University of Ioannina

Exercise has been shown to improve balance in older adults who are at risk for falls or those that have fallen in the past year. Exercises are often provided as a standardised home exercise programme (provided as a pamphlet) for people to follow independently at home with routine check-ups. Alternatively, these exercises are provided in a community setting (such as a falls clinic) where exercises are done in groups supervised by a rehabilitation team [1]-[6]. Many exercise programmes only provide basic balance and strengthening exercises to help reduce falls [2]-[5].
Older adults, or patients with stroke or mild memory problems (mild cognitive impairment, MCI) may be at higher risk of falls [1]-[6]. Individuals with chronic vestibular disorder (which affects the vestibular/balance system long term) or with long Covid are likely to report balance problems. All such individuals may depend more on vision for balance and may have unpleasant feelings of blurred vision and/or unsteadiness when walking [7]-[9]. Customised exercise programmes can reduce these symptoms and have shown promise in reducing symptoms and improving balance [10].
Although customised exercises may offer additional benefits compared with traditional programmes, they are costly to run and require many face-to-face appointments with a physiotherapist. Recent advances in technology have allowed a computerised exercise programme which can be done at home, and record the performance with body-worn sensors [11]. The programme provides instructions for the exercises and other tasks (for example, games) by projecting a hologram (a three-dimensional image) into a participant's room via a lightweight headset [11]. This enables us to provide a personalised, interactive programme that allows the physiotherapist to monitor the participant's progress and change the exercises without visiting the participant's physiotherapist [11].
This study follows the successfully completed HOLOBalance project which was funded by the EU Horizon 2020 scheme[11]. TheHOLOBalance platform delivers exercises demonstrated via a hologram of the physiotherapist and corrected in real time by the hologram prompts based on performance monitoring via sensors. Further information is available at: https://holobalance.eu/ [11]. HOLOBalance was developed as a comprehensive rehabilitation protocol for individualised remote (tele)rehabilitation balance physiotherapy programme. It includes different multisensory balance and gait exercises, physical activity and memory training and exergames (video games which are also exercises) to improve balance function in older adults. The system can thus assess and remotely monitor how users are performing the exercises [11].
This study (TeleRehab DSS, short for TeleRehabilitation Decision Support System) aims to explore effectiveness (including cost) of running such programme in comparison with the current standard care for middle-age/older adults with balance disorders/falls due to MCI, vestibular disorders, stroke or long Covid. This study also aims to review treatment result: risk of falls, balance, memory function - based on clinical tests and real-life sensor information; and collect information about the programme's safety and performance, while determining programme usability.
This study involves human participants, and each clinical site has applied for appropriate ethical approval.

This cross-sectional study aims to determine the prevalence of elevated Lp(a) levels among volunteer medical students at the Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital of Ioannina, Greece. Data collected will include demographic information, family and medical history, as well as lifestyle habits, and the study aims to provide valuable insights into the prevalence of elevated Lp(a) among Greek medical students.

Response to biologic therapies in severe asthma is variable, with patients being either non-responders, responders or super-responders. There is currently no explanation for this broad variation in response. It is important to examine whether these patients have distinct characteristics that could help the treating physician in making the correct diagnosis in clinical practice.
Aim of this clinical study is to evaluate the efficacy of benralizumab, a humanized an anti-interleukin 5 receptor α monoclonal antibody in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma and to evaluate airway remodeling before and after benralizumab treatment.
Hypothesis Identification of pathological and clinical characteristics in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma after benralizumab treatment regarding the airway remodeling, inflammatory cells, and other biomarkers on a long-term basis.
Research questions Is there any improvement in airway remodeling? Are there any biomarkers to predict response to benralizumab treatment in severe eosinophilic asthmatic patients?