this field and in clinical trials testing various pharmacological and surgical strategies in these disorders. He is the director of the University of Barcelona Brain Bank(Banco de Tejidos Neurologicos de la Universidad de Barcelona) a centre for research that is particularly devoted in the collection and investigation of brains of patients with different parkinsonian syndromes. His team has published on subjects related to parkinsonism in recognized international journals, in particularly in the field of clinical diagnostic criteria and in clinical neurophysiology. Furthermore his team is actively studying (in the Laboratory for Experimental Neurology) in animal models of parkinsonism new strategies for treatment(e.g. antiglutamergic drugs, subthalamic and pallidal lesions, etc) and cell death prevention. Genetic aspects of parkinsonsim as well as other neurodegenerative disorders is also part of the current research project of the team.
The Barcelona MSA Group besides contributing with the patient information from patients, necessary for the evaluation of the natural history part of the project, would contribute significantly to the project with the design of prospectively based clinical diagnostic criteria of MSA, through clinicopathological studies utilising the facilities of the already established University of Barcelona Brain Bank and in establishing the use of neurophysiological and genetic markers for diagnosis and/or follow-up of MSA and related disorders.

Recent publications relevant to the EMSA-SG:

Iranzo A, Santamaria J, Tolosa E. Idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder: diagnosis, management, and the need for neuroprotective interventions. Lancet Neurol 2016;15:405-419.

Urbizu A, Canet-Pons J, Munoz-Marmol AM, Aldecoa I, Lopez MT, Compta Y, Alvarez R, Ispierto L, Tolosa E, Ariza A, Beyer K. Cystatin C is differentially involved in multiple system atrophy phenotypes. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2015;41:507-519.

Tolosa E, Vilas D. Peripheral synuclein tissue markers: a step closer to Parkinson's disease diagnosis. Brain 2015;138:2120-2122.

Iranzo A, Stockner H, Serradell M, Seppi K, Valldeoriola F, Frauscher B, Molinuevo JL, Vilaseca I, Mitterling T, Gaig C, Vilas D, Santamaria J, Hogl B, Tolosa E, Poewe W. Five-year follow-up of substantia nigra echogenicity in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder. Mov Disord 2014;29:1774-1780.

Iranzo A, Fernandez-Arcos A, Tolosa E, Serradell M, Molinuevo JL, Valldeoriola F, Gelpi E, Vilaseca I, Sanchez-Valle R, Llado A, Gaig C, Santamaria J. Neurodegenerative disorder risk in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder: study in 174 patients. PLoS One 2014;9:e89741.

Iranzo A, Tolosa E, Gelpi E, Molinuevo JL, Valldeoriola F, Serradell M, Sanchez-Valle R, Vilaseca I, Lomena F, Vilas D, Llado A, Gaig C, Santamaria J. Neurodegenerative disease status and post-mortem pathology in idiopathic rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder: an observational cohort study. Lancet Neurol 2013;12:443-453.

Iranzo A, Serradell M, Vilaseca I, Valldeoriola F, Salamero M, Molina C, Santamaria J, Tolosa E. Longitudinal assessment of olfactory function in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2013;19:600-604.

Munoz E, Iranzo A, Rauek S, Lomena F, Gallego J, Ros D, Santamaria J, Tolosa E. Subclinical nigrostriatal dopaminergic denervation in the cerebellar subtype of multiple system atrophy (MSA-C). J Neurol 2011;258:2248-2253.

Moreno-Lopez C, Santamaria J, Salamero M, Del Sorbo F, Albanese A, Pellecchia MT, Barone P, Overeem S, Bloem B, Aarden W, Canesi M, Antonini A, Duerr S, Wenning GK, Poewe W, Rubino A, Meco G, Schneider SA, Bhatia KP, Djaldetti R, Coelho M, Sampaio C, Cochen V, Hellriegel H, Deuschl G, Colosimo C, Marsili L, Gasser T, Tolosa E. Excessive daytime sleepiness in multiple system atrophy (SLEEMSA study). Arch Neurol 2011;68:223-230.

Iranzo A, Lomena F, Stockner H, Valldeoriola F, Vilaseca I, Salamero M, Molinuevo JL, Serradell M, Duch J, Pavia J, Gallego J, Seppi K, Hogl B, Tolosa E, Poewe W, Santamaria J, Sleep Innsbruck Barcelona g. Decreased striatal dopamine transporter uptake and substantia nigra hyperechogenicity as risk markers of synucleinopathy in patients with idiopathic rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder: a prospective study [corrected]. Lancet Neurol 2010;9:1070-1077.

Petzold A, Thompson EJ, Keir G, Quinn N, Holmberg B, Dizdar N, Wenning GK, Rascol O, Tolosa E, Rosengren L. Longitudinal one-year study of levels and stoichiometry of neurofilament heavy and light chain concentrations in CSF in patients with multiple system atrophy. J Neurol Sci 2009;279:76-79.

Iranzo A, Santamaria J, Tolosa E. The clinical and pathophysiological relevance of REM sleep behavior disorder in neurodegenerative diseases. Sleep Med Rev 2009;13:385-401.

Gaig C, Iranzo A, Tolosa E, Vilaseca I, Rey MJ, Santamaria J. Pathological description of a non-motor variant of multiple system atrophy. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2008;79:1399-1400.

Gaig C, Ezquerra M, Marti MJ, Valldeoriola F, Munoz E, Llado A, Rey MJ, Cardozo A, Molinuevo JL, Tolosa E. Screening for the LRRK2 G2019S and codon-1441 mutations in a pathological series of parkinsonian syndromes and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. J Neurol Sci 2008;270:94-98.

Martinez-Rodriguez JE, Seppi K, Cardozo A, Iranzo A, Stampfer-Kountchev M, Wenning G, et al. Cerebrospinal fluid hypocretin-1 levels in multiple system atrophy. Mov Disord 2007; 22: 1822-4.

Iranzo A, Molinuevo JL, Santamaria J, Serradell M, Marti MJ, Valldeoriola F, et al. Rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder as an early marker for a neurodegenerative disorder: a descriptive study. Lancet Neurol 2006; 5: 572-7. 

Healy DG, Abou-Sleiman PM, Ozawa T, Lees AJ, Bhatia K, Ahmadi KR, et al. A functional polymorphism regulating dopamine beta-hydroxylase influences against Parkinson's disease. Ann Neurol 2004; 55: 443-6.

Iranzo A, Santamaria J, Tolosa E, Vilaseca I, Valldeoriola F, Marti MJ, et al. Long-term effect of CPAP in the treatment of nocturnal stridor in multiple system atrophy. Neurology 2004; 63: 930-2. 

Tolosa E, Calandrella D, Gallardo M. Caribbean parkinsonism and other atypical parkinsonian disorders. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2004; 10 Suppl 1: S19-26.

Marti MJ, Tolosa E, Campdelacreu J. Clinical overview of the synucleinopathies. Mov Disord 2003; 18 Suppl 6: S21-7.