Founder and Head, NIA
Division Chief, Center for Multiple Sclerosis and Autoimmune Disorders
Dr. Karageorgiou was born in Athens and graduated cum laude from the Evangeliki School of Smyrna, Nea Smyrni, Greece. She went on to obtain her MD and PhD degrees from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens with honors and pursued residency training in the combined Neurology-Psychiatry programs under Drs. D. Vasileiou, K. Stefanis, K. Skarpalezos and P. Hakas. After her residency, she continued her postgraduate training in Neurophysiology at the University of Zurich, Switzerland and subsequently at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA.
As a clinician, after completing her mandatory rural service at the State Psychiatric Hospital of Corfu, she returned to Athens where she served as a Neurology consultant at “Evangelismos” General Hospital under P. Hakas. She went on to become the founding Director of the Neurology Department of Athens General Hospital “G. Gennimatas,” where she innovated the field of Neurology care in Greece, creating the first nation-wide specialty neurology clinics, the first specialized Neurological and Stroke Advanced Care Unit, an infusion Neurology day-clinic, established one of the largest Neurology training programs in Greece, having trained more than 220 residents during the three decades that she headed the department, and was the founding Editor-in-Chief of the department’s journal De Profundis [Greek].
Among her several contributions to Neurology in Greece, she is a founding member of the Hellenic Neurological Society, elected as its President between 2000 and 2004, and establishing the first fellowship grants for recent Neurology graduates to pursue post-doctoral studies abroad towards improving Neurology care in Greece. She is also the founding President of the Hellenic Headache Society and founding Editor-in-Chief of its journal “Kefalalgia” [Greek]. She has served in several committees of the Hellenic Ministry of Health, and has represented Greece to the World Health Organization.
Leveraging her training and clinical expertise, she has focused her clinical and research activities mostly on the fields of Multiple Sclerosis and Headache, being an author and co-author in dozens of scientific papers, and a principal and regional investigator in several studies. Her scientific contributions include immune modulatory treatments for autoimmune neurological diseases, as well as mesenchymal stem cell therapies for motor neuron diseases.
In recognition of her leadership qualities in health care, she was selected to organize the Special Department (outpatient clinic, inpatient ward) of Athens General Hospital “G. Gennimatas” during the Olympic and Special Olympic Games of 2004 for guests, journalists, national assemblies and representatives from all participating countries, and for which she received the Recognition Award by the Hellenic Ministry of Health. For her contributions to Athens General Hospital “G. Gennimatas,” the floor hosting the Neurology Department carries her name. For her lifelong contributions to Neurology worldwide, she was inducted as a Fellow of the American Neurological Association in 2011.
Since 2013 she is the founding Head of the Neurological Institute of Athens and is the Director of the Neurology Department at the Athens Medical Center, continuing her clinical, research and educational activities.
Clinical Board Certification
Neurology and Psychiatry, Hellenic Ministry of Health
Select Publications
Karussis D, Karageorgiou C, Vaknin-Dembinsky A, Gowda-Kurkalli B, Gomori JM, Kassis I, Bulte JW, Petrou P, Ben-Hur T, Abramsky O, Slavin S. Safety and immunological effects of mesenchymal stem cell transplantation in patients with multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Arch Neurol. 2010; 67(10):1187-94. PMID: 20937945
Comi G, Roveri L, Swan A, Willison H, Bojar M, Illa I, Karageorgiou C, Nobile-Orazio E, van den Bergh P, Swan T, Hughes R, Aubry J, Baumann N, Hadden R, Lunn M, Knapp M, Léger JM, Bouche P, Mazanec R, Meucci N, van der Meché F, Toyka K. A randomised controlled trial of intravenous immunoglobulin in IgM paraprotein associated demyelinating neuropathy. J Neurol. 2002; 249(10):1370-7 PMID: 12382151
Economou A, Papageorgiou S, Karageorgiou C. Working-delayed memory difference detects mild cognitive impairment without being affected by age and education. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2006; 28(4):528-35 PMID: 16624782
Ziemssen T, Bajenaru OA, Carrá A, de Klippel N, de Sá JC, Edland A, Frederiksen JL, Heinzlef O, Karageorgiou KE, Lander Delgado RH, Landtblom AM, Macías Islas MA, Tubridy N, Gilgun-Sherki Y. A 2-year observational study of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis converting to glatiramer acetate from other disease-modifying therapies: the COPTIMIZE trial. J Neurol. 2014 Nov;261(11):2101-11 PMID: 25119836
Marousi S, Travasarou M, Karageorgiou CE, Gheuens S, Koralnik IJ. Simultaneous PML-IRIS after discontinuation of natalizumab in a patient with MS. Neurology. 2012; 79(21):2160 PMID: 23170016
Marousi S, Karkanis I, Kalamatas T, Travasarou M, Paterakis G, Karageorgiou CE. Immune cells after prolonged Natalizumab therapy: implications for effectiveness and safety. Acta Neurol Scand. 2013; 128(1):e1-5 PMID: 23311457
Hadjigeorgiou G, Dardiotis E, Tsivgoulis G, Doskas T, Petrou D, Makris N, Vlaikidis N, Thomaidis T, Kyritsis A, Fakas N, Treska X, Karageorgiou C, Sotirli S, Giannoulis S, Papadimitriou D, Mylonas I, Kouremenos E, Vlachos G, Georgiopoulos D, Mademtzoglou D, Vikelis M, Zintzaras E. Observational study assessing demographic, economic and clinical factors associated with access and utilization of health care services of patients with multiple sclerosis under treatment with interferon beta-1b (EXTAVIA). PLoS One. 2014; 9(11):e113933 PMID: 25419842
Stavropoulou C, Korakaki D, Rigana H, Voutsinas G, Polyzoi M, Georgakakos VN, Manola KN, Karageorgiou CE, Sambani C. Glutathione-S-transferase T1 and M1 gene polymorphisms in Greek patients with multiple sclerosis: a pilot study. Eur J Neurol. 2007 May;14(5):572-4 PMID: 17437619
Thomaides T, Tagaris G, Karageorgiou C. EEG and topographic frequency analysis in migraine attack before and after sumatriptan infusion. Headache. 1996; 36(2):111-14 PMID: 8742685
Alexopoulos H, Kampylafka EI, Chatzi I, Travasarou M, Karageorgiou KE, Dalakas MC, Tzioufas AG. Reactivity to AQP4 epitopes in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. J Neuroimmunol. 2013 Jul 15;260(1-2):117-20 PMID: 23673145
Ziemssen T, Bajenaru OA, Carrá A, de Klippel N, de Sá JC, Edland A, Frederiksen JL, Heinzlef O, Karageorgiou KE, Lander Delgado RH, Landtblom AM, Macías Islas MA, Tubridy N, Gilgun-Sherki Y. A 2-year observational study of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis converting to glatiramer acetate from other disease-modifying therapies: the COPTIMIZE trial. J Neurol. 2014 Nov;261(11):2101-11 PMID: 25119836
Zissis NP, Harmoussi S, Vlaikidis N, Mitsikostas D, Thomaidis T, Georgiadis G, Karageorgiou K. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of venlafaxine XR in out-patients with tension-type headache. Cephalalgia. 2007 Apr;27(4):315-24 PMID: 17346304