Panagiotis Kassavetis
( out of 166 reviews )

Panagiotis Kassavetis, MD, PhD

Languages spoken: English, Modern Greek

Clinical Locations

Clinical Neurosciences Center

Salt Lake City
801-585-7575

  • Dr. Kassavetis is a neurologist who specializes in movement disorders. He treats patients with all movement disorders including tremor, parkinsonism, dystonia, myoclonus, and others. He has expertise in advanced therapies such as ultrasound and EMG-guided botulinum toxin injections. He is member of the multidisciplinary deep brain stimulation team at the University of Utah and does pre-operative assessment, intraoperative monitoring, and post-operative DBS programming for patients with Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, dystonia, and other movement disorders. He evaluates patient with essential tremor for MRI-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy.

    Dr. Kassavetis completed medical school at the University of Athens, Greece. After graduation, he moved to the United Kingdom for graduate studies. He completed a one-year master of science (MSc) in clinical neurology and a four-year PhD in neuroscience at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology in London with a six-month scholarship at Johns Hopkins University. During his PhD, he studied human motor control with techniques such as noninvasive brain stimulation (transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation) as well as electromyography and electroencephalography. After his PhD, he moved to the United Stated to pursue residency training in neurology at Boston University, Boston, MA. Then, he acquired further subspecialty training in movement disorders with a three-year fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, under the mentorship of Dr. Mark Hallett. He joined the faculty of the University of Utah as an assistant professor of neurology in 2021. He is interested in using advanced clinical neurophysiology techniques for diagnosis and treatment in movement disorders.

    Specialties

    Board Certification

    American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology (Neurology)

    Patient Rating

    4.9 /5
    ( out of 166 reviews )

    The patient rating score is an average of all responses on our patient experience survey. The rating averages scores for all questions about care from our providers.

    The scale on which responses are measured is 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.

    Patient Comments

    Patient comments are gathered from our patient experience survey and displayed in their entirety.
    Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.

    February 28, 2024
    CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES CENTER

    My son was so nervous for this entire visit, and Dr. K made it seem so chill. He took the time to watch videos we had taken, listen to each of us, and then share his thoughts. He even "dumbed down" the information he gave to us as we were lost and unsure what some of it meant. He was so calm and patient; he made us feel that we were cared about. He took the time to ensure things were all talked about that we wanted to share with him & asked us if we had questions quite often.

    February 24, 2024
    CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES CENTER

    Dr. Kassavetis and his support team are kind, patient, and unbearable.

    February 23, 2024
    CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES CENTER

    The time spent with the doctor was productive and he listened carefully to my concerns and explained MRI results in a manner that was understood easily. He took the time to answer our questions.

    February 23, 2024
    CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES CENTER

    Dr Kassavetis is a wonderful man and a great doctor! He is caring and attentive with excellent communication and understanding. He encourages 2-way conversations.

    February 11, 2024
    CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES CENTER

    Dr.Kassavetis one of the best!!

    February 07, 2024
    CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES CENTER

    Dr. Kassavetis is a professional and reviews the informaition carefully so that i get the best treatment . He tells it the way that it is and is very helpful.

    January 29, 2024
    CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES CENTER

    Dr. Kassavetis was thorough and personable. He showed genuine concern and interest in my overall and specific condition. He spent ample time to assess my well-being. He gave excellent treatment and useful advice.

    January 15, 2024
    CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES CENTER

    Awesome experience. I was treated with respect and concern that I understood every thing.

    January 13, 2024
    CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES CENTER

    Dr. Kassavetis was very attentive, knowledgeable, professional, easy to talk to & seemed to have a handle on my medical requirements & treatment.

    See More Patient Comments

  • Dr. Kassavetis is a neurologist who specializes in movement disorders. He treats patients with all movement disorders including tremor, parkinsonism, dystonia, myoclonus, and others. He has expertise in advanced therapies such as ultrasound and EMG-guided botulinum toxin injections. He is member of the multidisciplinary deep brain stimulation team at the University of Utah and does pre-operative assessment, intraoperative monitoring, and post-operative DBS programming for patients with Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, dystonia, and other movement disorders. He evaluates patient with essential tremor for MRI-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy.

    Dr. Kassavetis completed medical school at the University of Athens, Greece. After graduation, he moved to the United Kingdom for graduate studies. He completed a one-year master of science (MSc) in clinical neurology and a four-year PhD in neuroscience at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology in London with a six-month scholarship at Johns Hopkins University. During his PhD, he studied human motor control with techniques such as noninvasive brain stimulation (transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation) as well as electromyography and electroencephalography. After his PhD, he moved to the United Stated to pursue residency training in neurology at Boston University, Boston, MA. Then, he acquired further subspecialty training in movement disorders with a three-year fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, under the mentorship of Dr. Mark Hallett. He joined the faculty of the University of Utah as an assistant professor of neurology in 2021. He is interested in using advanced clinical neurophysiology techniques for diagnosis and treatment in movement disorders.

    Board Certification and Academic Information

    Academic Departments Neurology -Primary
    Board Certification
    American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology (Neurology)

    Education history

    Fellowship Movement Disorders - National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Clinical Fellow
    Neurology - Boston University Medical Center Chief Resident
    Chief Resident Neurology - Boston University Medical Center Resident
    Internal Medicine - Boston University Medical Center Intern
    Fellowship Human Motor Control - Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Postdoctoral Fellow
    Outpatient Movement Disorders Clinic/Botulinum Toxin Clinic - University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology Clinical Research Fellow
    Professional Medical Neuroscience - University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology Ph.D.
    Clinical Neurology - University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology M.Sc.
    Residency Internal Medicine - General Hospital of Messolonghi Resident
    Medicine - National and Kapodistrian University of Athens School of Health Sciences M.D.

    Selected Publications

    Journal Article

    1. Farrell M, Karp BI, Kassavetis P, Berrigan W, Yonter S, Ehrlich D, Alter KE (2020). Management of Anterocapitis and Anterocollis: A Novel Ultrasound Guided Approach Combined with Electromyography for Botulinum Toxin Injection of Longus Colli and Longus Capitis. Toxins (Basel), 12(10). (Read full article)
    2. Thirugnanasambandam N, Leodori G, Popa T, Kassavetis P, Mandel A, Shaft A, Kee J, Kashyap S, Khodorov G, Hallett M (2019). Parietal conditioning enhances motor surround inhibition. Brain Stimul, 13(2), 447-449. (Read full article)
    3. Vial F, Kassavetis P, Merchant S, Haubenberger D, Hallett M (2019). How to do an electrophysiological study of tremor. Clin Neurophysiol Pract, 4, 134-142. (Read full article)
    4. Branscheidt M, Kassavetis P, Anaya M, Rogers D, Huang HD, Lindquist MA, Celnik P (2019). Fatigue induces long-lasting detrimental changes in motor-skill learning. Elife, 8. (Read full article)
    5. Kassavetis P, Sadnicka A, Saifee TA, Pares I, Kojovic M, Bhatia KP, Rothwell JC, Edwards MJ (2018). Reappraising the role of motor surround inhibition in dystonia. J Neurol Sci, 390, 178-183. (Read full article)
    6. Ganos C, Ferr ER, Marotta A, Kassavetis P, Rothwell J, Bhatia KP, Haggard P (2017). Cortical inhibitory function in cervical dystonia. Clin Neurophysiol, 129(2), 466-472. (Read full article)
    7. Sadnicka A, Kassavetis P, Pares I, Meppelink AM, Butler K, Edwards M (2016). Task-specific dystonia: pathophysiology and management. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 87(9), 968-74. (Read full article)
    8. Kassavetis P, Joseph JM, Francois R, Perloff MD, Berkowitz AL (2016). Zika virus-associated Guillain-Barré syndrome variant in Haiti. Neurology, 87(3), 336-7. (Read full article)
    9. Akkad H, Di Stasio F, Tibold R, Kassavetis P, Rothwell JC, Edwards MJ (2016). Motor training reduces surround inhibition in the motor cortex. Clin Neurophysiol, 127(6), 2482-8. (Read full article)
    10. Macerollo A, Chen JC, Parees I, Sadnicka A, Kassavetis P, Bhatia KP, Kilner JM, Rothwell JC, Edwards MJ (2016). Abnormal movement-related suppression of sensory evoked potentials in upper limb dystonia. Eur J Neurol, 23(3), 562-8. (Read full article)
    11. Saifee TA, Edwards MJ, Kassavetis P, Gilbertson T (2015). Estimation of the phase response curve from Parkinsonian tremor. J Neurophysiol, 115(1), 310-23. (Read full article)
    12. Kassavetis P, Saifee TA, Roussos G, Drougkas L, Kojovic M, Rothwell JC, Edwards MJ, Bhatia KP (2015). Developing a Tool for Remote Digital Assessment of Parkinson's Disease. Mov Disord Clin Pract, 3(1), 59-64. (Read full article)
    13. Saifee TA, Pares I, Kassavetis P, Kaski D, Bronstein AM, Rothwell JC, Sadnicka A, Lunn MP, Manji H, Teo JT, Bhatia KP, Reilly MM, Edwards MJ (2015). Tremor in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease: No evidence of cerebellar dysfunction. Clin Neurophysiol, 126(9), 1817-24. (Read full article)
    14. Kojovic M, Kassavetis P, Bologna M, Pares I, Rubio-Agusti I, Berardelli A, Edwards MJ, Rothwell JC, Bhatia KP (2015). Transcranial magnetic stimulation follow-up study in early Parkinson's disease: A decline in compensation with disease progression? Mov Disord, 30(8), 1098-106. (Read full article)
    15. Macerollo A, Chen JC, Pares I, Kassavetis P, Kilner JM, Edwards MJ (2015). Sensory Attenuation Assessed by Sensory Evoked Potentials in Functional Movement Disorders. PLoS One, 10(6), e0129507. (Read full article)
    16. Sadnicka A, Teo JT, Kojovic M, Pares I, Saifee TA, Kassavetis P, Schwingenschuh P, Katschnig-Winter P, Stamelou M, Mencacci NE, Rothwell JC, Edwards MJ, Bhatia KP (2014). All in the blink of an eye: new insight into cerebellar and brainstem function in DYT1 and DYT6 dystonia. Eur J Neurol, 22(5), 762-7. (Read full article)
    17. Ganos C, Kassavetis P, Cerdan M, Erro R, Balint B, Price G, Edwards MJ, Bhatia KP (2015). Revisiting the Syndrome of "Obsessional Slowness". Mov Disord Clin Pract, 2(2), 163-169. (Read full article)
    18. Belvisi D, Kassavetis P, Bologna M, Edwards MJ, Berardelli A, Rothwell JC (2014). Associative plasticity in surround inhibition circuits in human motor cortex. Eur J Neurosci, 40(12), 3704-10. (Read full article)
    19. Sadnicka A, Patani B, Saifee TA, Kassavetis P, Pares I, Korlipara P, Bhatia KP, Rothwell JC, Galea JM, Edwards MJ (2014). Normal motor adaptation in cervical dystonia: a fundamental cerebellar computation is intact. Cerebellum, 13(5), 558-67. (Read full article)
    20. Kassavetis P, Sadnicka A, Saifee TA, Belvisi D, van den Bos M, Pares I, Kojovic M, Rothwell JC, Edwards MJ (2014). Motor 'surround inhibition' is not correlated with activity in surround muscles. Eur J Neurosci, 40(3), 2541-7. (Read full article)
    21. Janssen S, Veugen LC, Hoffland BS, Kassavetis P, van Rooijen DE, Stegeman DF, Edwards MJ, van Hilten JJ, van de Warrenburg BP (2014). Normal eyeblink classical conditioning in patients with fixed dystonia. Exp Brain Res, 232(6), 1805-9. (Read full article)
    22. Ganos C, Kassavetis P, Erro R, Edwards MJ, Rothwell J, Bhatia KP (2014). The role of the cerebellum in the pathogenesis of cortical myoclonus. Mov Disord, 29(4), 437-43. (Read full article)
    23. Pares I, Kojovic M, Pires C, Rubio-Agusti I, Saifee TA, Sadnicka A, Kassavetis P, Macerollo A, Bhatia KP, Carson A, Stone J, Edwards MJ (2014). Physical precipitating factors in functional movement disorders. J Neurol Sci, 338(1-2), 174-7. (Read full article)
    24. Saifee TA, Schwingenschuh P, Reilly MM, Lunn MP, Katschnig P, Kassavetis P, Pares I, Manji H, Bhatia K, Rothwell JC, Edwards MJ (2012). Tremor in inflammatory neuropathies. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 84(11), 1282-7. (Read full article)
    25. Sadnicka A, Kimmich O, Pisarek C, Ruge D, Galea J, Kassavetis P, Pares I, Saifee T, Molloy A, Bradley D, ORiordan S, Zrinzo L, Hariz M, Bhatia KP, Limousin P, Foltynie T, Rothwell JC, Hutchinson M, Edwards MJ (2013). Pallidal stimulation for cervical dystonia does not correct abnormal temporal discrimination. Mov Disord, 28(13), 1874-7. (Read full article)
    26. Pares I, Saifee TA, Kojovic M, Kassavetis P, Rubio-Agusti I, Sadnicka A, Bhatia KP, Edwards MJ (2013). Functional (psychogenic) symptoms in Parkinson's disease. Mov Disord, 28(12), 1622-7. (Read full article)
    27. Hoffland BS, Kassavetis P, Bologna M, Teo JT, Bhatia KP, Rothwell JC, Edwards MJ, van de Warrenburg BP (2013). Cerebellum-dependent associative learning deficits in primary dystonia are normalized by rTMS and practice. Eur J Neurosci, 38(1), 2166-71. (Read full article)
    28. Kojovic M, Pares I, Kassavetis P, Palomar FJ, Mir P, Teo JT, Cordivari C, Rothwell JC, Bhatia KP, Edwards MJ (2013). Secondary and primary dystonia: pathophysiological differences. Brain, 136(Pt 7), 2038-49. (Read full article)
    29. Sadnicka A, Kassavetis P, Saifee TA, Pares I, Rothwell JC, Edwards MJ (2013). Cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation does not alter motor surround inhibition. Int J Neurosci, 123(6), 425-32. (Read full article)
    30. Pares I, Kassavetis P, Saifee TA, Sadnicka A, Davare M, Bhatia KP, Rothwell JC, Bestmann S, Edwards MJ (2013). Failure of explicit movement control in patients with functional motor symptoms. Mov Disord, 28(4), 517-23. (Read full article)
    31. Kassavetis P, Saifee TA, Sadnicka A, Pares I, Kojovic M, Rothwell JC, Edwards MJ (2012). Adaptation of surround inhibition in the human motor system. Exp Brain Res, 222(3), 211-7. (Read full article)
    32. Saifee TA, Kassavetis P, Pares I, Kojovic M, Fisher L, Morton L, Foong J, Price G, Joyce EM, Edwards MJ (2012). Inpatient treatment of functional motor symptoms: a long-term follow-up study. J Neurol, 259(9), 1958-63. (Read full article)
    33. Kojovic M, Pares I, Sadnicka A, Kassavetis P, Rubio-Agusti I, Saifee TA, Bologna M, Rothwell JC, Edwards MJ, Bhatia KP (2012). The brighter side of music in dystonia. Arch Neurol, 69(7), 917-9. (Read full article)
    34. Kojovic M, Bologna M, Kassavetis P, Murase N, Palomar FJ, Berardelli A, Rothwell JC, Edwards MJ, Bhatia KP (2012). Functional reorganization of sensorimotor cortex in early Parkinson disease. Neurology, 78(18), 1441-8. (Read full article)
    35. Pares I, Kassavetis P, Saifee TA, Sadnicka A, Bhatia KP, Fotopoulou A, Edwards MJ (2012). 'Jumping to conclusions' bias in functional movement disorders. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 83(4), 460-3. (Read full article)
    36. Hoffland BS, Bologna M, Kassavetis P, Teo JT, Rothwell JC, Yeo CH, van de Warrenburg BP, Edwards MJ (2011). Cerebellar theta burst stimulation impairs eyeblink classical conditioning. J Physiol, 590(4), 887-97. (Read full article)
    37. Pares I, Saifee TA, Kassavetis P, Kojovic M, Rubio-Agusti I, Rothwell JC, Bhatia KP, Edwards MJ (2011). Believing is perceiving: mismatch between self-report and actigraphy in psychogenic tremor. Brain, 135(Pt 1), 117-23. (Read full article)
    38. Kassavetis P, Hoffland BS, Saifee TA, Bhatia KP, van de Warrenburg BP, Rothwell JC, Edwards MJ (2011). Cerebellar brain inhibition is decreased in active and surround muscles at the onset of voluntary movement. Exp Brain Res, 209(3), 437-42. (Read full article)

    Conference Proceedings

    1. Grimaldi G, Argyropoulos GP, Boehringer A, Celnik P, Edwards MJ, Ferrucci R, Galea JM, Groiss SJ, Hiraoka K, Kassavetis P, Lesage E, Manto M, Miall RC, Priori A, Sadnicka A, Ugawa Y, Ziemann U (2013). Non-invasive cerebellar stimulation--a consensus paper. Cerebellum, United States, 13(1), 121-38. (Read full article)

    Case Report

    1. Macerollo A, Saifee TA, Kassavetis P, Pilurzi G, Schneider SA, Edwards MJ, Bhatia KP (2014). Abnormalities of Masseteric Inhibitory Reflex in Hereditary Geniospasm: Evidence for a Brainstem Myoclonus. Mov Disord Clin Pract, 2(1), 49-52. (Read full article)
    2. Ganos C, Saifee TA, Kassavetis P, Erro R, Batla A, Cordivari C, Bhatia KP (2014). Dystonic Tremor and Spasmodic Dysphonia in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 12. Mov Disord Clin Pract, 1(1), 79-81. (Read full article)

    Letter

    1. Kassavetis P, Lungu C, Ehrlich D, Alter K, Karp BI (2020). Self-reported benefit and weakness after botulinum toxin in dystonia. [Letter to the editor]. Parkinsonism Relat Disord, 80, 10-11. (Read full article)
    2. Kojovic M, Kassavetis P, Pares I, Georgiev D, Rocchi L, Balint B, Foltynie T, Rothwell J, Bhatia K (2017). Pathophysiological heterogeneity in Parkinson's disease: Neurophysiological insights from LRRK2 mutations. [Letter to the editor]. Mov Disord, 32(9), 1333-1335. (Read full article)
    3. Kassavetis P (2017). Man Versus Machine: The Future of Medicine. [Letter to the editor]. Acad Med, 92(5), 578. (Read full article)
    4. Macerollo A, Batla A, Kassavetis P, Parees I, Bhatia KP, Edwards MJ (2014). Using reaction time and co-contraction to differentiate acquired (secondary) from functional 'fixed' dystonia. [Letter to the editor]. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 86(8), 933-4. (Read full article)
    5. Kassavetis P, Batla A, Pares I, Saifee TA, Schrag A, Cordivari C, Bhatia KP, Edwards MJ (2012). Joint hypermobility syndrome: a risk factor for fixed dystonia? [Letter to the editor]. Mov Disord, 27(8), 1070. (Read full article)

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