Valtteri Kaasinen
MD, PhD, Professor of Neurology
valtteri.kaasinen@utu.fi |
Clinical Neurology; Movement Disorders; Parkinson's disease; Addictions; Neurotransmitters; Neuroimaging; PET; SPECT; Dopamine System
Movement disorders, neurotransmitters and addictions
Dr. Kaasinen is Professor of Neurology at the University of Turku, and Chief Physician at Neurocenter of Turku University Hospital.
He was appointed as Adjuct Professor of Neurology in 2011, received special competence in medical education in 2016, and was appointed as full Professor of Neurology in 2021.
Dr. Kaasinen is a clinical neurologist and a movement disorder specialist who received his medical degree from the University of Turku in 1996. This was followed by a PhD focusing on brain dopamine PET imaging of Parkinson's disease in 2000. He did his postdoctoral training in 2003-2004 in the University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
Since 2004, he has led a research group that focuses on function brain PET and SPECT neurotransmitter imaging in Parkinson's disease, other movement disorders and behavioral addictions. His group is involved in several project that aim to improve diagnostics and treatment of neurological movement disorders.
Main focus of research is brain function and dysfunction in relation to neurotransmitters, addictions and movement disorders.
Dr. Kaasinen has been involved in curriculum planning and implementation of neurology courses since 2013. He is a personal teacher mentor for medical students and has supervised of several PhD students.
- Determining the benefit of levodopa/carbidopa/entacapone (Stalevo (R)) on the pharmacokinetic profile of levodopa: a randomized, crossover, multicentre study in patients with Parkinson's disease (2007)
- Parkinsonism and Related Disorders
- Effects of intravenous glucose on Dopaminergic function in the human brain in vivo (2007)
- Synapse
- Hyperostosis frontalis interna as a novel finding in Unverricht-Lundborg disease (2007)
- Neurology
- Substantial thalamostriatal dopaminergic defect in Unverricht-Lundborg disease (2007)
- Epilepsia
- Corticostriatal covariance patterns of 6-[F-18]fluoro-L-dopa and [F-18]fluorodeoxyglucose PET in Parkinson's disease (2006)
- Journal of Neurology
- Effects of intravenous glucose on brain dopamine D2 receptor availability in obesity (2006)
- Synapse
- Striatal dopamine uptake measured with fdopa pet and cognition in advanced PD (2006)
- Journal of the Neurological Sciences
- Fatty acid uptake in various brain regions measured with [C-11]-palmitate, [F-18]FTHA and PET (2005)
- Diabetologia
- Mapping brain structure and personality in late adulthood (2005)
- NeuroImage
- Striatal FDOPA uptake and cognition in advanced non-demented PD patients: A clinical and PET study (2005)
- Neurology



