Dr. Rachid Valvo

Dr. Rachid Valvo is a senior consultant neurologist at Mater Dei Hospital in Msida — Malta's principal tertiary referral hospital and the national centre for neurology, neurosurgery, and stroke. With over 20 years of experience in clinical neurology, Dr. Valvo specialises in multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, stroke, and neuromuscular diseases, and is widely recognised as one of Malta's foremost neurological authorities. His research on MS epidemiology in Malta's island population has contributed significantly to the European MS scientific community through ECTRIMS and EAN.

Dr. Valvo trained at the University of Malta before undertaking his neurology residency at King's College Hospital in London, one of the UK's leading neuroscience centres. He subsequently completed a subspecialty fellowship in multiple sclerosis and neuroimmunology at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) at Queen Square, London — Europe's pre-eminent neurological hospital — gaining advanced training in MS disease-modifying therapies, neuroimmunological conditions, and clinical trial methodology. He returned to Malta to build the Mater Dei neurology department's MS service into a comprehensive, guideline-compliant programme capable of offering the full range of modern DMTs, including high-efficacy monoclonal antibody therapies.

A distinctive aspect of Dr. Valvo's research is his investigation of the role of the Mediterranean diet in neurological outcomes. Malta's traditionally Mediterranean dietary patterns — rich in olive oil, legumes, fish, and fresh vegetables — are hypothesised to confer neuroprotective benefits, and Dr. Valvo has led studies examining associations between dietary adherence and MS relapse rates, as well as between Mediterranean diet patterns and stroke risk in the Maltese population. This work has attracted international interest and has been cited in EAN and Mediterranean Neurological Society publications.

Dr. Valvo leads the Mater Dei MS Clinic, co-leads the hospital's Stroke Unit, and manages the neuromuscular disease service in collaboration with the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Dr. Valvo completed his medical degree at the University of Malta, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, one of Europe's oldest medical schools, graduating with distinction. He obtained his Membership of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP) through the UK MRCP examination system, reflecting his alignment with British clinical training standards. He undertook his neurology residency at King's College Hospital in London, receiving comprehensive training across the full breadth of clinical neurology in a high-volume tertiary centre. He then completed a subspecialty fellowship in multiple sclerosis and neuroimmunology at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) at Queen Square, London — the world's most famous neurological hospital — under internationally recognised MS specialists, gaining expertise in the full spectrum of disease-modifying therapies and emerging biologics for MS and related neuroimmunological conditions. He holds the Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology (FEAN) designation and participates in ECTRIMS annual meetings and educational workshops. He has also completed advanced training in clinical neurophysiology (EEG and EMG) and in epilepsy management through the ILAE certification programme.

Dr. Valvo's neurological practice at Mater Dei Hospital spans inpatient acute neurology and comprehensive outpatient subspecialty care. In multiple sclerosis — his primary subspecialty — he manages patients with relapsing-remitting MS, secondary progressive MS, and primary progressive MS, selecting from the full range of approved disease-modifying therapies: injectable platform therapies (interferon beta, glatiramer acetate), oral therapies (fingolimod, dimethyl fumarate, teriflunomide, cladribine, siponimod), and high-efficacy monoclonal antibodies (natalizumab, ocrelizumab, alemtuzumab). He conducts regular MRI monitoring, PML risk stratification for JC antibody-positive patients on natalizumab, and neuropsychological assessment for cognitive MS-related disability.

For epilepsy, Dr. Valvo evaluates first seizures, establishes diagnoses using EEG and brain MRI, prescribes and optimises anti-epileptic drug regimens across the full range of available agents, and manages drug-resistant epilepsy using add-on therapy protocols. He refers appropriate drug-resistant cases to epilepsy surgery centres within the EU under cross-border healthcare arrangements.

In stroke, Dr. Valvo co-manages the Mater Dei Stroke Unit, providing acute thrombolysis for eligible ischaemic stroke patients, coordinating with interventional neuroradiology for thrombectomy, and managing secondary stroke prevention through anticoagulation, antiplatelet, and vascular risk factor optimisation.

For neuromuscular diseases, he diagnoses and manages Guillain-Barré syndrome, CIDP, myasthenia gravis, and peripheral neuropathies, coordinating immunotherapy (IVIg, plasma exchange, rituximab) and rehabilitation.

Dr. Valvo has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles in leading neurology journals including Multiple Sclerosis Journal, the European Journal of Neurology, Epilepsia, and the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry (JNNP). His primary research focuses on MS epidemiology in Malta's island population — one of only a handful of small-country MS cohort studies in the world — examining MS incidence rates, time to diagnosis, treatment patterns, and disability accumulation over time in the Maltese MS Registry. He has contributed Maltese data to the MSBase international MS registry and ECTRIMS pan-European outcome analyses. His research on Mediterranean diet and neurological outcomes — examining associations between dietary pattern adherence and MS relapse frequency, as well as Mediterranean diet and stroke risk — has been published in multiple journals and received the MMA Research Award. He received the EAN Travel Grant Laureate recognising the quality and originality of his research, and received the Mater Dei Hospital Clinical Award for his development of the MS DMT programme at the hospital. He has presented at ECTRIMS, EAN, and ILAE World Congresses.

Dr. Valvo regularly treats international patients at Mater Dei Hospital, reflecting Malta's growing reputation as a destination for medical tourism alongside its established role as a European tourist destination. Malta's advantages for international medical patients include English-language care, high clinical standards, EU healthcare system integration, competitive costs relative to Northern Europe, and excellent international air connectivity. He conducts consultations in Maltese, English, and Italian. EU citizens access his services under EHIC or S2 cross-border healthcare authorisations. Non-EU international patients are accommodated through Mater Dei's private patient services. For international patients with MS, epilepsy, or neuromuscular diseases seeking specialist neurology second opinions or ongoing management during extended Malta stays, Dr. Valvo provides comprehensive consultations with access to the full neurodiagnostic resources of Mater Dei Hospital. Treatment documentation is transferable to home country neurologists.

Dr. Valvo received the Malta Medical Association (MMA) Research Award for his landmark research on Mediterranean diet and neurological outcomes, which attracted international academic attention and contributed to the growing body of evidence on dietary factors in neurological disease. He received the EAN Travel Grant Laureate at the European Academy of Neurology congress for the quality of his MS epidemiology research in Malta's island population. The Mater Dei Hospital awarded him its Clinical Award for his leadership in establishing the hospital's comprehensive MS disease-modifying therapy programme, enabling Maltese MS patients to access the full range of modern high-efficacy therapies locally rather than requiring overseas treatment. He holds the Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology (FEAN) designation and serves as a member of the ECTRIMS national MS registry steering group. He is listed among Malta's leading neurological specialists by the Malta Medical Association.