The added value of spinal cord lesions to disability accrual in multiple sclerosis.

"Declarations Conflicts of interestDuring the conduct of the study, Ruggieri S has received honoraria from Biogen, Merck Serono, Novartis and Teva for consulting services, speaking and/or travel support. Prosperini L has received consulting fees from Biogen, Novartis and Roche; speaker honoraria from Biogen, Genzyme, Merck Serono, Novartis and Teva; travel grants from Biogen, Genzyme, Novartis and Teva; research grants from the Italian MS Society (Associazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla) and Genzyme. Petracca M discloses travel/meeting expenses from Novartis, Janssen, Roche and Merck; speaking honoraria from HEALTH&LIFE S.r.l., AIM Education S.r.l. and FARECOMUNICAZIONE E20; honoraria for consulting services from Biogen and research grants from Baroni Foundation. De Giglio L has received honoraria from Merck Serono and Novartis for consulting services, speaking and/or travel support. Ciccarelli O receives research grant support from the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the NIHR and the NIHR UCLH Biomedical Research Centre. She is the Deputy Editor of Neurology, for which she receives an honorarium. Gasperini C has received speaker honoraria and/or travel expenses for attending meeting from Bayer Schering Pharma, Sanofi-Aventis, Merck, Biogen, Novartis and Almirall. Pozzilli C has served on scientific advisory boards, consulting and/or speaking fees from Almirall, Alexion, Biogen, Janssen, Roche, Merck and Novartis, and has received research support from Almirall, Biogen, Roche, Merck and Novartis. No other disclosures were reported. Ethical approvalThe study protocol reported in this manuscript has been approved by the ethical committee of Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza, University of Rome, Italy, and has been performed in accordance with ethical standards listed in the Declaration of Helsinki. Consent to participateAll subjects gave their informed consent prior to study inclusion. Details that might disclose their identity were omitted. Conflicts of interest During the conduct of the study, Ruggieri S has received honoraria from Biogen, Merck Serono, Novartis and Teva for consulting services, speaking and/or travel support. Prosperini L has received consulting fees from Biogen, Novartis and Roche; speaker honoraria from Biogen, Genzyme, Merck Serono, Novartis and Teva; travel grants from Biogen, Genzyme, Novartis and Teva; research grants from the Italian MS Society (Associazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla) and Genzyme. Petracca M discloses travel/meeting expenses from Novartis, Janssen, Roche and Merck; speaking honoraria from HEALTH&LIFE S.r.l., AIM Education S.r.l. and FARECOMUNICAZIONE E20; honoraria for consulting services from Biogen and research grants from Baroni Foundation. De Giglio L has received honoraria from Merck Serono and Novartis for consulting services, speaking and/or travel support. Ciccarelli O receives research grant support from the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the NIHR and the NIHR UCLH Biomedical Research Centre. She is the Deputy Editor of Neurology, for which she receives an honorarium. Gasperini C has received speaker honoraria and/or travel expenses for attending meeting from Bayer Schering Pharma, Sanofi-Aventis, Merck, Biogen, Novartis and Almirall. Pozzilli C has served on scientific advisory boards, consulting and/or speaking fees from Almirall, Alexion, Biogen, Janssen, Roche, Merck and Novartis, and has received research support from Almirall, Biogen, Roche, Merck and Novartis. No other disclosures were reported."

"Funding Open access funding provided by Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza within the CRUI-CARE Agreement. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors."