María Inés Gaitán, M.D.

María Inés Gaitán, MD
Acting Director of the Neuroimmunology Clinic
Address
Translational Neuroradiology Section

NIHBC 10 - CLINICAL CENTER BG RM 5C103
10 CENTER DR
BETHESDA MD 20892

Contact
301-496-1801
maria.gaitan@nih.gov

Dr. Gaitán received her medical degree with honors at the University of Buenos Aires, School of Medicine in 2004. She completed her residency training in neurology and was appointed Chief Resident at Fleni (Institute for Neurological Research), Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2009, Dr. Gaitán joined the Translational Neuroradiology Unit, Neuroimmunology Branch, NINDS, NIH, as a postdoctoral fellow, under the supervision of Dr. Reich. During this time, she did experimental and translational research. She led the authorship of several papers describing new patterns of alteration in the blood-brain barrier in multiple sclerosis (MS), as well as the perivenular development of demyelinating lesions in animal models of multiple sclerosis using high-resolution magnetic resonance. Her work has been published in top journals in the field of neurology.

Dr. Gaitán returned to Buenos Aires in 2012 to take a position as Staff Clinician in the Department of Neurology, Neuroimmunology and Demyelinating Diseases Section at Fleni. In this capacity, she took care of people living with MS; oversaw clinical trials; taught neurology at the University of Buenos Aires; led postgraduate medical education; and engaged in translational research. Dr. Gaitán achieved a remarkable scientific publication track record in MS and imaging, including peer-reviewed papers in high-impact neurology, MS, and radiology journals. At the end of 2021, Dr. Gaitán rejoined the Translational Neuroradiology Section (TNS) in the NINDS, where she helped Dr. Reich lead all clinical projects in the lab.

In December 2022, she was appointed staff clinician at TNS, where she is responsible for performing and supervising projects involving human MRI scanning. She is also acting as an associate investigator for clinical interventional trials in the TNS and allied labs; works with TNS fellows to develop new protocols; and takes care of research patients in TNS protocols and neurology patients on the NINDS clinical service.

Selected Publications

  1. Gaitán MI, Paday Formenti ME, Calandri I, Ysrraelit MC, Yañez P, Correale J. The central vein sign is present in most infratentorial multiple sclerosis plaques. Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2022 Jan 3;58:103484. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2021.103484. Online ahead of print. PMID: 35007822 
  2. Gaitán MI, Sanchez M, Farez MF, Fiol MP, Ysrraelit MC, Solomon AJ, Correale J. The frequency and characteristics of multiple sclerosis misdiagnosis in Latin America: A referral center study in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mult Scler. 2021 Dec 31:13524585211067521. doi: 10.1177/13524585211067521. Online ahead of print.
  3. Gaitán MI, Yañez P, Paday Formenti ME, Calandri I, Figueiredo E, Sati P, Correale J. SWANvenule: An Optimized MRI Technique to Detect the Central Vein Sign in MS Plaques. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2020 Feb 13. doi: 10.3174/ajnr. A6437. 
  4. Gaitán MI, Ysrraelit MC, Correale J. Neutropenia in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis Treated with Alemtuzumab. JAMA Neurol. 2017 Jul 17, 2017 Sep 1;74(9):1143-1144.
  5. Correale J, Gaitán MI, Ysrraelit MC, Fiol MP. Progressive multiple sclerosis: from pathogenic mechanisms to treatment. Brain. 2017 Mar 1;140(3):527-546.
  6. Gaitán MI, Yañez P, Sati P, Romero C, Reich DS, Correale J. Optimal detection of infratentorial lesions with a combined dual-echo MRI sequence: "PT2". Mult Scler. 2016 Sep;22(10):1367-70. PMID: 26046559
  7. Gaitán MI, Maggi P, Wohler J, Leibovitch E, Sati P, Calandri IL, Merkle H, Massacesi L, Silva AC, Jacobson S, Reich DS. Perivenular brain lesions in a primate multiple sclerosis model at 7-tesla magnetic resonance imaging. Mult Scler. 2014 Jan;20(1):64-71.
  8. Gaitán MI, De Alwis MP, Sati P, Nair G, and Reich DS. Multiple Sclerosis Shrinks Intralesional and Enlarges Extralesional Brain Perenchymal Veins. Neurology. 2013 Jan 8;80(2):145-51. PMID:23773983
  9. Gaitán MI, Sati P, Inati SJ, Reich DS. Initial investigation of the blood-brain barrier in MS lesions at 7 tesla. Mult Scler. 2013 Jul;19(8):1068-73. PMID: 23255828
  10. Gaitán MI, Shea CD, Evangelou IE, Stone RD, Fenton KM, Bielekova B, Massacesi L, Reich DS. Evolution of the blood-brain barrier in newly forming multiple sclerosis lesions. Ann Neurol. 2011 jul;70(1):22-9. PMID: 21710622  
  11. Correale J, Ysrraelit MC, Gaitán MI. Gender Differences in 1,25 Dihydroxyvitamin D3 Immunomodulatory Effects in Multiple Sclerosis Patients and Healthy Subjects. J Immunol 2010 185 (8); 4948-58. PMID:20855882
  12. Correale J, Ysrraelit MC, Gaitán MI. Immunomodulatory effects of Vitamin D in Multiple Sclerosis. Brain 2009 May; 132(Pt5): 1146-60. PMID:19321461