Stelios Zygouris

• Doctor of Medicine
• Lecturer at University of Western Macedonia

Objective: This article is a review of computerized tests and batteries used in the cognitive assessment of older adults. Method: A literature search on Medline followed by cross-referencing yielded a total of 76 citations. Results: Seventeen test batteries were identified and categorized according to their scope. Computerized adaptive testing...

Background: Despite the abundance of research on computerized dementia screening tests, the attitudes of hospital personnel towards this screening method have not been investigated. Objective: a) To conduct a confirmatory factor analysis of the first part of a two-part questionnaire about computerized dementia screening. b) To assess the attitudes...

Background Literature supports the use of serious games and virtual environments to assess cognitive functions and detect cognitive decline. This promising assessment method, however, has not yet been translated into self-administered screening instruments for pre-clinical dementia. Objective The aim of this study is to assess the performance of a...

Background Electroencephalography (EEG) has been used to assess brain activity while users are playing an immersive serious game. Objective To assess differences in brain activation as measured with a non-intrusive wearable EEG device, differences in game performance and correlations between EEG power, game performance and global cognition, betwee...

Early diagnosis of cognitive disorders in older adults is a major healthcare priority with benefits to patients, families, and health systems. Rapid advances in digital technology offer potential for developing innovative diagnostic pathways to support early diagnosis. Brief self-administered computerized cognitive tools in particular hold promise...

This guidebook is intended to purpose concise guidance for professionals in cognitive training including a brief orientation about popular cognitive assessment tools and cognitive-oriented interventions as well. This book is principally focusing on all types of cognitive-oriented interventions including cognitive training, cognitive stimulation, ps...

Central nervous system diseases (CNSDs) lead to significant disability worldwide. Mobile app interventions have recently shown the potential to facilitate monitoring and medical management of patients with CNSDs. In this direction, the characteristics of the mobile apps used in research studies and their level of clinical effectiveness need to be e...

Objectives Dementia poses one of the greatest global health challenges, affecting 50 million people worldwide. With 10 million new cases each year, dementia is a growing burden, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). This study aimed to identify the facilitators and barriers to providing quality dementia assessment and care in LMI...

As research and services in the Mediterranean region continue to increase, so do opportunities for global collaboration. To support such collaborations, the Alzheimer's Association was due to hold its seventh Alzheimer's Association International Conference Satellite Symposium in Athens, Greece in 2021. Due to the COVID‐19 pandemic, the meeting was...

The hallmark of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) pathophysiology is the damage to the myelin sheath around axons. The cerebellum is a predilection site for demyelination with a well-recognized role in motor and a rather understudied contribution to cognitive functions. The aim of this study is to investigate patterns of cerebellar grey and white matter path...

AD-GAMING is a platform (www.adgaming.ibv.org) which focuses on increasing the technological skills of people with dementia (PwD), their families and caregivers, thus allowing them to use Serious Games (SGs) with the purpose of improving their quality of life. This program promotes the equity and inclusion of PwD, as it allows them to be an active...

Background Timely diagnosis of dementia is a global healthcare priority, particularly in low to middle income countries where rapid increases in older adult populations are expected. Objective To investigate global perspectives on the role of brief cognitive assessments (BCAs) in dementia diagnosis, strengths and limitations of existing measures,...

Background There is a need for new practical tools to assess the cognitive impairment of small vessel disease (SVD) patients in the clinic. Objective This study aimed to examine cognitive functioning by administering the Virtual Supermarket (VST) in patients with SVD with cognitive impairment (SVD-CI, N = 32), cognitively normal SVD (SVD-CN, N = 3...

Background With greying of nations, dementia becomes a public health priority. The rising dementia prevalence escalates both health care expenses and burden, placing the entire healthcare system and caregivers under huge stress. Cognition-oriented interventions have been shown to enhance the overall cognitive performance among healthy and cognitive...

Background Detailed neuropsychological assessment is essential to detect cognitive impairment in SVD. Therefore, a brief cognitive test is needed as an alternative to extensive assessment (Peng et al., 2019). The aim of this study is to examine cognitive functions between SVD with cognitive impairment (SVD‐CI), cognitively normal SVD (SVD‐CN), and...

Background Despite the abundance of research on computerized dementia screening tests, the attitudes of hospital personnel toward this screening method have not been investigated. Objective 1) To conduct a confirmatory factor analysis of the first part of a two-part questionnaire about computerized dementia screening. 2) To assess the attitudes of...

Introduction: To understand the potential influence of diversity on the measurement of functional impairment in dementia, we aimed to investigate possible bias caused by age, gender, education, and cultural differences. Methods: A total of 3571 individuals (67.1 ± 9.5 years old, 44.7% female) from The Netherlands, Spain, France, United States, U...

INTRODUCTION: To understand the potential influence of diversity on the measurement of functional impairment in dementia, we aimed to investigate possible bias caused by age, gender, education, and cultural differences. METHODS: 3,571 individuals (67.1 +- 9.5 years old, 44.7% female) from the Netherlands, Spain, France, United States, United Kingdo...

Objectives: The comparison of cognitive performance of older adults with frailty and non-frail ones (according to Fried's criteria) was investigated. Methods/design: The differences in performance between people with frailty and individuals without frailty according to Fried were tested using a Virtual Reality (VR) application. The Fried criteri...

Background Cognitive disorders such as dementia are common among older adults admitted to general hospitals. They can complicate treatment leading to longer hospitalization and worse outcomes. They often remain underdiagnosed as the busy routine of the hospital does not enable efficient screening and available screening instruments are not suitable...

The purpose of this study was to investigate cognitive functioning by administering the Virtual Supermarket (VSM) test in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI, N = 37) and age and education-matched healthy controls (HCs, N = 52). An extensive neuropsychological test battery and the VSM were administered to all participants. The aM...

The East Mediterranean Brain Health Initiative (EMBHI) aims to provide better brain health services to underserved populations and vulnerable cohorts in countries sharing similar financial and health care challenges. Through knowledge exchange and collaboration between Atlantic Fellows, who are leveraging existing networks and expertise in the East...

Background: New technologies and especially computerized cognitive screening have been proposed as a means to increase access to timely cognitive screening. This Pilot Project assesses the effectiveness of an innovative self-screening test, the Virtual Supermarket Test (VST), and the Greek version of the UCSF Brain Health Assessment (BHA) that can...

In Greece, there is an ongoing effort for the creation of a national dementia plan. In 2014, a national dementia observatory was established after appropriate legislation was implemented. National and local Alzheimer’s associations have developed an ongoing collaboration with the health ministry and other regulatory authorities in order to draft a...

Problem statement: Early detection of cognitive decline increases treatment and intervention opportunities however the implementation of large scale cognitive screening of older adults faces significant challenges. Some of these challenges include costs, reliance on specialists, and often the reluctance of older adults to undergo regular testing es...

This paper is concerned with the question whether the trend of life expectancy is a source of problems, especially problems related to the health of older adults or, on the contrary, a biological privilege. This trend was already evident at the beginning of the last century, and still persists. It seems that it will go on at least for the next few...

Background: It has been demonstrated that virtual reality (VR) applications can be used for the detection of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Objective: The aim of this study is to provide a preliminary investigation on whether a VR cognitive training application can be used to detect MCI in persons using the application at home without the help of...

This presentation showcases two studies undertaken by CND+ design research organization, a study concerning tourist information leaflets and a study concerning 1 page drug information leaflets . Our aim is to highlight the feasibility and importance of research led design practices. Both studies provided insights that can guide the design process t...

Our research is implementing high quality next generation services for the Prediction, Early Diagnosis, Monitoring, and Support of patients with Cognitive Impairment (Subjective Cognitive Impairment -SCI-, Mild Cognitive Impairment -MCI-, Mild Dementia) and Education and Training for all stakeholders. Prediction, Early Diagnosis and Monitoring: The...

Two of the main pillars of GAADRD’s efforts have been the promotion of community healthcare and dementia awareness and the promotion of computer literacy among older adults in order to enable them to actively participate in today’s digital society. Lately action has been taken to combine these two objectives in order to solve issues related to heal...

Nowadays tourist information booklets are often the sole means of communication with a tourist who is not familiar with the internet, does not use mobile apps and is most likely in a hurry. They inform, promote a city and ultimately aim to sell a destination area, an attraction or business. Unfortunately, research validation of their core design pr...

Objective: This article presents the case of a female patient with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The patient was treated with cholinesterase inhibitors and also with intravenous administration of autologous adipose stem cells. Methods: The patient was assessed with a neuropsychological battery including measures of general cognition, functional problem...

In this chapter the history of computerized cognitive testing for older adults is reviewed critically, challenges are being highlighted and solutions and emerging trends are discussed. Issues such as lack of validation, insufficiently documented psychometric properties and the high cost of computerized instruments are analyzed. At the same time a d...

Background Recent research advocates the potential of virtual reality (VR) applications in assessing cognitive functions highlighting the possibility of using a VR application for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) screening. Objective The aim of this study is to investigate whether a VR cognitive training application, the virtual supermarket (VSM),...

Nowadays, dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) includes a combination of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical treatment. But, current drugs do not, and potential future drugs might not, improve quality of life. Evidence suggests psychosocial interventions, like educational and arts programs, do in fact have such a benefit. Supportive and enrichin...