Zoe Katsarou - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Zoe Katsarou

Research paper thumbnail of Pharmacological treatment and the prospect of pharmacogenetics in Parkinson’s disease

International Journal of Clinical Practice, Nov 17, 2011

Parkinson disease (PD) is a progressive movement disorder marked by tremor, rigidity, bradykinesi... more Parkinson disease (PD) is a progressive movement disorder marked by tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia and postural instability. Levodopa (l-dopa), usually combined with a peripheral dopa decarboxylase inhibitor, has been proved to provide the best symptomatic benefit for PD. However, its long-term efficacy is limited because of motor complications and drug-induced dyskinesia. Dopamine agonists, catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitors and monoamine oxidase-B inhibitors are anti-parkinsonian (anti-PD) drugs that have been found to further improve the potency of ldopa and prevent the onset of motor complications. However, as PD is a progressive disorder, all the drugs used for its therapy, manifest reduced efficacy and adverse effects with time. Research on the field of pharmacogenetics has pointed out that the genetic variability of each individual determines to a large extent the inter-individual variability in response to anti-PD drugs. Clinicogenetic trials show that drug efficacy or toxicity or susceptibility to side effects are features governed by genetic principles. This article is a review of the present pharmacological treatment of PD and current pharmacogenetic data for PD. Review Criteria This review was based on information derived from Articles pertinent to the subject and published in peer-reviewed journals abstracted and indexed in PubMed. Data from authors' recent research have also been included. Message for the Clinic Research on the field of pharmacogenetics has pointed out that the genetic variability of each individual determines to a considerable extent the inter-individual variability in response to drug treatment in Parkinson's disease. These findings may have potential implications for current disease management as well as for future therapeutic strategies.

Research paper thumbnail of D620N mutation in the VPS35 gene and R1205H mutation in the EIF4G1 gene are uncommon in the Greek population

Neuroscience Letters, Oct 1, 2015

Recently, vacuolar protein sorting 35 (VPS35) and eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4 gamm... more Recently, vacuolar protein sorting 35 (VPS35) and eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4 gamma 1 (EIF4G1) have been identified as new causal Parkinson's disease (PD) genes, with the VPS35 D620N and EIF4G1 R1205H mutations being identified in both autosomal dominant late-onset familial and sporadic PD patients. However, the frequencies of these two mutations among different ethnic groups vary. We studied the VPS35 D620N and EIF4G1 R1205H mutations in a total of 333 individuals, 202 Greek patients with sporadic PD and 131 control subjects, using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. None of our studied individuals carried these two mutations. Our data support that the VPS35 D620N and EIF4G1 R1205H mutations are not a common cause of PD in the Greek population.

Research paper thumbnail of Association of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism with Parkinson’s disease in a Greek population

Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, Dec 1, 2011

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) enhances survival of dopaminergic neurons in the substan... more Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) enhances survival of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, whereas in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), the expression of BDNF mRNA is decreased, thus making BDNF a candidate gene for PD susceptibility. The association between BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and PD has been evaluated in several studies with controversial results. Thus, we determined the distribution of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism in 184 Greek patients with sporadic PD and 113 control participants using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism, and explored the association of the polymorphism with certain clinical parameters of the disease. Our results do not support a major role for the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism in PD in the Greek population.

Research paper thumbnail of Lack of Association of thePICALMrs3851179 Polymorphism With Parkinson's Disease in the Greek Population

International Journal of Neuroscience, Jan 26, 2012

Parkinson&amp... more Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex, heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder, affecting approximately 1% of the population over 60 years of age. The molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying PD pathogenesis are still unknown. Clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) is a procedure closely related to the intracellular trafficking of multiple molecules in the cell, including proteins, lipids, and neurotransmitters. Recently, variations in the gene encoding the phosphatidylinositol binding clathrin assembly protein (PICALM) has been associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), suggesting a possible role of CME in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we examined for the first time the potential role of the PICALM rs3851179 polymorphism in PD. We studied the PICALM rs3851179 polymorphism in 191 Greek patients with sporadic PD and 118 control subjects, using a PCR-RFLP method. Our results do not provide evidence that the PICALM rs3851179 polymorphism increase susceptibility of PD, in the Greek population.

Research paper thumbnail of Association study of rs6812193 polymorphism with Parkinson's disease in a Greek population

Neuroscience Letters, Apr 1, 2013

h i g h l i g h t s • We investigated the association of the rs6812193 polymorphism with Parkinso... more h i g h l i g h t s • We investigated the association of the rs6812193 polymorphism with Parkinson's disease. • SCARB2 is implicated in the lysosomal pathway recently associated with PD pathogenesis. • The rs6812193 polymorphism doesn't increase susceptibility to PD in the Greek population. • The role of this polymorphism should be further examined in different ethnic populations.

Research paper thumbnail of No association of the Val158Met COMT polymorphism with Parkinsons disease in the Greek population

European Journal of Neurology, Aug 1, 2008

Research paper thumbnail of TLR9 −1237 T/C and TLR2 −194 to −174 del polymorphisms and the risk of Parkinson’s disease in the Greek population: a pilot study

Neurological Sciences, May 3, 2012

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are important mediators of inflammatory responses by recognition of ma... more Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are important mediators of inflammatory responses by recognition of many pathogen-related molecules and endogenous proteins related to immune activation. Accumulating data have recently pointed out the role of neuroinflammation in Parkinson's disease (PD) pathogenesis. In the present study, we investigated the potential role of the TLR9 -1237 T/C and TLR2 -194 to -174 del polymorphisms in PD. We studied a total of 333 individuals, 215 Greek patients with sporadic PD and 118 control subjects, using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. No statistically significant differences were found between PD patients and control subjects for the TLR9 -1237 T/C genotypes or alleles. Regarding the TLR2 -196 to -174 del polymorphism, the del/del genotype and the del allele were overrepresented in the PD group compared to controls, however, this result did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.087). Further studies investigating the TLR-inflammatory background of PD are awaited to provide important insight into the aetiology of the disease.

Research paper thumbnail of Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-8--Greek Version

Research paper thumbnail of GSK3β polymorphisms, MAPT H1 haplotype and Parkinson's disease in a Greek cohort

Neurobiology of Aging, Mar 1, 2011

To determine whether polymorphisms in the microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) and/or glycog... more To determine whether polymorphisms in the microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) and/or glycogen synthase kinase-3␤ (GSK3β) genes underpin susceptibility to Parkinson's disease (PD), we conducted a case-control association study in a Greek cohort of 196 PD cases and 163 healthy controls. In our study, the MAPT H1 haplotype was found to be significantly associated with PD, no association was detected between the intronic rs6438552 (−157 T/C) GSK3β polymorphism and PD, whereas the C/C genotype of the promoter rs334558 (−50 T/C) GSK3β polymorphism was found to exert a protective role. The C/C genotype of the rs334558 GSK3β polymorphism was also found to have an additional protective role in our MAPT H1/H1 PD subgroup. Haplotype analysis revealed that, the T-T haplotype of both GSK3β polymorphisms was over-represented in PD patients compared to controls, and this association was independent of MAPT H1 haplotype.

Research paper thumbnail of Sentence comprehension in Greek patients with Parkinson’s disease

Research paper thumbnail of Innovative interventions for Parkinson's disease patients using iPrognosis games

Proceedings of the 13th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments

Innovative interventions for Parkinson's disease patients using the iPrognosis Games: An evaluati... more Innovative interventions for Parkinson's disease patients using the iPrognosis Games: An evaluation analysis by medical experts. In Proceedings of ACM PETRA conference (PETRA'20).

Research paper thumbnail of Motion analysis of Parkinson diseased patients using a video game approach

Proceedings of the 12th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments, 2019

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder and the second most common age-re... more Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder and the second most common age-related neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease. The primary symptoms of the disease are associated with the loss of motor skills affecting patients' movement and coordination and disrupting their daily life. Unfortunately, such motor symptoms cannot be fully relieved by therapeutic options. On the other hand, studies have shown that regular training and exercising can prove neuroprotective in PD patients helping them maintain independent longer. Based on recent studies stating that computer-based physical therapy games can be used as an option for facilitating PD rehabilitation exercise programs, we present the development of a body motion based videogame, using the Kinect sensor, targeted for PD patients. We tested twelve patients with advanced forms of PD motor symptoms (UPDRS motor score>20) and six initial stage PD patients (UPDRS motor score<20). All participants underwent an (UPDRS) motor skills pretest and afterwards performed three training sessions. In this paper, we will present part of our research aiming to analyze the movement patterns of PD patients in order to detect statistical significant differences between groups of different impairment level based on their UPDRS motor score and their performance. Consequently, we adopt a deep learning approach by analyzing the recorded human skeleton sequences for predicting the players' level of motor skills decline. Such methods and data can serve as preliminary evidence for further larger and controlled studies to propose such an exergame that can independently detect and adapt its difficulty level to better match players' ability providing a more targeted and personalized rehabilitation option.

Research paper thumbnail of Parkinsonian patients experiences operating the computer with their eyes: the MAMEM project. (P5.8-043)

Objective: Within the framework of the EU Horizon 2020, MAMEM project (Multimedia Authoring and M... more Objective: Within the framework of the EU Horizon 2020, MAMEM project (Multimedia Authoring and Management using your Eyes and Mind), we developed for Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients an innovative technology , that will enable them to have a better use of the computers, through mental commands and gaze activity. The objective of the present report is to provide the patients’ subjective impressions about their attempts to operate the computer by using their eyes only. Background: The use of computers and information technologies is essential for social participation and productive life. Although PD patients consider computer use as an important part of their everyday life they face many operational difficulties and significant obstacles in computer operation due to the motor symptoms of the disease. Design/Methods: Ten PD patients participated in the study (mean age:55.6±7.3 ; mean Hoehn & Yahr stage :2.1±0.3). Patients were provided with the MAMEM platform to use at their homes for one month. The apparatus included a standard laptop computer with GazeTheWeb, i.e., the tool that was developed within the MAMEM platform, that enables surfing the internet with the use of the eyes - installed on it, together with an eye tracking system. Patient satisfaction was assessed by the SUS (System Usability Scale) and QUEST 2.0 scale (Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with assistive Technology). Results: The mean SUS score given to the MAMEM platform was 75.5±13 ( a SUS score over 68 is considered above average), the mean score for the QUEST 2.0 was 4.2±0.5 (QUEST 2.0 score 5 indicates highest satisfaction) Conclusions: Our results show that the MAMEM platform is perceived by PD patients as a useful, usable and a satisfactory assistive device that enables computer usage and digital social activities. Further research is needed to realize how to utilize eye movements for functional compensation over motor disabilities in PD. Disclosure: Dr. Bostantjopoulou-Kambouroglou has nothing to disclose. Dr. Katsarou has nothing to disclose. Dr. Plotnik has nothing to disclose. Dr. Zeilig has nothing to disclose. Dr. DAGLIS has nothing to disclose. Dr. LIAROS has nothing to disclose. Dr. KALAGANIS has nothing to disclose. Dr. Georgiadis has nothing to disclose. Dr. KOMPATSIARIS has nothing to disclose. Dr. Nikolopoulos has nothing to disclose.

Research paper thumbnail of Detecting hypomimia symptoms by selfie photo analysis

Proceedings of the 12th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments, 2019

Hypomimia, i.e. reduction in the expressiveness of the face, is a cardinal sign of the PD, often ... more Hypomimia, i.e. reduction in the expressiveness of the face, is a cardinal sign of the PD, often present at its early stages. Within the EU-funded i-Prognosis project (http://www.i-prognosis.eu), early and unobtrusive Parkinson's disease detection tests are developed, based on the interaction of users with everyday technological devices. The selfie analysis module translates facial expression features into an index reflecting the severity of PD hypomimia symptoms that affect the variability of patients' facial expressions. Monitoring of such an index over time holds the promise to detect the onset of hypomimia symptoms in an unobtrusive way. Our approach proposes a methodology for detecting and quantifying the progressive decrease of variability of facial expressions in early PD patients by analysing patterns emerging from photos (selfies) during daily life. Promising results are presented from both a) a small development set of 36 users (both PD patients and healthy controls) and b) a large set of selfie photos obtained from 1292 users that were analysed by the iPrognosis cloud analysis module.

Research paper thumbnail of Towards unobtrusive Parkinson's disease detection via motor symptoms severity inference from multimodal smartphone-sensor data

Objective: To provide clinically-corroborated evidence of the Parkinson's disease (PD) diagno... more Objective: To provide clinically-corroborated evidence of the Parkinson's disease (PD) diagnostic potential of machine learning-based approaches for motor symptoms severity inference via multimodal data, passively captured during the natural use of smartphones. Background: PD symptoms can be mild in the early stages and they usually go unnoticed, leaving the disease undiagnosed for years [1]. Subtle motor manifestations may start five to six years prior to PD clinical diagnosis and thereafter progress quickly [2]. Motor impairment affects daily activities and can severely impact patients' quality over the course of the disease. Information derived from mobile electronic sensors can provide, via algorithmic transformation, objective and dense information of an individual's motor status, allowing for frequent relevant symptoms early screening and subsequent monitoring.<br> Methodology: We analyzed longitudinal recordings of tri-axial accelerometer, voice and keystrok...

Research paper thumbnail of Medical evaluation as gold standard to control iPrognosis application derived data for early Parkinson's disease detection

Smartphones have the ability of longitudinal, unobtrusive, remote real-life<br> recognition... more Smartphones have the ability of longitudinal, unobtrusive, remote real-life<br> recognition and monitoring of people's behavior and of specific behavioral pattern.<br> The i-PROGNOSIS approach is promosing as both, the iPrognosis App derived<br> behavioral pattern and the medical evaluation of Parkinson`s disease symptoms<br> by a movement disorders specialist as gold standard differentiate patients with<br> Parkinson`s disease and healthy controls.

Research paper thumbnail of Assessment of manual motor performance in Parkinson's disease

Aristotle University Medical Journal, 2006

The purpose of our study was to assess manual motor performance in patients with Parkinson’s dise... more The purpose of our study was to assess manual motor performance in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) by means of simple instrumental timed tests and compare these findings with normative data. Ninety seven right-handed PD patients and 80 matched controls participated in the study. Motor dexterity was assessed by means of the following instruments: 1) Tapping board, 2) Dual Tally, and 3) Purdue Pegboard. PD patients performed worse than normal controls in all instrumental timed tests (p = 0.0001). However this difference was not always maintained in the group of PD patients who were older than 71 years. Finally we explored the relationship between motor disability and instrumental test scores in a subgroup of PD patients who were younger than 70 years. A negative correlation between UPDRS score and instrumental test scores was significant for all tests. ANOVA exploration of the differences in instrumental test scores between different stages of the disease showed significant dif...

Research paper thumbnail of Association of the cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF) gene intron 1 polymorphism rs11259365 with Parkinson’s disease in the Greek population

Aristotle University Medical Journal, 2012

Cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF) is a newly identified neurotrophic factor. In this s... more Cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF) is a newly identified neurotrophic factor. In this study, we examined the CDNF rs11259365 polymorphism in 53 Greek patients with sporadic Parkinson’s disease (PD) and 52 control subjects, using a PCR-RFLP method. No association was found between this polymorphism and PD, in the Greek population.

Research paper thumbnail of Screening of Parkinsonian subtle fine-motor impairment from touchscreen typing via deep learning

Scientific Reports, 2020

Fine-motor impairment (FMI) is progressively expressed in early Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patients... more Fine-motor impairment (FMI) is progressively expressed in early Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patients and is now known to be evident in the immediate prodromal stage of the condition. The clinical techniques for detecting FMI may not be robust enough and here, we show that the subtle FMI of early PD patients can be effectively estimated from the analysis of natural smartphone touchscreen typing via deep learning networks, trained in stages of initialization and fine-tuning. In a validation dataset of 36,000 typing sessions from 39 subjects (17 healthy/22 PD patients with medically validated UPDRS Part III single-item scores), the proposed approach achieved values of area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.89 (95% confidence interval: 0.80–0.96) with sensitivity/specificity: 0.90/0.83. The derived estimations result in statistically significant ($$p<0.05$$ p < 0.05 ) correlation of 0.66/0.73/0.58 with the clinical standard UPDRS Part III items 22/23/31, re...

Research paper thumbnail of Parkinson’s Disease Detection Based on Running Speech Data From Phone Calls

IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 2021

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, manifesting with subtle ear... more Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, manifesting with subtle early signs, which, often hinder timely and early diagnosis and treatment. The development of accessible, technology-based methods for longitudinal PD symptoms tracking in daily living, offers the potential for transforming disease assessment and accelerating diagnosis. Methods: A privacy-aware method for classifying patients and healthy controls (HC), on the grounds of speech impairment present in PD, is proposed. Voice features from running speech signals were extracted from passively-captured recordings over voice calls. Language-aware training of multiple-and single-instance learning classifiers was employed to fuse and predict on voice features and demographic data from a multilingual cohort of 498 subjects (392/106 self-reported HC/PD patients). Results: By means of leave-one-subject-out cross-validation, the bestperforming models yielded 0.69/0.68/0.63/0.83 area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (AUC) for the binary classification of PD patient vs. HC in sub-cohorts of English/Greek/German/Portuguese-speaking subjects, respectively. Out-of sample testing of the best performing

Research paper thumbnail of Pharmacological treatment and the prospect of pharmacogenetics in Parkinson’s disease

International Journal of Clinical Practice, Nov 17, 2011

Parkinson disease (PD) is a progressive movement disorder marked by tremor, rigidity, bradykinesi... more Parkinson disease (PD) is a progressive movement disorder marked by tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia and postural instability. Levodopa (l-dopa), usually combined with a peripheral dopa decarboxylase inhibitor, has been proved to provide the best symptomatic benefit for PD. However, its long-term efficacy is limited because of motor complications and drug-induced dyskinesia. Dopamine agonists, catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitors and monoamine oxidase-B inhibitors are anti-parkinsonian (anti-PD) drugs that have been found to further improve the potency of ldopa and prevent the onset of motor complications. However, as PD is a progressive disorder, all the drugs used for its therapy, manifest reduced efficacy and adverse effects with time. Research on the field of pharmacogenetics has pointed out that the genetic variability of each individual determines to a large extent the inter-individual variability in response to anti-PD drugs. Clinicogenetic trials show that drug efficacy or toxicity or susceptibility to side effects are features governed by genetic principles. This article is a review of the present pharmacological treatment of PD and current pharmacogenetic data for PD. Review Criteria This review was based on information derived from Articles pertinent to the subject and published in peer-reviewed journals abstracted and indexed in PubMed. Data from authors' recent research have also been included. Message for the Clinic Research on the field of pharmacogenetics has pointed out that the genetic variability of each individual determines to a considerable extent the inter-individual variability in response to drug treatment in Parkinson's disease. These findings may have potential implications for current disease management as well as for future therapeutic strategies.

Research paper thumbnail of D620N mutation in the VPS35 gene and R1205H mutation in the EIF4G1 gene are uncommon in the Greek population

Neuroscience Letters, Oct 1, 2015

Recently, vacuolar protein sorting 35 (VPS35) and eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4 gamm... more Recently, vacuolar protein sorting 35 (VPS35) and eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4 gamma 1 (EIF4G1) have been identified as new causal Parkinson&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s disease (PD) genes, with the VPS35 D620N and EIF4G1 R1205H mutations being identified in both autosomal dominant late-onset familial and sporadic PD patients. However, the frequencies of these two mutations among different ethnic groups vary. We studied the VPS35 D620N and EIF4G1 R1205H mutations in a total of 333 individuals, 202 Greek patients with sporadic PD and 131 control subjects, using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. None of our studied individuals carried these two mutations. Our data support that the VPS35 D620N and EIF4G1 R1205H mutations are not a common cause of PD in the Greek population.

Research paper thumbnail of Association of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism with Parkinson’s disease in a Greek population

Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, Dec 1, 2011

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) enhances survival of dopaminergic neurons in the substan... more Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) enhances survival of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, whereas in patients with Parkinson&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s disease (PD), the expression of BDNF mRNA is decreased, thus making BDNF a candidate gene for PD susceptibility. The association between BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and PD has been evaluated in several studies with controversial results. Thus, we determined the distribution of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism in 184 Greek patients with sporadic PD and 113 control participants using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism, and explored the association of the polymorphism with certain clinical parameters of the disease. Our results do not support a major role for the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism in PD in the Greek population.

Research paper thumbnail of Lack of Association of thePICALMrs3851179 Polymorphism With Parkinson's Disease in the Greek Population

International Journal of Neuroscience, Jan 26, 2012

Parkinson&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp... more Parkinson&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s disease (PD) is a complex, heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder, affecting approximately 1% of the population over 60 years of age. The molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying PD pathogenesis are still unknown. Clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) is a procedure closely related to the intracellular trafficking of multiple molecules in the cell, including proteins, lipids, and neurotransmitters. Recently, variations in the gene encoding the phosphatidylinositol binding clathrin assembly protein (PICALM) has been associated with Alzheimer&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s disease (AD), suggesting a possible role of CME in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we examined for the first time the potential role of the PICALM rs3851179 polymorphism in PD. We studied the PICALM rs3851179 polymorphism in 191 Greek patients with sporadic PD and 118 control subjects, using a PCR-RFLP method. Our results do not provide evidence that the PICALM rs3851179 polymorphism increase susceptibility of PD, in the Greek population.

Research paper thumbnail of Association study of rs6812193 polymorphism with Parkinson's disease in a Greek population

Neuroscience Letters, Apr 1, 2013

h i g h l i g h t s • We investigated the association of the rs6812193 polymorphism with Parkinso... more h i g h l i g h t s • We investigated the association of the rs6812193 polymorphism with Parkinson's disease. • SCARB2 is implicated in the lysosomal pathway recently associated with PD pathogenesis. • The rs6812193 polymorphism doesn't increase susceptibility to PD in the Greek population. • The role of this polymorphism should be further examined in different ethnic populations.

Research paper thumbnail of No association of the Val158Met COMT polymorphism with Parkinsons disease in the Greek population

European Journal of Neurology, Aug 1, 2008

Research paper thumbnail of TLR9 −1237 T/C and TLR2 −194 to −174 del polymorphisms and the risk of Parkinson’s disease in the Greek population: a pilot study

Neurological Sciences, May 3, 2012

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are important mediators of inflammatory responses by recognition of ma... more Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are important mediators of inflammatory responses by recognition of many pathogen-related molecules and endogenous proteins related to immune activation. Accumulating data have recently pointed out the role of neuroinflammation in Parkinson&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s disease (PD) pathogenesis. In the present study, we investigated the potential role of the TLR9 -1237 T/C and TLR2 -194 to -174 del polymorphisms in PD. We studied a total of 333 individuals, 215 Greek patients with sporadic PD and 118 control subjects, using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. No statistically significant differences were found between PD patients and control subjects for the TLR9 -1237 T/C genotypes or alleles. Regarding the TLR2 -196 to -174 del polymorphism, the del/del genotype and the del allele were overrepresented in the PD group compared to controls, however, this result did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.087). Further studies investigating the TLR-inflammatory background of PD are awaited to provide important insight into the aetiology of the disease.

Research paper thumbnail of Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-8--Greek Version

Research paper thumbnail of GSK3β polymorphisms, MAPT H1 haplotype and Parkinson's disease in a Greek cohort

Neurobiology of Aging, Mar 1, 2011

To determine whether polymorphisms in the microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) and/or glycog... more To determine whether polymorphisms in the microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) and/or glycogen synthase kinase-3␤ (GSK3β) genes underpin susceptibility to Parkinson's disease (PD), we conducted a case-control association study in a Greek cohort of 196 PD cases and 163 healthy controls. In our study, the MAPT H1 haplotype was found to be significantly associated with PD, no association was detected between the intronic rs6438552 (−157 T/C) GSK3β polymorphism and PD, whereas the C/C genotype of the promoter rs334558 (−50 T/C) GSK3β polymorphism was found to exert a protective role. The C/C genotype of the rs334558 GSK3β polymorphism was also found to have an additional protective role in our MAPT H1/H1 PD subgroup. Haplotype analysis revealed that, the T-T haplotype of both GSK3β polymorphisms was over-represented in PD patients compared to controls, and this association was independent of MAPT H1 haplotype.

Research paper thumbnail of Sentence comprehension in Greek patients with Parkinson’s disease

Research paper thumbnail of Innovative interventions for Parkinson's disease patients using iPrognosis games

Proceedings of the 13th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments

Innovative interventions for Parkinson's disease patients using the iPrognosis Games: An evaluati... more Innovative interventions for Parkinson's disease patients using the iPrognosis Games: An evaluation analysis by medical experts. In Proceedings of ACM PETRA conference (PETRA'20).

Research paper thumbnail of Motion analysis of Parkinson diseased patients using a video game approach

Proceedings of the 12th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments, 2019

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder and the second most common age-re... more Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder and the second most common age-related neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease. The primary symptoms of the disease are associated with the loss of motor skills affecting patients' movement and coordination and disrupting their daily life. Unfortunately, such motor symptoms cannot be fully relieved by therapeutic options. On the other hand, studies have shown that regular training and exercising can prove neuroprotective in PD patients helping them maintain independent longer. Based on recent studies stating that computer-based physical therapy games can be used as an option for facilitating PD rehabilitation exercise programs, we present the development of a body motion based videogame, using the Kinect sensor, targeted for PD patients. We tested twelve patients with advanced forms of PD motor symptoms (UPDRS motor score>20) and six initial stage PD patients (UPDRS motor score<20). All participants underwent an (UPDRS) motor skills pretest and afterwards performed three training sessions. In this paper, we will present part of our research aiming to analyze the movement patterns of PD patients in order to detect statistical significant differences between groups of different impairment level based on their UPDRS motor score and their performance. Consequently, we adopt a deep learning approach by analyzing the recorded human skeleton sequences for predicting the players' level of motor skills decline. Such methods and data can serve as preliminary evidence for further larger and controlled studies to propose such an exergame that can independently detect and adapt its difficulty level to better match players' ability providing a more targeted and personalized rehabilitation option.

Research paper thumbnail of Parkinsonian patients experiences operating the computer with their eyes: the MAMEM project. (P5.8-043)

Objective: Within the framework of the EU Horizon 2020, MAMEM project (Multimedia Authoring and M... more Objective: Within the framework of the EU Horizon 2020, MAMEM project (Multimedia Authoring and Management using your Eyes and Mind), we developed for Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients an innovative technology , that will enable them to have a better use of the computers, through mental commands and gaze activity. The objective of the present report is to provide the patients’ subjective impressions about their attempts to operate the computer by using their eyes only. Background: The use of computers and information technologies is essential for social participation and productive life. Although PD patients consider computer use as an important part of their everyday life they face many operational difficulties and significant obstacles in computer operation due to the motor symptoms of the disease. Design/Methods: Ten PD patients participated in the study (mean age:55.6±7.3 ; mean Hoehn & Yahr stage :2.1±0.3). Patients were provided with the MAMEM platform to use at their homes for one month. The apparatus included a standard laptop computer with GazeTheWeb, i.e., the tool that was developed within the MAMEM platform, that enables surfing the internet with the use of the eyes - installed on it, together with an eye tracking system. Patient satisfaction was assessed by the SUS (System Usability Scale) and QUEST 2.0 scale (Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with assistive Technology). Results: The mean SUS score given to the MAMEM platform was 75.5±13 ( a SUS score over 68 is considered above average), the mean score for the QUEST 2.0 was 4.2±0.5 (QUEST 2.0 score 5 indicates highest satisfaction) Conclusions: Our results show that the MAMEM platform is perceived by PD patients as a useful, usable and a satisfactory assistive device that enables computer usage and digital social activities. Further research is needed to realize how to utilize eye movements for functional compensation over motor disabilities in PD. Disclosure: Dr. Bostantjopoulou-Kambouroglou has nothing to disclose. Dr. Katsarou has nothing to disclose. Dr. Plotnik has nothing to disclose. Dr. Zeilig has nothing to disclose. Dr. DAGLIS has nothing to disclose. Dr. LIAROS has nothing to disclose. Dr. KALAGANIS has nothing to disclose. Dr. Georgiadis has nothing to disclose. Dr. KOMPATSIARIS has nothing to disclose. Dr. Nikolopoulos has nothing to disclose.

Research paper thumbnail of Detecting hypomimia symptoms by selfie photo analysis

Proceedings of the 12th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments, 2019

Hypomimia, i.e. reduction in the expressiveness of the face, is a cardinal sign of the PD, often ... more Hypomimia, i.e. reduction in the expressiveness of the face, is a cardinal sign of the PD, often present at its early stages. Within the EU-funded i-Prognosis project (http://www.i-prognosis.eu), early and unobtrusive Parkinson's disease detection tests are developed, based on the interaction of users with everyday technological devices. The selfie analysis module translates facial expression features into an index reflecting the severity of PD hypomimia symptoms that affect the variability of patients' facial expressions. Monitoring of such an index over time holds the promise to detect the onset of hypomimia symptoms in an unobtrusive way. Our approach proposes a methodology for detecting and quantifying the progressive decrease of variability of facial expressions in early PD patients by analysing patterns emerging from photos (selfies) during daily life. Promising results are presented from both a) a small development set of 36 users (both PD patients and healthy controls) and b) a large set of selfie photos obtained from 1292 users that were analysed by the iPrognosis cloud analysis module.

Research paper thumbnail of Towards unobtrusive Parkinson's disease detection via motor symptoms severity inference from multimodal smartphone-sensor data

Objective: To provide clinically-corroborated evidence of the Parkinson's disease (PD) diagno... more Objective: To provide clinically-corroborated evidence of the Parkinson's disease (PD) diagnostic potential of machine learning-based approaches for motor symptoms severity inference via multimodal data, passively captured during the natural use of smartphones. Background: PD symptoms can be mild in the early stages and they usually go unnoticed, leaving the disease undiagnosed for years [1]. Subtle motor manifestations may start five to six years prior to PD clinical diagnosis and thereafter progress quickly [2]. Motor impairment affects daily activities and can severely impact patients' quality over the course of the disease. Information derived from mobile electronic sensors can provide, via algorithmic transformation, objective and dense information of an individual's motor status, allowing for frequent relevant symptoms early screening and subsequent monitoring.<br> Methodology: We analyzed longitudinal recordings of tri-axial accelerometer, voice and keystrok...

Research paper thumbnail of Medical evaluation as gold standard to control iPrognosis application derived data for early Parkinson's disease detection

Smartphones have the ability of longitudinal, unobtrusive, remote real-life<br> recognition... more Smartphones have the ability of longitudinal, unobtrusive, remote real-life<br> recognition and monitoring of people's behavior and of specific behavioral pattern.<br> The i-PROGNOSIS approach is promosing as both, the iPrognosis App derived<br> behavioral pattern and the medical evaluation of Parkinson`s disease symptoms<br> by a movement disorders specialist as gold standard differentiate patients with<br> Parkinson`s disease and healthy controls.

Research paper thumbnail of Assessment of manual motor performance in Parkinson's disease

Aristotle University Medical Journal, 2006

The purpose of our study was to assess manual motor performance in patients with Parkinson’s dise... more The purpose of our study was to assess manual motor performance in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) by means of simple instrumental timed tests and compare these findings with normative data. Ninety seven right-handed PD patients and 80 matched controls participated in the study. Motor dexterity was assessed by means of the following instruments: 1) Tapping board, 2) Dual Tally, and 3) Purdue Pegboard. PD patients performed worse than normal controls in all instrumental timed tests (p = 0.0001). However this difference was not always maintained in the group of PD patients who were older than 71 years. Finally we explored the relationship between motor disability and instrumental test scores in a subgroup of PD patients who were younger than 70 years. A negative correlation between UPDRS score and instrumental test scores was significant for all tests. ANOVA exploration of the differences in instrumental test scores between different stages of the disease showed significant dif...

Research paper thumbnail of Association of the cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF) gene intron 1 polymorphism rs11259365 with Parkinson’s disease in the Greek population

Aristotle University Medical Journal, 2012

Cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF) is a newly identified neurotrophic factor. In this s... more Cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF) is a newly identified neurotrophic factor. In this study, we examined the CDNF rs11259365 polymorphism in 53 Greek patients with sporadic Parkinson’s disease (PD) and 52 control subjects, using a PCR-RFLP method. No association was found between this polymorphism and PD, in the Greek population.

Research paper thumbnail of Screening of Parkinsonian subtle fine-motor impairment from touchscreen typing via deep learning

Scientific Reports, 2020

Fine-motor impairment (FMI) is progressively expressed in early Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patients... more Fine-motor impairment (FMI) is progressively expressed in early Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patients and is now known to be evident in the immediate prodromal stage of the condition. The clinical techniques for detecting FMI may not be robust enough and here, we show that the subtle FMI of early PD patients can be effectively estimated from the analysis of natural smartphone touchscreen typing via deep learning networks, trained in stages of initialization and fine-tuning. In a validation dataset of 36,000 typing sessions from 39 subjects (17 healthy/22 PD patients with medically validated UPDRS Part III single-item scores), the proposed approach achieved values of area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.89 (95% confidence interval: 0.80–0.96) with sensitivity/specificity: 0.90/0.83. The derived estimations result in statistically significant ($$p<0.05$$ p < 0.05 ) correlation of 0.66/0.73/0.58 with the clinical standard UPDRS Part III items 22/23/31, re...

Research paper thumbnail of Parkinson’s Disease Detection Based on Running Speech Data From Phone Calls

IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 2021

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, manifesting with subtle ear... more Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, manifesting with subtle early signs, which, often hinder timely and early diagnosis and treatment. The development of accessible, technology-based methods for longitudinal PD symptoms tracking in daily living, offers the potential for transforming disease assessment and accelerating diagnosis. Methods: A privacy-aware method for classifying patients and healthy controls (HC), on the grounds of speech impairment present in PD, is proposed. Voice features from running speech signals were extracted from passively-captured recordings over voice calls. Language-aware training of multiple-and single-instance learning classifiers was employed to fuse and predict on voice features and demographic data from a multilingual cohort of 498 subjects (392/106 self-reported HC/PD patients). Results: By means of leave-one-subject-out cross-validation, the bestperforming models yielded 0.69/0.68/0.63/0.83 area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (AUC) for the binary classification of PD patient vs. HC in sub-cohorts of English/Greek/German/Portuguese-speaking subjects, respectively. Out-of sample testing of the best performing