Marina Paschalidou MD, Ph.D
Marina Paschalidou graduated from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki with a B.S. in Neurology and is a holder of a Ph.D. thesis from the A.U.Th.
She trained at the National Hospital in London in the Department of Clinical Neurochemistry under the direction of E. Thompson, with the main subject being the investigation of the Cerebrospinal Fluid and the determination of the oligoclonal breakdown of IgG in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and other neurological diseases.
She worked as a Specialist Neurologist at the 2nd University Neurological Clinic, A.U.Th. from 1986 – 2010, the clinic was part of the National Health System (NHS), and she retired with the rank of Director of the NHS.
Her services included general neurology, training of medical students, psychology students, and neurology specialists.
In 1986 she established and supervised the operation of the Cerebrospinal Fluid Investigation Laboratory, focusing on determining oligoclonal IgG as a diagnostic indicator in MS and differentiating other neurological diseases.
From 1996 to 1998, she worked in the research unit of the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics (CING) on MS and continued collaborating with the Department of Molecular Virology of ING on the investigation of viruses in MS.
She is a founding member of the Hellenic Society of MS Patients, responsible for organizing, monitoring, investigating, and treatment protocols for MS patients.
She organized inter-hospital scientific conferences on the differential diagnosis of autoimmune, demyelinating, and other diseases.
She was involved in several research projects, including the study of hormones and thyroid function in MS in collaboration with the Department of Endocrinology at the 1st University Pathology Clinic AHEPA, Thessaloniki, Greece.
She also collaborated with the AHEPA University Ophthalmology Clinic, to study optic nerve disorders and applied optical coherence tomography (OCT) in optic nerve diseases.
She conducted a study on the psycho-emotional profile of patients with MS in collaboration with psychiatric departments of hospitals in Thessaloniki and the Department of Psychology of A.U.Th (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) with the aim of psychotherapeutic management of patients.
Additionally, she collaborated with the Hematology Laboratory of the Agios Pavlos Hospital of Thessaloniki to study vitamin B12, folic acid, and homocysteine in neurological diseases, with the goal of restoring any related disorders.