Paola Pergami, MD MDDO| Pediatric Nephrology, Pediatric Neurology | MedStar Health
About me
Paola Pergami, MD, PhD, is a Pediatric Neurologist at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. She also serves as an Associate Professor within the Georgetown University School of Medicine. Dr. Pergami has a background in neuroscience, specific training in pediatric neurology, and an interest and expertise in pediatric stroke and rehabilitation. She obtained her MD form the University of Pavia, Italy, and her PhD from the University of Milan, Italy. She completed her Pediatric Neurology Fellowship at UPMC, in Pittsburgh. Complementing her clinical work in pediatric stroke, Dr. Pergami has extensively collaborated with the International Pediatric Stroke Study (IPSS). Within that group, she has contributed to the development of many important studies including studies on seizures in pediatric stroke (SIPS, SIPSII) the role of inflammation in pediatric stroke (VIPS, VIPSII), and investigating potential use of mechanical clot removal in children with stroke. Her clinical expertise and interests focus on acute stroke intervention, neuroimaging, and mechanism of brain plasticity in stroke recovery. Dr. Pergami is the author of over 150 original, peer-reviewed research articles and presentations.
Clinical areas of focus
- Cerebral Palsy
- Chronic Headache Treatment
- Dystonia Treatment
- Eeg Monitoring
- Electroencephalogram
- Limb Loss Rehabilitation
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Nerve Block
- Stroke Rehabilitation
- Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Conditions and procedures
Conditions I treat
- Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Brain Injuries In Children
- Cerebral Palsy
- Concussions In Children
- Degenerative Diseases Of Basal Ganglia
- Dystonia
- Epilepsy And Seizures
- Headache In Children
- Hemiplegia
- Ischemic Stroke In Children
- Migraine
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Paraplegia And Quadriplegia
- Seizures In Children
- Spasticity In Children
- Tic Disorder
- Tourette Syndrome
Procedures I perform
- Baclofen Pump Refill
- Biofeedback
- Botulinum Toxin Injection For Spasticity
- Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials
- Central Nervous Electrical Activity Monitoring
- Cervical Epidural Steroid Injection
- Chemodenervation Of Neck Muscle
- Chemodenervation Of Salivary Glands
- Chronic Headache Treatment
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Computerized Tomography (CT) Scan
- Dystonia Treatment
- Echoencephalography With Image Documentation
- Eeg Monitoring
- Eeg With Nasopharyngeal Leads
- Electroencephalogram
- Electroencephalogram Review
- Electroencephalogram Setup And Takedown
- Electroencephalogram With Hyperventilation
- Electroencephalogram With Photic Stimulation
- Electromyography
- Electronic Analysis Of Implanted Neurostimulator
- Epilepsy Surgery
- Intrathecal Baclofen Test Dose
- Limb Loss Rehabilitation
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Median Nerve Conduction Studies
- Muscle Injection
- Nerve Block
- Neuropsychological Testing
- Pressure Flow Study
- Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy
- Sleep Stage Study
- Sleep Study With Video Recording
- Somatosensory Evoked Potentials
- Sphenopalatine Ganglion Blocks
- Stroke Rehabilitation
- Tension Headache Treatment
- Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Insurance
MedStar Health accepts most major health insurance plans. If you are uncertain as to whether your individual health insurance plan is accepted at MedStar Health, please call your insurance company.
-
List of insurance plans we accept
- M.D. IPA (HMO)
- Aetna Medicare Advantage PFFS Plan
- CareFirst Community Health Plan of MD
- HUMANA/Choice Care Medicare Plans (Choice, Gold Choice)
- UnitedHealthcare Individual Exchange Plans
- AMERIVANTAGE/Amerigroup Community Care
- Anthem BCBS Medi Blue Dual Adv
- MedStar Family Choice DC Healthcare Alliance
- Aetna Classic 5000PD
- CareFirst BlueChoice HMO
- Health Services for Children with Special Needs
- Aetna HMO-Open Access/Select OA/HealthFund/Health Network Option OA
- CareFirst Administrators
- CareFirst Group Medicare Advantage prescription drug benefit (PPO)
- CIGNA Connect EPO
- Kaiser Permanente Flexible Choice 3-tier POS
- Amerigroup DC Healthy Families
- AmeriHealth Caritas DC Healthcare Alliance
- Veterans Affairs Community Care Network
- HumanaChoice PPO
- Anthem BCBS of VA HealthKeepers Plus
- CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Advantage Core/Enhanced
- BlueChoice Open Access
- Great-West Healthcare POS/CIGNA
- United Healthcare Choice
- OA Plus
- Optima Family Care MCO - VA Medicaid MCO
- HighMark
- Medicare Advantage - Advantra Value (PPO)
- WellPoint Maryland - Maryland Health Choice
- IH-Indemnity
- Anthem BCBS of VA HealthKeepers (POS & POS OA)
- Aetna Quality Point of Service (POS)
- United Healthcare Choice Plus Cardiac Global
- Kaiser Maryland Medicaid MCO
- Aetna HMO
- CIGNA PPO
- Jai Medical Systems - Maryland Health Choice
- Anthem BCBS Medi Blue SNP
- First Health PPO
- Optimum Choice
- United Healthcare Select HMO-EPO/NPP Cardiac Global
- Kaiser Permanente Signature
- Advantra Platinum (PPO)
- CareFirst Group Medicare Advantage
- UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage DSNP District of Columbia
- Core Essential (HMO)
- United Healthcare Community Plan - VA Medicaid MCO
- Private Health Care Systems (PPO)
- Medicare Direct
- Anthem BCBS Medi Blue Plus
- United Healthcare Navigate Cardiac Global
- Select HMO/HealthFund/Health Network
- CareFirst Blue Card Program
- MedStar Family Choice - Maryland Health Choice
- Mamsi Life & Health (Indem./PPO)
- United Healthcare Choice Cardiac Global
- Aetna Elect Choice/ EPO (Aetna Health Fund)
- Aetna Open Choice (PPO)
- Cigna Alliance Medicare (HMO)
- Aetna Managed Choice (POS)
- CareFirst Dual Prime HMO-SNP
- IH-Open EPO Plus
- First Health PPO
- Sentara Health
- UnitedHealthcare Individual Exchange Plans
- United Medicare Private Fee-for-Service (PFFS) plans
- Police and Fire Clinic
- UnitedHealthcare and AARP Medicare Complete Plans
- Aetna Premier 200PD
- Anthem Federal Employee Program Standard
- Johns Hopkins Advantage MD HMO
- Erickson Advantage Plans
- Choice Fund PPO
- Kaiser Permanente Medicare Plus
- TRICARE East Prime
- Kaiser Permanente Select Cardiac Global
- Anthem Federal Employee Program Basic
- Aetna Better Health of VA
- Uniformed Services Family Health Plan
- Cigna True Choice Plus Medicare (PPO)
- CIGNA HMO & Network (HMO)
- TRICARE East Select
- CareFirst Blue Choice Opt Out Plus Open Access (POS)
- Aetna Managed Choice Open Access (POS)
- Cigna Preferred Medicare (HMO)
- Fee-for-Service (FFS) District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia Medicaid
- Kaiser Permanente Signature - Added Choice
- Kaiser Permanente Select
- BCBS of Michigan (BCN Advantage,Security Blue, Freedom, Medicare PLUS Blue Group PPO)
- MD IPA (HMO) & MD IPA Preferred Cardiac Global
- BCBS Out-of-State Medicare Plans (Blue Advantage)
- United Student Resources
- TriWest Healthcare Alliance
- Medicare FFS
- Aetna Advantage 5750
- Anthem BCBS of VA HealthKeepers (HMO)
- Mamsi Life & Health (Indem./PPO)
- CareFirst EPO
- MedStar Family Choice DC Healthcare Alliance
- Aetna Advantage 6350
- UHC Group Medicare Advantage Plans (HMO, POS, PPO)
- United HealthCare Community Plan - Maryland Health Choice Program
- Aetna VA Exchange
- Choice POS II
- Geisinger Medicare Advantage
- DC/MD SHOP QHP Small Business Plans
- Fee-for-Service (FFS) District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia Medicaid
- Coventry of Delaware HMO/PPO
- Humana Medicare Advantage - HMO Open Access
- IH-Open HMO Option
- Lasso Healthcare - Medicare Medical Savings Account
- Johns Hopkins Advantage MD PPO
- IH-HMO
- Amerigroup DC Alliance
- POS OA
- IH-Open Network Only Plus
- IH-POS
- Alterwood Advanatge HMO & DSNP Plans
- Choice POS
- HealthyBlue PPO
- United Healthcare Select Plus (POS)
- Aetna Traditional Choice (PPO)
- Beech Street PPO
- CareFirst Blue Choice Opt Out Open Access
- Kaiser Permanente HMO Plus and DHMO Plus Member
- Maryland Physicians Care MCO
- United Healthcare Options (PPO)
- IH-Open POS Plus
- Aetna Classic 3500
- United Healthcare Select HMO - EPO/NPP
- Priority Partners - Maryland Health Choice
- Aetna Signature Administrator PPO/TPA
- UHC Passport
- Aetna Basic
- CIGNA PPO Plus
- CIGNA SureFit (HMO)
- Kaiser Permaenete Signature - Added Choice Cardiac Global
- Choice POS II Open Access
- IH-PPO
- CIGNA Indemnity
- United Healthcare Choice Plus
- Optimum Choice & Optimum Choice Preferred (POS) Cardiac Global
- CIGNA POS/Network POS
- MedStar Family Choice DC Healthy Families
- TRICARE for Life East
- Blue Choice Advantage
- Healthy Blue (HMO, POS)
- Coventry Health Care of Virginia
- MultiPlan, Inc
- IH-Network Only Plus
- CareFirst FEP Blue Focus
- Network OA
- HumanaChoice Honor's plan PPO
- Coventry Health Care National Network PPO
- IH-EPO Plus
- Aetna Advantage 6350PD
- Aetna Classic 5000
- NYC Medicare Advantage Plus
- UnitedHealthcare Medicare Adv. Special Needs Plans
- CareFirst Maryland Indemnity or PPO
- Kaiser Permanente Medicare Advantage Signature and Select
- Magellan Complete Care of VA - VA Medicaid MCO
- CareFirst MedStar PPO
- Humana Medicare Advantage - PPO
- CareFirst Blue Preferred PPO
- Navigate
- Aetna Better Health of MD
- Employee Health Plan
- CIGNA HMO Open Access
- CareFirst Maryland Point of Service Plan
- Cigna Achieve Medicare (HMO C-SNP)
- Optimum Choice Preferred (POS)
- Kaiser Permanente Select - Added Choice
- Aetna Elect Choice/ Open Access (POS)
- IH-POS Plus
- CareFirst (NCA) Indemnity
- Options PPO Cardiac Global
- IH-Open POS II
- Aetna Worker's Compensation Network
- MedStar Family Choice - Maryland Health Choice
- M.D. IPA Preferred (POS)
- Kaiser Permanente Flexible Choice POS Cardiac Global
- CareFirst MedStar Select PPO
- Humana Gold Plus HMO
- Tricare Reserve Select
- Aetna Student Health Insurance
- Johns Hopkins Advantage MD PLUS PPO
- Aetna Medicare Advantage HMO & PPO Plans
- IH-Open HMO
- CareFirst Federal Employee Program (Std. & Basic PPO)
- Cigna TotalCare (HMO D-SNP)
- Choice Care Network/HUMANA (PPO)
- Mamsi Life & Health (Indem./PPO) Cardiac Global
- Anthem BCBS of VA Key Care POS/PPO/Indemnity
- Private Fee-for-Service Plans (PFFS)
- OCI Direct (HMO)
- Cigna True Choice Medicare (PPO)
- AmeriHealth Caritas DC Healthy Families
- CareFirst NASCO
- CIGNA EPO
Education
Board Certification: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Psychiatry and Neurology
Fellowship: Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh (2008)
Residency: West Virginia University School of Medicine (2007)
Residency: West Virginia University Hospitals (2004)
Medical School: Universita Degli Studi di Pavia (1989)
Hospital affiliations
News and publications
Selected publications (after 2013):
- Jordan LC, Hills NK, Fox CK, Ichord RN, Pergami P, deVeber GA, Fullerton HJ, Lo W. Socioeconomic determinants of outcome after childhood arterial ischemic stroke. Neurology. 2018 Aug 7;91(6):e509-e516. Epub 2018 Jul 6.
- J. L Wilson, P. Pergami. Practice and Preparedness for Endovascular Therapy in Acute Pediatric Stroke. Stroke. 2018;49:A197
- P. R. Tabrizi, M. Peries, R. Monfaredi, H.F. Talari, T. Salvador, K. Cleary, P. Pergami. Use of PedBot Robotic Rehabilitation: Neurophysiologic Measures of Motor Training in a Pediatric Population. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, Vol. 32(3), pp. 258-9, 2018
- Wintermark M, Hills NK, DeVeber GA, Barkovich AJ, Bernard TJ, Friedman NR, Mackay MT, Kirton A, Zhu G, Leiva-Salinas C, Hou Q, Fullerton HJ; VIPS Investigators. Clinical and Imaging Characteristics of Arteriopathy Subtypes in Children with Arterial Ischemic Stroke: Results of the VIPS Study. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2017 Nov;38(11):2172-2179.
- Kesar TM, Belagaje SR, Pergami P, Haut MW, Hobbs G, Buetefisch CM. Effects of monoaminergic drugs on training-induced motor cortex plasticity in older adults. Brain Res. 2017 Sep 1.
- Fox CK, Mackay MT, Dowling MM, Pergami P, Titomanlio L, Deveber G; SIPS Investigators. Prolonged or recurrent acute seizures after pediatric arterial ischemic stroke are associated with increasing epilepsy risk. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2017 Jan;59(1):38-44.
- P. Pergami, W. Chen, K. Guffey, G. Guo. Classification of Normal and Abnormal Gait in Young Children Based on Foot Pressure Data: Towards Remote Monitoring of Medical Interventions. Neuroinformatics, 2017; Jan;15(1):13-24.
- Fullerton HJ, deVeber GA, Hills NK, Dowling MM, Fox CK, Mackay MT, Kirton A, Yager JY, Bernard TJ, Hod EA, Wintermark M, Elkind MS; VIPS Investigators. Inflammatory Biomarkers in Childhood Arterial Ischemic Stroke: Correlates of Stroke Cause and Recurrence. Stroke. 2016 Sep;47(9):2221Stroke. 2016 May;47(5):1265-70. PMID: 27491741
- Fullerton HJ, Wintermark M, Hills NK, Dowling MM, Tan M, Rafay MF, Elkind MS, Barkovich AJ, deVeber GA; VIPS Investigators. Risk of Recurrent Arterial Ischemic Stroke in Childhood: A Prospective International Study. Stroke. 2016 Jan;47(1):53-9.
- Wintermark M, Hills NK, deVeber GA, Barkovich AJ, Elkind MS, Sear K, Zhu G, Leiva-Salinas C, Hou Q, Dowling MM, Bernard TJ, Friedman NR, Ichord RN, Fullerton HJ; VIPS Investigators. Arteriopathy diagnosis in childhood arterial ischemic stroke: results of the vascular effects of infection in pediatric stroke study. Stroke. 2014 Dec;45(12):3597-605. PMID: 25388419.
- Motiian S, Pergami P, Guffey K, Mancinelli CA, Doretto G. Automated extraction and validation of children's gait parameters with the Kinect. Biomed Eng Online. 2015 Dec 2;14(1):112. PMID: 26626555.
- Guffey K, Regier M, Mancinelli C, Pergami P(*). Gait parameters associated with balance in healthy 2- to 4-year-old children. Gait Posture. 2016 Jan;43:165-9. PMID: 26439183.
- M. Ly, T. Nanavati, Frum, P. Pergami(*). Comparing tract-based spatial statistics and manual region-of-interest labeling as diffusion analysis methods to detect white matter abnormalities in infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2015 Apr 24. doi: 10.1002/jmri.24930. PMID: 25914196.
- P. Pergami(*), N Seemaladinne, A.B. Billing. Validating the Use of a Computer Application as Test of Motor Function in Children and Adults. NeuroRehabilitation, 2013 (1-9).
Additional publications: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/paola.pergami.1/bibliography/public/