Paraskevi Sakka NEUROLOGIST Director, Neurodegenerative Brain Conditions - Memory Department

210 686 7079
210 686 7099

Education & Academic Qualifications

Faculty of Medicine Graduate, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
07/1982: Neurologist/Psychiatrist Specialty
1982-1983: Registrar, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Cambridge
1996: PhD, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Doctoral thesis

1996: PhD holder from the Neurologic Clinic, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens on “Correlation between perfusion and space-occupying brain lesions using SPECT”

Fellowship in Societies, Membership in Journal Editorial Committees

Fellowship in Societies

President of the Athens Association of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders since 2002
General Secretary of the Hellenic Dementia Society
Member of the Hellenic Neurological Society
Member of the European Neurological Society
Member of the American Academy of Neurology

Membership in Journal Editorial Committees

Communicating with Alzheimer’s journal

Journal Editor

Information on Alzheimer’s journal

Work Experience

1/10/1982-31/12/1983: Clinician, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Cambridge, UK
1/12/1982-9/10/2003: Registrar & Associate Director, Neurology Clinic, Military Veterans’ Fund Hospital (NIMTS)
10/10/2003-currently: Director, Neurodegenerative Brian Conditions Department & Memory Clinic, HYGEIA Hospital

Clinical & Research Interest

Clinical Interest:

Alzheimer’s disease
Non-Alzheimer’s dementias
Neuropsychological tests in various types of dementia syndromes
Rapidly progressive dementias
Young-onset dementia
Parkinson-plus syndromes

Research Interest:

Biological markers in dementia, CSF proteins
Neuroimaging techniques (PET, SPECT) in dementia syndromes
Social dimension of Alzheimer’s, Caregivers burden, Alzheimer Associations
Prevention of dementia & Alzheimer’s disease

Honors & Awards

President of the working group for the National Action Plan for Dementia & Chairwoman of the National Observatory on Dementia

Books

Chapters for the book Dementia: A Medical & Social Challenge, University Studio Press, Thessaloniki, 2005
Manual for Carers, Athens Association of Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Disorders, Athens, 2007
Alzheimer’s Disease Can be Treated. Get Informed! Athens Association of Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Disorders, Athens 2007
Activities for People Suffering from Alzheimer’s, Grigoris Publications, Athens, 2011
Mental Exercises: A Guide for Health Professionals, University Studio Press, Athens, 2012
Non-Pharmaceutical Treatment for Alzheimer’s, Athens Association of Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Disorders, Athens, 2013
Chapters for the book «Empowering and Advocate», TOPOS Editions, 2016

Recent Publications

“Sleep quality and duration in relation to memory in the elderly: Initial results from the Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Aging and Diet”. Neurobiol Learn Mem, 2017.
“Mediterranean diet and cognitive health: Initial results from the Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Ageing and Diet”. PLoS One, 2017 Aug 1;12(8):e0182048.
“Dataset on the associations between sleep quality/duration and cognitive performance in cognitively healthy older adults”. Data brief, 2017;1 (14): 720-723.
“Protecting cognition from aging and Alzheimer’s disease: a computerized cognitive training combined with reminiscence therapy”. Caltagirone C.Int J Geriatr Psychiatry, 2016.
“Life after care: psychological adjustment to bereavement in family carers of people with dementia”, Int Psychogeriatr, 2016.
“Physical exercise as an intervention in women with mild cognitive impairment”. Biology of Exercise Vol. 11.1. 2015
“Evaluating the Needs of Dementia Patients’ Caregivers in Greece: A Questionnaire Survey”. International Journal of Caring Sciences, Volume 8 Issue 2, pp. 274-280, 2015
Sharing knowledge to advance healthcare policies in Europe for people living with dementia and their carers: the ALCOVE project”. Barr et al. Archives of Public Health, 70:21, 2012
“Galantamine improves cognition, behavioral symptoms and functioning: a 6-month non-interventional study”, Annals of General Psychiatry, 2010, 9(Suppl 1): S131
“Attitudes and perceptions regarding Alzheimer’s diseases in Greece”, Am J Alzheimer’s Dis Other Dement 2009, 24(1): 21-6.
“Therapeutic Targets in Alzheimer’s Disease”, Primary Psychiatry, 2009, 16(11):29-36
“Effectiveness of open-label donepezil treatment in patients discontinuing memantine monotherapy”, Curr Med Res Opin, November 2007 (5)

Recent announcements in international conferences

69th American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting, “HELIAD study: Dementia prevalence in Greece”,2017, Boston
EFNS, Joint congress of European neurology – Oral presentation: Ageing and dementia 1 “Early diagnosis of dementia – A campaign in a population of elderly people in Athens”, Istanbul, Turkey, June 2014
Contemporary Neuroimaging Topics – Round Table Chairmanship: “Parkinson Disease and Parkinsonism Syndromes”, Athens, 2014
167th Annual Meeting, American Psychiatric Association, 3-7/5/2014, New York
1st World Congress on Geriatrics & Neurodegenerative Diseases Research, “Brain reserve and cognitive training in the elderly”, 10-13/4/2014, Corfu, Greece
10th Hellenic Congress on Public Health & Health Services: Road to Advancement – Round Table Chairmanship: Alzheimer’s Disease Can Be Prevented. Get Informed! “Protective/Burdening factors for developing dementia & Alzheimer’s disease”, Athens, 2014
Hellenic Dementia Society Satellite Convention, Chairmanship: “Contemporary information on the therapeutic treatment of Alzheimer’s disease”, Athens, 2014
22nd Hellenic Psychiatry Congress – Round Table Chairmanship: “Cognitive exercises for people with dementia via computers / Results of the SOCIABLE program”, Ioannina, 2014
13th International Geneva/Springfield Symposium on Advances in Alzheimer’s Therapy, 2014, Geneva, Switzerland
67th American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting, “SOCIABLE: A comprehensive ICT cognitive training programme empowering for healthy and cognitively impaired elderly”, 18-25/4/2015, Washington, DC