Dr. Lazar | Prof. Dr. Seideman | Dr. Samaras
We are LSS
Dr. Lazar | Prof. Dr. Seideman | Dr. Samaras
We are LSS
Our Senior Specialists for Rare Diseases
Neurology | Neuroimmunology | Endocrinology | General Practice
Prof. Dr. David Seideman
Director
Neurology, Neuroimmunology, Neuroendocrinology
Professor Dr. David Seideman is among the most experienced experts in the field of rare diseases (orphan diseases), specializing in neurology, neuroimmunology, and neuroendocrinology. He has long served as a clinician in medium to large-sized hospitals. Over time, Seideman’s involvement with Dr. Marius Lazar’s team deepened, culminating in his succession as Director of Lazar, Seideman, Smith & Colleagues in the fall of 2022. This transition, meticulously planned for generational continuity, underscored the seamless handover of leadership responsibilities.”
Even at a time when hardly anyone took the term "rare disease" seriously, Professor Seideman was already working on the treatment of precisely such conditions. The fact that he is working in uncharted medical territory every day does not unsettle him, but rather motivates him time and again.
Throughout his career, he has been focussed fully on his work as a clinician, but has never lost touch with science. Being an approachable and compassionate teacher of the next generation of physicians, he is always personally available and concerned about every patient, every young colleague and every student.
Professor Dr. Seideman is working hard on applying the standards and knowledge of evidence-based medicine (as much as possible) to the treatment of rare and under-researched diseases. We apologize that Professor Seideman currently has a waiting list of about eight months for consultations. Thoroughness is his standard, and that takes a lot of time.
Frequently present in:
Tel Aviv, Athens, Denver, house calls in the EU and Israel
Dr. Carolina Diamandis
Vice Medical Director
Military Physician (ret.), GP/Internist
- Personal advisor to Prof. Seideman
- Care for long-term patients with rare diseases.
- Head of LCG Research
- Experience: Military Doctor, retired
- Mother and grandmother
Frequently present in:
Athens, Messenia and Nicosia
Dr. George Samaras
Internist and Specialist for Neurometabolic Diseases
Partner - The third "S" in LSS
- Born in Australia, Dr. Samaras returned to Greece, the country his parents had left.
- After medical school staff physician in southern European hospitals.
- Former Head of the Neurology department in a large Clinic in the southern European Union.
- Specilized in Endocrinology and Neuroendocrinology.
Frequently present in:
Nicosia, Athens, and EU-wide house calls
Dr. Alexander Ivanov
Senior Endocrinologist
- Alexander Ivanov was a seasoned staff physician in several countries in eastern Europe and the Middle East for many years.
- Specialized in endocrinology.
- At LSS responsible for diabetes and metabolic issues
Frequently present in:
Athens, Pressburg, Tel Aviv, EU-wide house calls
Dr. Jonathan "Jo" Feldman
Senior Specialist for Internal Medicine and Dermatology
- Emergency service for long-term patients with rare diseases.
- Person to contact when the senior physicians are unavailable.
- Experience: seasoned staff physician in several countries.
Frequently present in:
Tel Aviv, Athens, Bucharest, house calls in the southern EU.
Dr. Lucas Smith
Endocrinologist
As former director of Hellenic Health™ (dissolved after a merger) Dr. Smith has been working as a neurologist and endocrinologist (internist), specialized in orphan disease. Under Dr. Lazar he was the private assistant of Dr. Lazar. Now Dr. Smith is an esteemed senior physician with LSS, specialized internist and endocrinologist (orphan/rare/ultra-rare diseases) with a strong focus on the effects of neuropsychiatric syndromes on other organ systems. Appointments with Dr. Smith directly are available through the service center of the Lazar Group.
Frequently present in:
Athens, Nicosia, Luxembourg, Edinburgh
Dr. Olga Ivanova
Senior Internist (gastroenterologist)
- General medicine, gastroenterology
- Decades of experience in eastern Europe
- Former military physician
Frequently present in:
Bulgaria, Slovakia, Serbia, Romania, Moldova
Dr. Simon Nathan
Senior Physician | Head of the 24/7 service for LSS patients
GP & Family Medicine
- Together with Dr. Anna Schmidt-Christidis taking care of seriously ill LSS patients at nights, weekends, and public holidays
- Experience: clinician in several hospitals of different size
- 15 month focus training in telemedicine
- Speaks several languages, among them English and German fluently
Frequently present in:
Judea & Samaria, Greece, Belgium, Luxembourg
Dr. Merab Joseph
Senior Internist (Cardiology)
- Seasoned cardiologist from South Ossetia.
- Specialized in providing second opinionsp.
- Extensive background as a staff physician in several war-troubled countries.
- Therefore, Dr. Merab Joseph is not just another physician; he is experienced in medicine within low-resource settings, a cornerstone of telemedicine.
Frequently present in:
Nicosia, Luxembourg, Bucharest
Dr. Ali Asgari
Senior Assistant
GP | Specialist for off-label and innovative drug use
- Head and manager of the 24/7 emergency service for long-term patients with rare diseases
- Closely working together with Dr. Lazar
- Experience: clinician in several large hospitals
- Specialized in pharmacology
Frequently present in:
Romania, Cyprus, Greece, Malta
Dr. Marius Lazar
Founder | Partner
Neurologist, Psychiatrist, Neurodermatologist
Marius Lazar’s career in medicine is a testament to his deep rooted compassion and expertise. Trained as a neurologist, psychiatrist, and immunodermatologust, and general practitioner, he has devoted his career to helping patients with rare diseases on a global scale. Fluent in both English and German, Dr. Lazar brings a rich cultural perspective to his practice. Originating from a mixed Romanian and German Transylvanian Saxony family, he had the privilege to live and work in different countries of southern Africa.
In 2022 Dr. Lazar has transitioned from his clinical duties to support the groundbreaking work of the Luzia Healthcare Society, a charity led by his wife. This collaboration has given birth to CLINICO, a pioneering initiative in the EU offering high-quality, low-cost medical services for rare diseases and providing valuable second opinions. While Dr. Lazar has stepped back from the day-to-day clinical activities, he remains a vital contributor to all entities he has founded, offering his expertise as needed.
Patients worldwide can still benefit from Dr. Lazar’s deep medical knowledge through in-person or video consultations. He collaborates with local physicians in patients’ home countries, ensuring that diagnoses and treatments adhere to the highest standards of evidence-based medicine. Though he has passed the leadership of the Lazar Medical Consortium Group (LCG) to the Seideman family, his influence and guidance continue to shape its global medical network.
In his private practice, Dr. Lazar specializes in rare neurological disorders (orphan diseases) and complex cases in dermatology and immunology. He is known for his multidisciplinary, patient-centered approach, bringing together a team of specialists to provide the most advanced diagnostic methods and personalized treatment plans, supported by the latest research.
Above all, Dr. Lazar’s practice is underpinned by a commitment to making healthcare affordable and accessible, while maintaining a firm stance of independence from pharmaceutical influences and other lobbying groups. He and his network of specialists, united in their ethical approach, are dedicated to improving the lives of those affected by orphan diseases.
Frequently present in:
Athens, Bucharest, Pretoria, EU-wide house calls
Walter Seideman, MD
CEO of the LCG Consortium Group
As a senior physician and part of Seideman Medical Walter has a sharp eye on the quality standards of all units of the Lazar Consortium Group (LCG). LCG works with 189 doctors worldwide (and more than 3500 physidians when including our large international cooperation partners). All we do happens under the constant supervision of Walter Seideman who has become owner and CEO of the Lazar Medical Consortium Group on January 1st, 2024. Walter Seideman is a retired internist who has been working for the pharmaceutical industry for decades. He is a member of the large Seideman(n) family which has acquired the majority of LCG from Dr. Marius Lazar in 2022. From 2024, Walter Seideman will be the owner and CEO of the Lazar Medical Consortium Group (LCG), to which LSS belongs.
Medical examinations for telemedicine patients
Possible thanks to our international partners.
Laboratory tests
All state of the art laboratory tests are available in more than 30 countries.
MRI, CT, TCS
Our partner practices and clinics perform examinations with MRI, CT and TCS (sonography of the brain). Scintigraphy is also still possible but less common than in the past. Due a three-step diagnostic procedure you will get an unusually high level of safety.
Neurological exams
All standard neurological tests are being provided by carefully selected partners in over 50 countries.
Together.
Closer to you than you might think.
As an international reference practice for rare diseases, we recognize that it’s not feasible for every patient to travel to Athens or for our team to journey globally. This is why we have established excellent partnerships in numerous countries. Take a look at our world map: the countries highlighted indicate where we have access to partner physicians and infrastructure. This means shorter travel distances for our patients and the reassurance of being in safe hands.
We also make house calls to our long-standing patients, provided they reside in the EU.
After completing diagnostics and achieving a sustainable treatment plan, we recommend trusted general practitioners to our patients. While patients are free to choose their own doctors, we find it beneficial to work with GPs who are comfortable managing and treating rare diseases. Should there be any complications or progression of the illness, rest assured, we are immediately on hand to assist.
LCG Greece Research
We share our experiences as clinicians of LSS with LCG
and other non-profit research teams .
Working with rare diseases means learning, an ongoing process.
We share clinical observations as quickly as possible, bypassing lengthy academic discussions.
We are proud EU-Europeans, dear friends of the United Kingdom, the Jewish nation, as well as blessed with close ties to the United States. In whatever we do, we try to represent the best the EU has to offer: compassion, innovation, and a little bit of a creative chaos.
OpenAIRE
We are a proud member of open AIRE (Open Access Infrastructure for Research in Europe) is a European initiative aimed at promoting open access to research outputs and facilitating the discovery and reuse of research information. It provides a platform for researchers, institutions, funders, and policy makers to discover and access the full text of research articles, datasets, and other research outputs, as well as information about projects, funding, and collaborations.
OpenAIRE offers a variety of services and tools for researchers, including a discovery portal for accessing open access research outputs, support for data management and sharing, and integration with research information systems. The initiative also provides guidance and support for researchers and institutions to comply with open access mandates and funding requirements.
OpenAIRE aims to make research outputs more discoverable and accessible, enabling researchers to build on the work of others and facilitate collaboration and innovation in research. It plays a key role in promoting open science and advancing the transition to a more open, collaborative, and transparent research ecosystem.
The Doctor will see you now.
Here you are taken seriously.
How Lazar | Seideman | Smith works
Clear rules.
Our top priority is to treat you as individually as your condition requires. Remote treatments (video telemedicine) in the strict sense are performed, but only in well-defined cases. Highly qualified colleagues in over 20 countries perform those physical examinations for us which are not possible via video conference and telemedicine.
Prudence, vigilance and diligence.
Remain humble to what you don’t know.
Since no one is omniscient, being well-networked makes a big difference. Dr. Lazar has always made it a point to network with as many colleagues as possible. After all, there's nothing worse than a doctor who thinks he knows everything. Therefore “better safe than sorry” is his credo.
Dr. Lazar puts great emphasis on continuously educating himself and sharing his knowledge. That's why he also contributed pro bono as an editor to DocCheck's medical encyclopedia, among other projects.
Diagnosing and treating rare diseases is more important than ever. Thousands of rare diseases exist, up to about seven thousand rare diseases have already been described scientifically, and more are being identified on an ongoing basis. Yet they remain mostly unknown in day-to-day medical practice. Medical and scientific knowledge about rare diseases is far from sufficient in the medical profession. The subject area of rare diseases has long been neglected by physicians, politicians and scientists, so that neither appropriate health policies nor scientific initiatives existed.
For most rare diseases there is no efficient therapy, nevertheless appropriate interventions can improve the quality of life and also increase life expectancy. Some impressive progress has been made in the treatment of certain diseases, which should motivate us to intensify research efforts.
Patients with rare diseases mostly face similar problems. Difficulties exist mainly in terms of diagnosis, availability of relevant information and referral to appropriate specialists. Equally important is access to qualified specialist facilities, general social and medical support, effective cooperation between hospitals and general practitioners, professional and social integration or maintaining independence.
Those affected often face psychological, social, economic or cultural problems. Many patients do not receive a diagnosis because the lack of sufficient scientific and medical knowledge means that a rare disease is often not recognized. It is precisely this group of patients that is exposed to the greatest pressure of suffering, as they are denied access to adequate support.
We are first and foremost human beings.
And care about our patients, more than usual.
Those with a rare disease who are patients of Lazar, Seideman & Smith see their attending specialist every 10 to 14 days. In addition, a team of assistant physicians with a variety of specialties is available 24 hours a day for our long-term patients. Those who receive their treatment under the Luzia Healthcare u.n.a. social program are not billed for treatment by our assistant doctors. Or, to put it briefly: we take good care of our patients.
Rare diseases are a challenge
What we are confronted with.
Orphan diseases, also known as rare diseases, are defined as conditions that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. There are over 7,000 rare diseases affecting approximately 400 million people worldwide. Diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases face several challenges, including:
- Lack of Awareness: As the name suggests, these diseases are “rare” and as such, there is often limited awareness and understanding of these conditions among the general public and even healthcare professionals. This can lead to misdiagnosis and delayed treatment.
- Limited Research and Development: Due to the small patient population and limited financial incentives, there is often limited research and development into orphan diseases. This can lead to a lack of knowledge about the underlying mechanisms and treatments for these conditions.
- Lack of Diagnostic Tools: There is often a lack of diagnostic tools and tests for rare diseases, leading to difficulties in accurately diagnosing the condition.
- Difficulty in Finding Specialists: There may be only a few healthcare professionals who specialize in a particular rare disease, making it difficult for patients to access specialized care and treatment.
In conclusion, the low prevalence of orphan diseases makes it challenging to diagnose and treat them effectively. The limited research and development, lack of diagnostic tools, and difficulty in finding specialists all contribute to the difficulties faced in diagnosing and treating these conditions.
That's the reason why we do what we do.
EU-Prescriptions
In the EU, there is an initiative to facilitate the cross-border validity of medical prescriptions to support patient mobility within the EU. However, EU-prescriptions will remain on paper, not digital because the digital systems across different EU member states are currently quite varied and lack uniformity.
EU prescriptions, valid in all member statea, are expected to remain in paper form, rather than transitioning to digital, for the foreseeable future.
In practice, this means that paper prescriptions continue to play a crucial role, particularly for patients who receive treatment in one EU country but need to obtain medication in another EU country. The use of paper prescriptions in such cases allows pharmacists in the foreign country to more easily understand and dispense the medications as prescribed.
While the EU is working towards harmonizing digital health systems, including e-prescription systems, to improve compatibility and interoperability across different member states, paper prescriptions remain essential for cross-border healthcare within the EU until this harmonization is fully realized in the far future.
How to manage a rare disease
A course of action that we consider to be reasonable
Wir helfen auch auf Deutsch.
Und das hat einen guten Grund.
Als einzige hochspezialisierte Netzwerkpraxis für neurologieche, neuroendokrinologische und neurometabolische Erkrankungen, decken wir die gesamte EU ab, besonders gerne die deutschsprachigen EU-Staaten. Herr Dr. Lazar und Prof. Dr. Seideman haben beide private enge Bindungen an Deutschland bzw. die deutsche Sprache, so dass das Deutsche sogar eine von mehreren Arbeitssprachen unseres Teams ist. Natürlich pflegen wir auch enge Kontakte zu ärztlichen Kollegen in Deutschland und in Österreich, um eine gute Versorgung dieser Patienten am Wohnort sicherstellen zu können. Wir nennen Ihnen gerne Fachärzte für Allgemeinmedizin, hausärztliche Internisten sowie Kollegen aus anderen Fachgebieten im deutschsprachigen Raum. Nehmen Sie einfach über das Formular oder telefonisch Kontakt mit uns auf.
Hausbesuche
Wir sind keine lokal fixe Praxis, sondern arbeiten in einem Netzwerk, das ganz die gesamte EU überspannt. Die leitenden Ärtze der LSS geben Hausbesuche durch lokale Kollegen frei, wenn der Patient dem zustimmt. Für jene 10% unserer Patienten, deren Behandlung von einer Stiftung für seltene Erkrankungen getragen wird, ist dies auch dies durchweg kostenfrei.
Die Hausbesuche werden in der Regel von unseren freien, hausärztlichen Kollegen im CLINICO Verbund durchgeführt, der ganz besonders in den deutschsprachigen Ländern stark vertreten und verlässlich ist.
