Βιογραφικό

Ειδικότητα και Μετεκπαιδεύσεις

1998-2004

MD, Ιατρική Σχολή Αριστοτέλειου Πανεπιστημίου Θεσσαλονίκης

2009-2011

MSc, Διετές Πρόγραμμα Μεταπτυχιακών Σπουδών "Κοινωνική Ψυχιατρική" του Τμήματος Ιατρικής του Δημοκρίτειου Πανεπιστημίου Θράκης

2011-2015

Ειδικευόμενος Ψυχίατρος της Β’ Ψυχιατρικής κλινικής του Α.Π.Θ.

2014

Honorary SpR in Psycho-oncology. Department of Psycho-oncology, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester (United Kingdom).
Clinical attachment. King's College Hospital, Liaison Psychiatry Department, London (United Kingdom) με υποτροφία από το Iδρυμα Σκυλίτση.
Clinical attachment. Maudsley Training Programme, London (United Kingdom)

2012-2015

PhD, Διδακτορική Διατριβή στην Ιατρική Σχολή Α.Π.Θ., στο γνωστικό αντικείμενο της Ψυχο-ογκολογίας

1/2016 - 8/2016

Specialty Doctor in Forensic Psychiatry (Ειδικός Ψυχίατρος), West London Mental Health Trust, The Orchard, Women's Secure Service

9/2016 - 2/2018

Locum Consultant Psychiatrist, West London Mental Health Trust, The Orchard, Women's Secure Service. Lead Consultant in two, ten bedded inpatient wards

(Διευθυντής ΕΣΥ σε δυο κλινικές).

2/2018 - σήμερα

Consultant Psychiatrist (Substantive post – μόνιμη θέση πλήρους απασχόλησης), West London NHS Trust. Women’s Enhanced Medium Secure Service (WEMSS),
Lead Consultant in two ten-bedded wards. Catchment area: England (National Service)

(Διευθυντής ΕΣΥ σε δυο κλινικές, Εθνική Υπηρεσία).

αναλυτικό βιογραφικό...

Δημοσιεύσεις

- 2012, The association of bipolar spectrum disorders and borderline personality disorder -

Bipolar disorder (BD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) are two different entities sharing a variety of common features in a number of fields and, thus, presenting difficulties in their differential diagnosis. The aim of the review is to identify similarities and differences between BD and BPD concerning the symptomatology, causes, course and treatment of the two disorders. A systematic electronic search of Pubmed (Medline) was conducted in order to identify all relevant scientific articles published between 1990 and 2010. The main common clinical features of BD and BPD are affective instability and impulsivity, which, however, present with quality differences in each disorder. In the field of neuroanatomy, BD and BPD demonstrate similarities such as alterations in the limbic system, as well as specific differences, such as the increase in size of the amygdala in BD and the decrease in BPD. Both disorders appear to have a significant percentage of heritability, but environmental factors seem to hold an important role in BPD, in particular. Both BD and BPD are affected by alterations in the dopaminergic and serotonergic system. Fuctionability and prognosis are slightly worse for BPD. Concerning medication treatment, antidepressants are considered effective in BPD, whereas mood stabilizers are the main treatment of choice in BD. The effectiveness of a variety of psychotherapeutic methods is still under research for both disorders. Despite the similarities and differences already being traced in clinical and biological fields, the relationship of the two disorders has not yet been thoroughly defined.

- 2013, Response to agomelatine: treatment of an obsessive skin picking episode -

TO THE EDITOR: Compulsive skin picking (CSP) is a symptom rarely observed in obsessive-compulsive disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, delusional syndromes, illicit substance use, and some genetic syndromes. The clinical syndrome was classified in DSM-IV as an impulse control disorder, not otherwise specified, and possibly related to other body-focused repetitive behaviors.1 Following the recommendation of the DSM-5 Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum, Posttraumatic, and Dissociative Disorders Work Group,2 the syndrome will be included in DSM-5 as excoriation (skin picking) disorder,3 with its own set of criteria concerning recurrence, associated distress or impairment, and exclusion of other causes. Agomelatine is a novel antidepressant combining 5-HT2C receptor antagonisms with melatonergic agonisms (MT1 and MT2 receptors).4 This report describes a patient with a CSP episode who remitted after initial selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) treatment augmentation and a transition to agomelatine…

- 2014, The role of cortisol in first episode of psychosis: a systematic review -

The stress diathesis hypothesis is currently one of the prevailing models of etiology of psychotic disorders. Cortisol is the most researched stress hormone; yet its role in first episode psychosis (FEP) was only recently investigated. The aim of the present study is to systematically review the evidence on the potential role of cortisol in FEP. Higher cortisol levels in blood samples have been consistently replicated, whereas saliva studies measuring baseline cortisol levels have exhibited divergent results. Moreover, longitudinal studies have revealed a cortisol upregulation in FEP with a subsequent decrease induced by antipsychotic treatment. The evidence suggests a role for cortisol in psychosis, although the association of cortisol with psychopathological symptoms is currently non-specific. Future research should focus on more pure diagnostic entities, clearly defined stages of the disorder and refined methods of hormonal measurement.

- 2017, Cytokines, cortisol and IGF-1 in first episode psychosis and ultra high risk males. Evidence for TNF-α, IFN-γ, ΤNF-β, IL-4 deviation -

The aim of the study was to determine circulating cytokines, cortisol and Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF)-1, known for their involvement in inflammation, in male patients with First Episode Psychosis (FEP) and subjects at Ultra High Risk (UHR) for Psychosis. The FEP group presented increased pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IFN-γ, ΤNF-β) as well as increased anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-4) compared with Healthy Controls (HC). The UHR group showed increased IL-4 against HC. In contrast, none of the groups did show deviation from normality in either cortisol or IGF-1 levels. These preliminary findings support the cytokines' role in the inflammatory hypothesis in psychosis.

- 2015, The Validity of the Distress Thermometer in Greek Colon Cancer Patients -

Background: Although screening for distress is a crucial part of psycho-social care for cancer patients, there has not been a validation study for this purpose in Greece. The purpose of this study was to evaluate for the first time the psychometric properties of the Greek translation of the Distress Thermometer (DT) and Problem List (PL) in Greek colorectal cancer patients (CRC).

Methods: Participants were 84 CRC inpatients of the 1st Surgical Propedeutic Department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki with a mean age of 70.8±9.5 years. Participants completed the DT, PL and the Hospital Anxiety and -Depression Scale (HADS).

Results: The Cronbach's alpha coefficient in the DT was 0.795. Patients' mean score in the DT was 5.7±2.74, while the mean number of the reported problems in the PL was 18.85±5.50 and the mean total score of the HADS was 15.61±6.95. ROC-analysis supported that a cut-off score of 7 gives the optimal sensitivity and specificity for the DT.

Conclusion: The index sample has manifested high levels of distress, which correspond to high need for support and improvement of the patient-provider relationship. This is probably a difficult task, since the Greek healthcare system has minimal experience of providing psycho-oncology care. The present study has indicated that the DT can be reliably used in the Greek clinical setting. Future studies, along with state provision, are essential in order to offer Greek cancer patients state-of-the-art and comprehensive care.

- 2018, ABCB1 and CYP2D6 polymorphisms and treatment response of psychotic patients in a naturalistic setting -

Objectives: The aim of our study was to examine the association between ABCB1 polymorphisms G2677T/A (rs2032582) and C3435T (rs1045642) and common CYP2D6 variants, with the response to antipsychotic treatment of psychotic patients, in a naturalistic setting, in Greece.

Methods: One hundred patients suffering from schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders were included in the study. Dosages were normalized to chlorpromazine equivalents. Response following 1 month of treatment was assessed as either a continuous variable, using the distribution of the corrected Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale percent change, or as a dichotomous variable defined as the number of patients scoring ≥30% from the corrected baseline Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale score. Genotyping was achieved with established polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism methods.

Results: With response treated as a continuous variable, the homozygous recessive rs2032582 genotypes (TT) who were simultaneously carriers of a loss-of-function CYP2D6 allele (*4 or *5) responded significantly worse than the rest of the patients. Comparison of genotype frequencies revealed a statistically significant association of the above combination. No significant association between chlorpromazine equivalents and the tested genotypes was detected.

Conclusion: We have detected a possible interaction between ABCB1 and CYP2D6 in affecting response of psychotic patients to drug treatment, in a naturalistic setting.

Keywords: ABCB1; CYP2D6; antipsychotics; naturalistic setting; polymorphisms; treatment response.

Υποτροφίες - Διακρίσεις

- 2009 έως 2011 -

Υπότροφος του Ιδρύματος "Αναστάσιος Γ. Λεβέντης"

- 2010 έως 2011 -

Υπότροφος του Ιατρικού Τμήματος του Δ.Π.Θ., στο πλαίσιο του Μεταπτυχιακού Προγράμματος Σπουδών "Κοινωνική Ψυχιατρική"