Draft:Christos Bartsocas

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Dr. Christos S. Bartsocas speaks at a conference.

Christos S. Bartsocas (Greek: Χρήστος Σπ. Μπαρτσόκας), is a Greek pediatric endocrinologist and clinical geneticist, presently Professor Emeritus at the University of Athens. He is known for the first report of the Bartsocas-Papas Syndrome (OMIM: 263650 on chromosome 21q22 and ORPHA:1234) and for his contribution to the development of pediatric diabetes care in Greece.

Education

Bartsocas was born in Athens, Greece, in 1937. He received his elementary education at the Experimental School of the University of Athens, which was completed from South Pasadena High School, South Pasadena, California, on an American Field Service scholarship, in 1954. He attended the University of Athens Medical School receiving his MD in 1960 and a D.Med.Sc. degree in 1963. Between 1960 and 1963 he served as a Medical Officer in the Hellenic Navy. He began training in pediatrics in Athens, followed by a senior assistant residency and a senior residency at the Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine (1964–1966). Training in Pediatric Endocrinology, Metabolism and Medical Genetics followed at the Children's Endocrine Service of the Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School (1966–1968). During this period he served as a chief physician for the State of Massachusetts at the Walter E. Fernald State School and as consultant at the Occupational Medicine Department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Positions held

Subsequently, he served at senior positions in the Children's Hospitals in Athens and the University of Athens Medical and Nursing Faculties, being elected Professor of Pediatrics in 1993. He retired in 2004 as a Professor Emeritus. Nonetheless, he organized and ran the “Mitera” Children's Hospital in Athens (2003–2014) and finally he retired as a Consultant for Development from the Athens Medical Center in 2017. He is Board Certified in Pediatrics (FAAP) and Clinical Genetics (FACMG) in the US, as well as in Pediatrics and Endocrinology in Greece. He held Licenses-Board Certifications to practice Medicine in Athens (Greece), Massachusetts and Illinois. National representative at the European Union Committee of Experts on Rare Diseases - EUCERD (2010–2015). Corresponding Fellow American Academy of Pediatrics, of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and Corresponding member of the Société Française de Pédiatrie and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin.

Offices held

Logo of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, where Christos Bartsocas was on the advisory board

President of the Greek Affiliate of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (1983–2007), President of the European Society of Human Genetics (1990–1991), President, Hellenic Diabetes Association (1993–1994), Board Member, Hellenic National Center for Diabetes, ISPAD Advisory Council Member (1992–1994), Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International Medical Advisory Committee Member (1984–2007), Corresponding Editorial Board Member, American Journal of Medical Genetics (1980–2004). Past President, Institute of Child Health Athens and former Vice-President of the National Hellenic Center for Diabetes.

Teaching

Apart from teaching Pediatrics, Diabetes and Medical Genetics at undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels in Greece, Bartsocas taught as Guest Lecturer, MGH (1972); as Visiting Professor at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, Chicago (1973); SUNY at Stony Brook (1985–1987); Yale University (1981); UC San Diego; Las Vegas; Chicago; Ghent, Belgium; Łódź, Poland (1979); Helsinki, Finland; University of Essen; Münster and Hamburg, Germany (1979); Amman, Jordan; Samsun, Turkey; and Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa.

Organiser

The 1993 ISGD/ISPAD Annual Meeting, aboard MTS “Arcadia” on the Aegean Sea and since 1976 organiser of International Clinical Genetics Seminars every 3 years, and numerous postgraduate seminars for diabetes, endocrine diseases and genetics. He was the Vice-President of the EASD Meeting in Athens, 2005, and the organizer of the Satellite Meeting in Delphi “2000 years of diabetes”.

Teaching of physicians, nurses and education of families

As the Founder and the Director of the first Pediatric Diabetes Center in Greece, which was established by a government decree in 1990, Dr. Bartsocas had the opportunity to offer training in Diabetes to several pediatricians and nurses mostly from Greece and Cyprus.Teaching groups of parents were established in the mid-1970's. Luther Travis’ book was translated into Greek and dietary information was added. Seminars for parents were held once monthly at the “P.&A. Kyriakou” Children's Hospital auditorium, as well as parents’ groups for psychological support. Dr. Bartsocas has been giving invited lectures and seminars on Type 1 Diabetes all over the country and Cyprus, as well as in the US (Boston, MA), New York, San Diego, Las Vegas, Chicago, Belgium, Poland, Albania, Jordan, South Africa, etc. With assistance from the Pediatric Nursing Faculty of the University of Athens, Dr. Bartsocas organizes an annual course for nurses’ certification in Diabetes Education and Care, as well as a school nurses’ training program for diabetes.

Contributions in diabetes science, education and advocacy

Christos S. Bartsocas, has been the leading figure for the development of diabetes care in children and adolescents in Greece since the 1970s. Following his return to Greece he established a clinic for patients with diabetes at the “P.&A. Kyriakou” Athens Children's Hospital in the 1970s, which was declared officially as a Pediatric Diabetes Center in 1990, the only one in the country for some time. He was able to run the Center until his retirement from the University of Athens in September 2004. In addition, he edits a 16-page news bulletin/journal (in Greek), under the title “Juvenile Diabetes: Our News”, which is distributed to approximately 7000 parents, patients and physicians every 3 months since 1991 (108 issues). Parents’ groups and seminars for physicians and parents have been organized by Dr. Bartsocas since the 1970s and summer camps for patients have been organized every year since 1997.

Research

Dr. Bartsocas’ research focused initially on metabolic amino-acid transport diseases (Lowe's syndrome, Hartnup disease and particularly on the lysosomal disorders) reporting Type C Sanfilippo disease among other genetic entities and dysmorphology. Most important contribution was the report of a severe malformation, the so-called now Bartsocas-Papas syndrome, in the Journal of Medical Genetics in 1972, 9:222-226. He contributed to the identification of G6PD "Ierapetra" with E. Beutler and the Samfilippo Type C syndrome with H. Kresse. The fast increasing prevalence of Type 1 diabetes mellitus has been the focus of his interest during the last four decades. He actively participated in the European Union Concerted Action groups EURODIAB, DIAMOND, ENDIT, VirDiab, SmartDiab etc., the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and the International Society of Pediatric & Adolescent Diabetes. Nonetheless he has actively contributed to the Rare Diseases in Europe, as the Greek representative in EUCERD.

Awards and honors

Bartsocas has received many honors, among them:

1961-1963: Special Honors, Hellenic Navy

1966-1967: USPHS Fellowship

1968: “Rosemary F. Dybwad” International Award, by the National Association for Retarded Children, USA

1971: NATO Research Fellowship

1987: “One Step Closer Award”, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, USA

1997: “You are #1 in our Hearts”, JDRF Award, USA

2004: Lilly Partnership in Diabetes Award, ADA Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida, USA

2015: Declared “Great Benefactor”, Island of Leros, Greece.

Multiple Honorary and Research Awards by the Hellenic Diabetes Association, the Hellenic Diabetes Federation, the Hellenic Society for Endocrinology, the Hellenic Pediatric Association, Lions Clubs of Greece, civic organizations etc.

Charity work

Frequent medical “expeditions” to remote Greek islands and villages with staff of “P. & A. Kyriakou” Children's Hospital.

Establishment of support groups for parents of children with diabetes (Founder and first President), a parents’ association (PEAND) and the Greek Affiliate of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (1983–2007).

Chairman of the Board (2009–2018) “Mazi gia to Paidi (Together for Children)”, a union of 10 charities providing psychosocial and medical support to children in Greece, including a “life line” for emergency intervention in family violence, bullying, harassment etc., honored by a Silver Medal by the Academy of Athens (2015)

Books and Articles

Bartsocas has published 204 scientific books and articles and some of the most important books and articles of his are listed below.

Books

• Bartsocas CS, “Μυκηναϊκή Ιατρική” (Mycenean Medicine), Athens, 1964 (in Greek).

• Papadatos CJ, Bartsocas CS: “The Management of Genetic Disorders”, Alan R. Liss, New York, 1979. (ISBN 0-8451-0034-3)

• Bartsocas CS, “Progress in Dermatoglyphic Research”, Alan R. Liss, New York, 1982. (ISBN 0-8451-0084-X)
• Papadatos CJ, Bartsocas CS: “Skeletal Dysplasias”, Alan R. Liss, New York, 1982. (ISBN 0-8451-0104-8)

• Papadatos CJ, Bartsocas CS: “Endocrine Genetics and Genetics of Growth”, Alan R. Liss, New York, 1985. (ISBN 0-8451-5050-2)
• Bartsocas CS, “Genetics of Kidney Disorders”, Alan R. Liss, New York, 1989. (ISBN 0-8451-5155-X)
• Bartsocas CS, “Genetics of Neuromuscular Disorders”, Alan R. Liss, New York, 1989. (ISBN 0-8451-5156-8)
• Bartsocas CS, Loukopoulos D: “Genetics of Hematological Disorders”, Hemisphere Publishing, Washington DC, 1992. (ISBN 1-56032-205-5)
• Bartsocas CS, Beighton P: “Dysmorphology and Genetics of Cardiovascular Disorders”, Zita Medical Publications, Athens, 1994. (ISBN 960-7144-16-3)
• Bartsocas CS, Beighton P: “Genetic Counseling in the Dawn of the 21st Century”, Zita Medical Publications, Athens, 1998. (ISBN 960-7144-45-7)
• Bartsocas CS: "ΟΙΚΟΓΕΝΙΑΚΗ ΙΑΤΡΙΚΗ ΕΓΚΥΚΛΟΠΑΙΔΕΙΑ" (Genes and Heredity), ΟΜΙΛΟΣ ΜΑΝΙΤΕΑ, Athens 2006 (in Greek).

Articles

• Bartsocas CS, Papas CV (1972) Popliteal pterygium syndrome - evidence for a severe autosomal recessive form. J Med Genet 9:222–226.c
• Bartsocas CS, Leslie RDG (2002) Seminars in Medical Genetics: The Genetics of Diabetes Mellitus, American Journal of Medical Genetics, 115 (Supplement 1), May 30 2002, 1-72.
• Bartsocas CS, "The Greek Contribution to Diabetes Research", Diabetes, Metabolism Research and Reviews 1999, 15:368.
• Shannon DC, "Innovation in Pediatrics: Massachusetts General Hospital 1910-2010", Small Batch Books, Amherst,MA, 2014 (pages 145-167).
• Bartsocas CS, Thier SO, Crawford JD., "Transport of L-methionine in rat intestine and kidney.", Pediatr Res. 1974 Jun;8(6):673-8.
• Corash L, Spielberg S, Bartsocas C, Boxer L, Steinherz R, Sheetz M, Egan M, Schlessleman J, Schulman JD. "Reduced chronic hemolysis during high-dose vitamin E administration in Mediterranean-type glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency". New England Journal Medicine, 1980 Aug 21;303(8):416-20.
• Bartsocas CS, Crawford JD. "Clinical phenotypes in kidney transport disorders.", Birth Defects Orig Artic Ser. 1974;10(4):118-26.
• Bartsocas CS, Erbe RW. "Lowe's syndrome. Absence of amino acid transport defect in cultured fibroblasts". Acta Paediatr Scand. 1973 Nov;62(6):615-6.
• Xu W, Westwood B, Bartsocas CS, Malcorra-Azpiazu JJ, Indrák K, Beutler E. "Glucose-6 phosphate dehydrogenase mutations and haplotypes in various ethnic groups", Blood. 1995 Jan 1;85(1):257-63.
• Beutler E, Westwood B, Prchal JT, Vaca G, Bartsocas CS, Baronciani L. "New glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase mutations from various ethnic groups", Blood. 1992 Jul 1;80(1):255-6.
• Bartsocas CS, Gröbe H, van de Kamp JJ, von Figura K, Kresse H, Klein U, Giesberts MA. "Sanfilippo type C disease: clinical findings in four patients with a new variant of mucopolysaccharidosis III", Eur J Pediatr. 1979 Apr 3;130(4):251-8

References

1. Popliteal pterygium syndrome, Bartsocas-Papas type
2. OMIM Entry - # 263650 - POPLITEAL PTERYGIUM SYNDROME, LETHAL
3. Bartsocas-Papas syndrome
4. Christos S Bartsocas, South Pasadena, CA California
5. The European Society of Human Genetics: History
6. 'Together for Children' receives a silver award from the Academy of Athens
7. Christos BARTSOCAS
8. Christos Bartsocas - Scholar Google
9. SMARTDIAB