Publications by authors named "Potagas C"

Background: The p.A53T variant in the SNCA gene was considered, until recently, to be the only SNCA variant causing familial Parkinson's disease (PD) in the Greek population. We identified a novel heterozygous p.

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Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) patients harboring recessive gene variants exhibit a distinct clinical phenotype with an early disease onset and relatively mild symptoms. Data concerning individualized therapy for autosomal recessive PD forms are still scarce.

Methods: Demographic and treatment data of a cohort of PD carriers of recessive genes (nine homozygous or compound heterozygous carriers, four heterozygous carriers, and three biallelic carriers) were evaluated.

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The examination of connected speech may serve as a valuable tool for exploring speech output in both healthy speakers and individuals with language disorders. Numerous studies incorporate various fluency and silence measures into their analyses to investigate speech output patterns in different populations, along with the underlying cognitive processes that occur while speaking. However, methodological inconsistencies across existing studies pose challenges in comparing their results.

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Introduction: Silent pauses are regarded as integral components of the temporal organization of speech. However, it has also been hypothesized that they serve as markers for internal cognitive processes, including word access, monitoring, planning, and memory functions. Although existing evidence across various pathological populations underscores the importance of investigating silent pauses' characteristics, particularly in terms of frequency and duration, there is a scarcity of data within the domain of post-stroke aphasia.

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Post-stroke language recovery remains one of the main unresolved topics in the field of aphasia. In recent years, there have been efforts to identify specific factors that could potentially lead to improved language recovery. However, the exact relationship between the recovery of particular language functions and possible predictors, such as demographic or lesion variables, is yet to be fully understood.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Impulse Control Disorders (ICDs) like pathological gambling and compulsive eating are significant non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's Disease, with a prevalence around 10% to much higher based on different studies.
  • - A two-part study was conducted with 892 Greek PD patients to assess the incidence of ICDs and explore psychological factors such as personality traits and quality of life.
  • - Preliminary results show that 12.4% of patients had ICDs and highlight the role of heightened activity and coping mechanisms in developing these disorders, emphasizing compulsivity over impulsivity.
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Translational neuroscience is a multidisciplinary field that aims to bridge the gap between basic science and clinical practice. Regarding aphasia rehabilitation, there are still several unresolved issues related to the neural mechanisms that optimize language treatment. Although there are studies providing indications toward a translational approach to the remediation of acquired language disorders, the incorporation of fundamental neuroplasticity principles into this field is still in progress.

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Research investigating pragmatic deficits in individuals with right hemisphere damage focuses on identifying the potential mechanisms responsible for the nature of these impairments. Nonetheless, the presumed shared cognitive mechanisms that could account for these deficits have not yet been established through data-based evidence from lesion studies. This study aimed to examine the co-occurrence of pragmatic language deficits, Theory of Mind impairments, and executive functions while also exploring their associations with brain lesion sites.

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Background And Purpose: The aim of our study is to present, for the first time, the clinical, radiological, and neurocognitive characteristics of Greek adult patients with Moyamoya disease (MMD).

Methods: We analyzed prospectively collected data of 12 patients referred to our department from 2004 to 2019. All patients underwent a thorough diagnostic work up, including extensive clinical, neuroradiological, and neurocognitive assessment.

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The aim of the present study was to investigate the deficits in timing reproduction in individuals with non-fluent aphasia after a left hemisphere lesion including the inferior frontal gyrus, in which Broca's region is traditionally localised. Eighteen stroke patients with non-fluent aphasia and twenty-two healthy controls were recruited. We used a finger-tapping Test, which consisted of the synchronisation and the continuation phase with three fixed intervals (450 ms, 650 ms and 850 ms).

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  • Previous research indicates a connection between malignant melanoma (MM) and Parkinson's disease (PD), suggesting shared molecular mechanisms could underlie this link.
  • The study examined the prevalence of MM among 1,416 PD patients, 275 healthy controls, and 670 asymptomatic carriers of PD-related genes, focusing on those with a medical history of MM.
  • Findings revealed 46 PD patients with a history of MM, with genetic mutations in the LRRK2 and GBA genes present in some cases, but no correlation was found between these mutations and MM development in symptomatic or asymptomatic individuals.
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  • The study looked at how patients with early Parkinson's disease (PD) tend to jump to conclusions and how that relates to other symptoms they might have.
  • It found that more PD patients (32%) showed this jumping to conclusions compared to healthy individuals (9%).
  • The researchers think that impulsive behaviors might be linked to the way these patients think, but they need to do more research to understand how everything connects.
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Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) is an advanced method of examining metabolic profiles. The present study aimed to assess metabolite levels in areas of normal-appearing grey (thalamus) and white matter (centrum semiovale) using H-MRS in patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) suggestive of multiple sclerosis and compare them to healthy controls (HCs). Data from 35 patients with CIS (CIS group), of which 23 were untreated (CIS-untreated group) and 12 were treated (CIS-treated group) with disease-modifying-therapies (DMTs) at the time of H-MRS, and from 28 age- and sex-matched HCs were collected using a 3.

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This study aimed to review shoulder clinical and imaging findings in Parkinson's disease (PD), focusing on the significance of timely diagnosis and management of shoulder dysfunction in PD for the prevention of shoulder-related complications. A bibliographical search was employed, using "Parkinson's" and "Shoulder Dysfunction" as keywords. A Magnetic Resonance Imaging, twenty clinical and three US studies were selected as relevant to shoulder dysfunction in PD.

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Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) is a late-onset, X-linked, neurodegenerative disorder that affects premutation carriers of the FMR1 gene. FXTAS is often misdiagnosed as spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) or Parkinson's disease (PD). Herein, we sought to investigate the frequency, genotypic and phenotypic profile of FXTAS in two cohorts of Greek patients with late-onset movement disorders, one with cerebellar ataxia and the other with PD.

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: Recent studies highlight the importance of investigating biomarkers for diagnosing and classifying patients with primary progressive aphasia (PPA). Even though there is ongoing research on pathophysiological indices in this field, the use of behavioral variables, and especially speech-derived factors, has drawn little attention in the relevant literature. The present study aims to investigate the possible utility of speech-derived indices, particularly silent pauses, as biomarkers for primary progressive aphasia (PPA).

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Despite the relative scarcity of studies focusing on pharmacotherapy in aphasia, there is evidence in the literature indicating that remediation of language disorders via pharmaceutical agents could be a promising aphasia treatment option. Among the various agents used to treat chronic aphasic deficits, cholinergic drugs have provided meaningful results. In the current review, we focused on published reports investigating the impact of acetylcholine on language and other cognitive disturbances.

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  • The C9ORF72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion is linked to several neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS and FTD, and plays a role in HD-like conditions, and seldom in PD and AD.
  • The study involved testing 957 patients from Greece across various conditions, revealing positive C9ORF72 expansions in a notable percentage of ALS, HD-like syndromes, FTD, AD, and PD patients, but none in the hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) or control groups.
  • The findings highlight the significance of genetic testing for C9ORF72 in individuals with a family history or symptoms of ALS, FTD, and HD-like syndromes.
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Recent investigations have raised the question of the role of the anterior lateral temporal cortex in language processing (ventral language network). Here we present the language and overall cognitive performance of a rare male patient with chronic middle cerebral artery cerebrovascular accident with a well-documented lesion restricted to the anterior temporal cortex and its connections via the extreme capsule with the pars triangularis of the inferior frontal gyrus (i.e.

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Cerebral hemiatrophy is a rare neurological condition, usually resulting in severe and diffuse cognitive impairment. In this paper we present a 69-year old woman with notable congenital hemiatrophy with strikingly preserved cognitive functions. Cognitive assessment indicated that although her executive functions were found impaired, the remaining cognitive domains were relatively unaffected.

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The impact of Moyamoya Disease (MMD) on cognition inadult Caucasian patients has not yet been thoroughly investigated. The current study is the first to present detailed neuropsychological data on a series of Greek patients with MMD. A group of eight patients was assessed with an extensive neuropsychological battery, including measures of episodic memory, working memory, executive functions, language, and social cognition.

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Purpose: Brain involvement in X-linked Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMTX) has been previously reported. We studied the brain structural and functional integrity using a multimodal neuroimaging approach in patients with no current central nervous system (CNS) symptoms, in order to further delineate the disease's phenotype.

Methods: Seventeen CMTX patients with no current CNS symptoms and 24 matched healthy controls underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

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