Athanasia Alexoudi

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens | uoa · Division of Neurosurgery

Trigeminal neuralgia is a severe, disabling pain and its deafferentation remains a challenge for health providers. Transcranial direct current stimulation is a non-invasive stimulation technique which finds new utility in managing pain. Therefore, the introduction of alternative, non-invasive, safe, and effective methods should be considered in tre...

Background Sleep disorders precede cognitive deficits by an average of four years in Alzheimer’s disease, and disrupted sleep has been associated with worse cognitive performance. We examined the association of a novel sleep‐mediated cognitive assessment to sleep architecture in people with and without cognitive impairment, towards earlier diagnosi...

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) reflects the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Besides the motor features, non-motor symptoms, such as constipation, are very common. There is accumulating evidence that neuroinflammation is associated with the PD pathological processes. Alteration...

Objective: Epilepsy patients could possibly benefit from the remuneration observed in the use of virtual reality (VR) and virtual environments (VEs), especially in cognitive difficulties associated with visuospatial navigation (memory, attention, and processing speed). Aim: Research questions under consideration in the present systematic review...

Objective: Our work aims to investigate the role of physiological arousal in the expression of neuropsychological deficits in frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) and mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE), by drawing on the Lurian theory of brain function. Methods: For this study a total of 43 patients with focal onset epilepsy has been taken; twenty-four...

The confirmed involvement of the neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in the pathophysiology of migraine has led to the development of treatments, which for the first time are specific to migraine and mechanism based, in contrast to repurposed traditional prophylactic anti-migraine medications. Thus, in the last 5 years, the European...

Degenerative cerebellar ataxias have no pharmacological or rehabilitation evidence-based treatment so far. Patients remain highly symptomatic and disabled despite receiving the best medical treatment available. This study investigates the clinical and neurophysiologic outcomes of the use of subcutaneous cortex stimulation (in keeping with the estab...

Background The role of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in determining personality traits and neurobehavioral symptoms, collectively known as the interictal behavioral syndrome (also known as Geschwind syndrome or “Gastaut-Geschwind syndrome”), as well as the syndrome's association with the particular artistic expression of many epileptic litterateurs...

The introduction of ventricular shunts dramatically changed the outcome and quality of life of hydrocephalic patients. However, shunt surgery continues to be associated with numerous adverse events. Headache is one of the most common complications after shunt operation. It is often of prolonged duration, the symptoms resemble those of migraine, and...

The introduction of ventricular shunts dramatically changed the outcome and quality of life of hydrocephalic patients. However, shunt surgery continues to be associated with numerous adverse events. Headache is one of the most common complications after shunt operation. It is often over a prolonged duration, the symptoms resemble migraine, and pain...

We report a patient with a chronic subdural/epidural hematoma superimposed to a large arachnoid cyst occupying the left frontotemporal region. Both were discovered accidentally because of a trigeminal neuralgia and concomitant subjective memory complaints. Patient’s sudden selective audioverbal memory impairment probably links to a primary cortical...

Aim To compare neuropsychological function in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) and frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) since frontal circuitry is involved in both conditions. By drawing on previously theory-guided hypotheses and findings, a particular emphasis is placed on the way different cognitive-pathophysiological mechanisms act upon to produce front...

Headache, especially migraine, has long been associated with epilepsy, based on the common clinical features, pathophysiological mechanisms and therapeutic options of these disorders. Epilepsy and headache can exist independently in the same patient or correlate in different ways. The utility of routine electroencephalogram (EEG) in patients with h...

We present an update of the literature concerning long-term neuropsychological outcomes following surgery for refractory temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). A thorough search was conducted through the PubMed and Medline electronic databases for studies investigating neuropsychological function in adult patients undergoing resective TLE surgery and follow...

Depersonalization is a dissociative disorder associated to a profound disruption of self-awareness in the form of emotional numbing and feelings of disembodiment. The salient feature of depersonalization is a breakdown in the familiarity of one's psychological and somatic self (and surroundings when derealization is also present), in spite of being...

Introduction: We investigated the frequency, neuropathology, and phenotypic characteristics of spastic paraplegia (SP) that precedes dementia in presenilin 1 (PSEN1) related familial Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: We performed whole exome sequencing (WES) in 60 probands with hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) phenotype that was negative for...

Brivaracetam (BRV) is the latest approved antiepileptic drug. The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of BRV in everyday clinical practice. In this retrospective, observational, multicenter study, data from epilepsy patients receiving BRV from January 2018 to July 2019 were analyzed. Patients with age ≥16 suffering from a...

Introduction We present the application of the Raumedic® P-tel telemetric device that monitors Intracranial Pressure (ICP) over long periods, in 22 patients, with suspected intracranial hypertension. Methods A telemetric device (Raumedic®, Neurovent® P-tel) was surgically implanted in 22 patients aged between 21 and 65 years. Among the patients, t...

Purpose: To evaluate the seasonal fluctuation of epileptic seizures during one year. Methods: This was a single centre retrospective observational study. Demographic data, number and type of epileptic seizures were collected and analyzed using a dataset from the outpatient epilepsy clinic of a tertiary hospital, during one year. The statistical too...

Objective Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent neurologic disorders, causing serious psychological problems and reducing quality of life. Although 20 different antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 30% of patients have drug‐resistant epilepsy (DRE). Considering the role of miR‐146a and miR‐134...

• This study aimed to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of oral levetiracetam therapy in drug refractory adult epileptic outpatients, as well as factors affecting them. Concentration- time data were collected at steady state, while seizure recurrence was monitored for 13 months. Non-linear mixed effects modeling was applied, and co...

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a tauopathy characterized by motor, neurobehavioral and disabling brainstem deficits. No disease-modifying therapeutic options exist. The therapeutic potential of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been highlighted in studies on patients with other neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, by dra...

In this review, we explore current literature and assess evidence linking secondary (acquired) alexithymia to aberrant humor processing, in terms of their neurobiological underpinnings. In addition, we suggest a possible common neuropathological substrate between secondary alexithymia and deficits in humor appreciation, by drawing on neurophysiolog...

Background and aims: Atypical phenotypes, such as spastic paraplegia (SP), have been described in familial Alzheimer’s disease (AD), especially in PSEN1-associated disease. Very rarely, SP can precede cognitive decline in these patients. Herein, we report a patient carrying a pathogenic mutation in PSEN1, who initially presented as pure spastic par...

Introduction: There is an emerging interest in the literature about MOGHE (Mild Malformation of Cortical Development with Oligodendroglial Hyperplasia and Epilepsy). We report the case of an epileptic patient with MOGHE. Case report: A 33-year-old male patient was suffering from refractory focal epilepsy since adolescence. MRI demonstrated incre...

Introduction: Literature findings on cognitive rehabilitation procedures pre-and particularly post-operatively are very scarce in epilepsy patients. Specifically, in the domain of Medial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (MTLE) representing the most frequent type of localization-related epilepsy most of these studies have focused on postoperative cognitive in...

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by postural instability, autonomic failure, cerebellar ataxia, and cognitive deficits. There is currently no effective cure. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), offers promise in amendment of motor, and cognitive performance in advanced Parkinson's di...

Sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases of the elderly. In the scientific literature, surveys aiming to investigate the potential diagnostic biomarkers for PD have focused on skin and intestinal tissue biopsies, whereas more recent studies have reported an association between PD and skin disorders, suc...

Dementia is one of the increasing problems of modern societies. The immediate cure is not a possible solution, at least at the moment, but science has found a number of new ways to retard and under specific conditions to halt its development. A potential, and constantly evolving scientific field is the use of Computerized Cognitive Rehabilitation (...

Primary headache syndromes’ development is associated with biological, psychological and social parameters. Factors such as daily habits, behavioral characteristics and sleep disorders also play an important role. We aim to identify the variables which affect the above factors. The study included 111 patients affected by primary headache. The patie...

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of a neuro-optimization intervention to determine the suitability for surgery in a patient suffering from left medial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) and hippocampal sclerosis (HS). The rehabilitation program was aimed at amplifying cognitive resources and improving memory function...

The pioneeristic work of Alexander Romanovic Luria into the field of human neuropsychology offered eminent contributions to clinical praxis by providing theory guided methods and instruments for the study of higher cortical functions. However, lots of this knowledge corpus either remains untranslated and thus inaccessible, or in some cases selectiv...

Oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). Inactivating polymorphism of genes encoding detoxification enzymes, such as NQO1 and GSTP1 could influence susceptibility to MS. The monoclonal antibody natalizumab is an effective treatment in MS. Natalizumab's efficacy in MS patients with regard to NQO1 and GSTP...

The objective of the present case report is to punctuate the importance of individualized therapy procedures and the accurate diagnosis of the muscles involved in oromandibular dystonia and underline the role of electromyography (EMG). We report a woman who presented sustained jaw movement towards the left, severe difficulty in jaw opening and jaw...

We read with great interest the results of a nationwide cohort study published by Egeberg et al.(1) demonstrating that the prevalence of coeliac disease, Crohn disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and Helicobacter pylori infection was higher among patients with rosacea when compared wit...

To the Editor We considered very interesting the article by Egeberg et al1 in JAMA Neurology demonstrating that rosacea constitutes an independent risk factor for Parkinson disease (PD). Clinically, rosacea is characterized by the features of neurogenic inflammation. The participation of the sensory and/or autonomic nervous system in the pathogenes...

Current research has noted that auditory stimuli via rhythmic cues can enhance speech in patients with basal ganglia lesions. The contribution of basal ganglia function in music perception and performance is a matter of discussion. The French composer Maurice Ravel suffered from a progressive degenerative cerebral disease of uncertain etiology, pro...

Phosphorylated α-synuclein (phosαSYN) containing inclusions in neurons (Lewy bodies, LB) and nerve terminals (Lewy neurites, LN), the pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD), are not confined to the central nervous system, but have also been reported in peripheral tissues. However, the usefulness of αSYN/phosαSYN detection in tissues acce...

Deep brain stimulation of subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) for Parkinson's disease allows for a reduction in medication dosage. Changes in total levodopa equivalent daily dose (LEDD) have been frequently reported, there is little information about changes within the drug classes. We retrospectively assessed the changes in antiparkinsonian drugs dosage...

Unlabelled: Germline polymorphisms of detoxification genes could influence susceptibility to Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) and Nad(p)h: quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) are detoxifying enzymes involved in biotransformation of metabolites preventing cells from oxidative damage. In order to evaluate the possible contrib...

Corticobasal syndrome (CBS) is a progressive disease that includes a heterogeneous neuropathological spectrum. In the majority of cases, corticobasal degeneration (CBD) is the underlying disease. Clinical heterogeneity is reflected in the clinical presentation of the syndrome and consequently misdiagnosis is common. Our case is of interest because...

Oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). Inactivating polymorphisms of genes encoding detoxification enzymes, such as NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1), could influence susceptibility to MS. To test this hypothesis we performed a case-control study in which we compared the distribution of NQO1 geno...