Rubiconbeurs voor Bas Lendemeijer (Psychiatrie)

Bas Lendemeijer gaat twee jaar lang onderzoek doen in de Verenigde Staten naar de ontwikkeling van menselijke hersencellen in een muizenbrein.

Ervaring in het buitenland is voor veel wetenschappers een belangrijke stap in hun carrière. De Rubiconbeurs maakt het voor jonge onderzoekers mogelijk om onderzoek te doen aan een buitenlands instituut dat de beste omgeving biedt voor hun onderzoek.

In totaal geeft de Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO) deze ronde zestien jonge wetenschappers een beurs voor heel uiteenlopende projecten. In het Erasmus MC gaat het om het onderzoek van drie jonge, veelbelovende onderzoekers.

Bas Lendemeijer

Dr. Bas Lendemeijer reist in het voorjaar af naar de Columbia University. Daar zal hij menselijke hersencellen volgen tijdens hun ontwikkeling in het muizenbrein. ‘Er is veel onbekend over het ontstaan van psychiatrische stoornissen, mede doordat het moeilijk is om levende menselijke hersencellen te bestuderen tijdens gezonde of verstoorde ontwikkeling. Door het combineren van stamcel- en geavanceerde opnametechnieken gaan we menselijke hersencellen maken en hun ontwikkeling bestuderen na transplantatie in een muizenbrein’, aldus Lendemeijer.

Rubicon

Met een Rubicon-financiering kunnen wetenschappers tot 24 maanden onderzoek doen aan een buitenlandse onderzoeksinstelling. De toewijzingen uit dit bericht betreffen de tweede financieringsronde van 2022. Kijk voor meer informatie op de website van NWO.

Zicht op de onzichtbaren: waarom zijn zoveel jongeren niet in de zorg?

Diandra Bouter, psycholoog en epidemioloog, heeft de Suffugium subsidie 2022 van 25.000 euro ontvangen.

Deze subsidie is speciaal bestemd voor talentvolle onderzoekers die innovatieve projecten binnen de kinder- en jeugdpsychiatrie uitvoeren.

Diandra werkt als datamanager en PhD kandidaat bij de iBerry Study op de afdeling Psychiatrie. Dit is een grootschalige cohortstudie van ruim 1000 adolescenten, die sinds 2015 gevolgd worden, om de ontwikkeling van psychopathologie te onderzoeken.

Het merendeel van de jongeren met mentale problemen ontvangt hiervoor niet de benodigde hulp. Met deze subsidie gaat Diandra onderzoeken wat maakt dat jongeren met mentale problemen wel of juist niet de weg naar zorg weten te vinden. Hiervoor combineert zij kwantitatieve gegevens uit de iBerry Study met kwalitatieve gegevens uit interviews die worden afgenomen bij jongeren met mentale problemen. Hierbij is er aandacht voor jongeren die wel en jongeren die niet behandeld worden binnen de kinder- en jeugdpsychiatrie. Vooral deze laatste groep jongeren is lastig in beeld te krijgen, door gebruik te maken van deze verschillende invalshoeken wordt dit moeilijk benaderbare vraagstuk beantwoord.

R.I.O.T Science Club

These young scientists are determined to change the research culture

In the medical world, more attention should be paid to the replication crisis and other issues in the research culture, according to the initiators of the Rotterdam R.I.O.T. Science Club. With seminars and education, these young scientists are determined to bring about a shift to Open Science.
Fraudulent psychologists like Diederik Stapel and Lorenza Colzato and the revelation that many study results can’t be replicated: the behavioral sciences have been haunted by questionable research practices for years. It is no coincidence, then, that it was a group of young psychologists who initiated the Rotterdam branch of the R.I.O.T. Science Club. This community was founded at King’s College London, and provides training and education in how to do better science and ultimately achieve a better research culture.

Their name reflects their ideals. Research must be R.I.O.T, they say, which means reproducible, interpretable, open, and transparent. The four concepts interact, argues Lorenza Dall’Aglio. She is a Ph.D. student at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Erasmus MC and started the Rotterdam R.I.O.T. Science Club together with fellow Ph.D. student Elisabet Blok. 'Transparency is achieved with openness and allows reproducibility. Together they will lead to better, unambiguous, and reproducible science.'

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Rotterdam R.I.O.T. Science Club is kampioen Open Education

Milan Zarchev, promovendus bij onze afdeling, is lid van het R.I.O.T. team. Dit team heeft een EUR open and Responsible Science Award prijs gewonnen.

'We waren compleet verbaasd dat we al na twee jaar zo’n prijs wonnen', vertelt Elisabet Blok, PhD-student bij kinder- en jeugdpsychiatrie. Samen met collega PhD-student Lorenza Dall'Aglio richtte Blok Rotterdam Reproducible, Interpretable, Open, and Transparent Science Club op om open science aan de man te brengen in het Erasmus MC. 'We zijn een groep jonge onderzoekers die wetenschap meer open, meer transparant en meer reproduceerbaar willen maken.' Met seminars en cursussen biedt de Rotterdam R.I.O.T. Science Club handvatten aan Erasmus MC’ers om open science te bedrijven.

Volgens de jury van de EUR open and Responsible Science Awards zijn zij hierin zeer succesvol. Zij roemt dit initiatief om bottom-up aanpak, de gezamenlijkheid en de waardevolle educatieve evenementen. De Rotterdam R.I.O.T. Science Club is daarom gekroond tot winnaar in de categorie Open Education.

Internationaal netwerk

Rotterdam R.I.O.T. Science Club staat niet op zichzelf, maar is deel van een internationaal netwerk van andere R.I.O.T. Science Clubs. 'Lorenza kende de R.I.O.T. Science Club uit King’s College London en stelde voor om ook seminars te organiseren over open science. We hebben toen op de bonnefooi met hen afgesproken. Zij waren net zo enthousiast als wij en gaven toestemming om de naam te gebruiken.' Zo kwam er een tweede R.I.O.T. Science Club in Rotterdam. Inmiddels zijn er acht R.I.O.T Science Clubs verspreid over Europa, die gezamenlijk seminars organiseren.

Coronacrisis als extra duw in de rug

'In februari 2020 was onze eerste seminar. Er kwamen tachtig mensen op af. Dat vonden we erg geslaagd voor een eerste keer. Maar we moesten het tweede evenement afzeggen door corona', vertelt Blok. Ze maakten van de nood een deugd. 'We moesten alles online organiseren. Daardoor konden we een veel breder publiek bereiken.' De R.I.O.T. Science Club uit Londen stond voor hetzelfde probleem. 'In plaats van dat we alles dubbel zouden doen, hebben we alles samen georganiseerd.' Inmiddels organiseren alle acht R.I.O.T. Science Clubs wekelijks samen online seminars.

Prijs

De 2500 euro prijzengeld gaat R.I.O.T. Science Club gebruiken om seminars en cursussen te blijven organiseren. 'Het zou fantastisch zijn als we van onderaf alle PhD-studenten de waarde en mogelijkheden van open science kunnen bijbrengen', aldus Blok. 'Op mijn afdeling zie ik nu al een enorme verandering. Ik doe nu mijn coschappen, maar ik krijg nog regelmatig appjes van nieuwe collega’s, die ik nauwelijks ken, met vragen over transparant onderzoek. Dan denk ik wauw, twee jaar geleden sprak ik bijna niemand hierover. Open science slaat dus echt aan.'

3D MICrobrains maken medicijntesten in humane hersencellen mogelijk

Neurobiologen Femke de Vrij en Steven Kushner hebben 1 miljoen euro subsidie gekregen voor de ontwikkeling van doelmatige humane hersenorganoïden. Met het geld gaan ze de komende 5 jaar humane 3D MICrobrains ontwikkelen én wetenschappelijk aantonen dat er betrouwbare medicijntests op kunnen worden uitgevoerd.

De medicijnwaakhonden FDA (Verenigde Staten) en EMA (Europa) eisen vrijwel altijd eerst resultaten van proefdieronderzoek voordat een nieuw geneesmiddel bij mensen mag worden getest. Diermodellen zijn echter niet altijd voldoende voorspellend voor de fysiologie van de mens. De hersenorganoïden hebben de potentie om een betrouwbaar en beter voorspellend alternatief te worden voor proefdieronderzoek naar nieuwe medicatie voor neurologische en psychiatrische ziekten.

Lees meer: Amazing Erasmus MC

Jaarverslag 2020 Wetenschappelijk onderzoek, Afdeling Psychiatrie, Erasmus MC

Het wetenschappelijk onderzoek van de afdeling Psychiatrie bestaat uit toegepast onderzoek en translationeel onderzoek naar psychotische- en stemmingsstoornissen.

Het toegepaste onderzoek beoogt concrete antwoorden te geven op vragen over ... picture_as_pdf Lees meer

Mannen met trauma of depressie na bevalling krijgen te weinig aandacht: 'De bedrijfsarts lachte me uit'

Veel moeders worstelen met geestelijke gezondheidsproblemen na de geboorte van hun kind. Maar ook vaders ervaren postnatale depressie of bevallingstrauma. 5 tot 10 procent van de jonge vaders krijgt hier last van, maar krijgt zelden de juiste hulp.

Dat je als man na de geboorte van je kind een postnatale depressie kunt krijgen, daar hadden deze vaders nog nooit van gehoord. Totdat het ze overkwam.

Psychiater Mijke Lambregtse-van den Berg van Erasmus MC, en oprichter van het Landelijk Kenniscentrum voor Psychiatrie en Zwangerschap, ziet vaker dat mannen onterecht niet serieus genomen worden.

Bekijk de tv-reportage (EenVandaag-Avro/Tros) over dit onderwerp.

Major ZonMw investment for stem cell research into neuropsychiatric disorders

The Departments of Psychiatry and Clinical Genetics at Erasmus MC lead a consortium project recently funded by ZonMw's PSIDER program using human pluripotent stem cells to develop an innovative platform of therapeutic discovery for hereditary neurodevelopmental disorders.

Steven Kushner of the Department of Psychiatry and Ype Elgersma of the Department of Clinical Genetics, lead the project Towards a human iPSC neuronal platform for neurodevelopmental disorder therapeutic discovery, which was awarded 4 million euros. Femke de Vrij (Psychiatry) and Marjon van Slegtenhorst (Clinical Genetics) of Erasmus MC also participate in the consortium.

The project will identify patients who have a severe cognitive developmental disorder due to a genetic mutation. If the mutation is suitable for correction with so-called antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapy, stem cells are generated from blood cells of the patient. These stem cells will be differentiated into brain cells, on which the mutation-specific ASO will be tested for therapeutic rescue of disease-associated molecular and cellular phenotypes. The researchers expect this research to be the prelude to routinely developing personalized therapies for a large group of rare neuropsychiatric disorders that are currently untreatable.

The ZonMw program Pluripotent Stem cells for Inherited Diseases and Embryonic Research (PSIDER) is intended for biomedical research with induced pluripotent stem cells. Within the program, ethical, legal and social issues are a strong focus

Prof. dr. H.J.C. van Marle heeft een prestigieuze prijs uitgereikt gekregen van de International Academy of Law and Mental Health

De IALMH heeft als basis de Université Philippe Pinel en is tweetalig (Engels en Frans) en internationaal in zijn bestuur en wetenschappelijke commissies. Meer informatie ialmh.org IALMH

Het officiële statement van de IALMH is het volgende:

The International Academy of Law and Mental Health (IALMH) is founded on the belief that issues arising from the interaction of law and mental health can be best addressed through multidisciplinary and cross-national approaches, drawing on law, the health professions, the social sciences, and the humanities.

Every two years, the IALMH holds an International Congress on Law and Mental Health, bringing together the international community of researchers, academics, practitioners and professionals in the field, whose wide-ranging perspective provide for a comprehensive look at important law and mental health issues.

Be it recognized that the Boards of Directors of the International Academy of Law and Mental Health Montreal and the Académie Internationale d’Éthique, Médecine et Politique Publique Paris have presented the Prix Philippe Pinel to Professor Hjalmar van Marle at the Université de Lyon on the 3rd of July 2022.

Hjalmar van Marle, born on the 19th of September 1950 at Zwolle, the Netherlands, pursued his early education in Holland before receiving his advanced degrees in the city of Groningen, becoming Doctor of Medicine in 1974. From that period it is noted that he developed an outstanding career as a specialist in the domains of psychoanalysis, court room expertise, and specialities both in civil and administrative law before the courts of the Netherlands. In the clinical sphere he distinguished himself in the major clinics of his country, among them as Medical Superintendant and Head of TBS-clinics in the Doctor S. Van Mesdagkliniek, the Pieter Baan Centrum, and Advisor to the Doctor H. van der Hoevenklininiek and the W. Pompekliniek. He was appointed Professor of Forensic Psychiatry in the Catholic University of Nijmegen and concurrently was a Psychiatric Advisor to the Ministry of Justice of his country. Following this period he was honoured as Chairman of the National Research Program in his specialty at the Centre of Expertise on Forensic Psychiatry in Utrecht. In 2003 he was elevated to the position of Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at the Erasmus University Medical Center and School of Law in Rotterdam. Until his retirement in 2016 he held a position as Chair of the International Scientific Committee in the Netherland’s leading centre on Forensic Psychiatric expertise.

Admired as an author in the field of Forensic Psychiatry, he also served for decades as Editor of journals and books in the fields of offender therapy and comparative criminology.

There are numerous international associations where he was elected with honour, including as President of the International Academy of Law and Mental Health and as Chair of numerous Congresses within Holland and globally.

In the private sphere he has been a formidable presence in the social life of the Rotary and De Witte Clubs in Scheveningen and the Hague.

Professor van Marle has retired to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence where the vino veritas has provided a reflective and productive life for his creative pursuits, including as an Advisor to television crime series in his native country.

- George Woods, President, IALMH
- Christian Hervé, Co-President, IAMEPH
- David Weisstub, Honorary Life President, IALMH

'Making big data meaningful for a promising start in the first 1000 days of life'.

Mijke Lambregtse-van den Berg is one of the work package leaders of a consortium led by Tanja Houweling from Public Health that has been awarded 1,3M euro from the NWO research agenda ‘Promising start for children with the help of big data.

All children deserve a promising start. Most children are doing fine. But some need extra support, because of problems during pregnancy, or because they grow up in disadvantaged circumstances, e.g. due to poverty or parental addiction or mental health problems. In this multidisciplinary project, we study how relevant datasets, among others of Statistics Netherlands, can be used to support these children and (expectant) parents. By ensuring more timely referral to services that meet their needs. And by tailoring municipal polities to the needs of vulnerable children and (expectant) parents. We collaborate with parents, practitioners and municipalities to ensure our research meets their priorities. This collaborative project includes partners from the Department of Public Health (Erasmus MC), the Departments of Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology (Erasmus MC), the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science, the City of Rotterdam, and a broad range of societal partners.

Mijke will lead the work package that focusses on consultation and participation of involved families, practitioners and policy makers to ensure the project meets their needs and concerns. In this work package also prognostic models from other work packages will be used to develop and test a dynamic tool for identification that can be integrated in existing online screening tools and digital personal health environments to guide (expectant) parents and their towards tailored interventions.

Major ZonMw investment for stem cell research into neuropsychiatric disorders

The Departments of Psychiatry and Clinical Genetics at Erasmus MC lead a consortium project recently funded by ZonMw's PSIDER program using human pluripotent stem cells to develop an innovative platform of therapeutic discovery for hereditary neurodevelopmental disorders.

Steven Kushner of the Department of Psychiatry and Ype Elgersma of the Department of Clinical Genetics, lead the project Towards a human iPSC neuronal platform for neurodevelopmental disorder therapeutic discovery, which was awarded 4 million euros. Femke de Vrij (Psychiatry) and Marjon van Slegtenhorst (Clinical Genetics) of Erasmus MC also participate in the consortium.

The project will identify patients who have a severe cognitive developmental disorder due to a genetic mutation. If the mutation is suitable for correction with so-called antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapy, stem cells are generated from blood cells of the patient. These stem cells will be differentiated into brain cells, on which the mutation-specific ASO will be tested for therapeutic rescue of disease-associated molecular and cellular phenotypes. The researchers expect this research to be the prelude to routinely developing personalized therapies for a large group of rare neuropsychiatric disorders that are currently untreatable.

The ZonMw program Pluripotent Stem cells for Inherited Diseases and Embryonic Research (PSIDER) is intended for biomedical research with induced pluripotent stem cells. Within the program, ethical, legal and social issues are a strong focus

Astrid Kamperman received a grant of 50.000 Euro of the EUR Trustfonds for the study 'Addressing the victim in the room'!

Domestic violence is an ordinarily highly prevalent phenomenon. Families in which domestic violence is present suffer from both physical and emotional trauma, straining the family unit and sometimes resulting in the death of a family member. At the same time, the presence of domestic violence often remains undetected and unaddressed by health care professionals. We propose the use of newly emerging machine learning techniques to address this need.
In line with the NWO Artificial Intelligence Research Agenda for the Netherlands we view AI as a socio-technical system, in which technological and societal aspects of AI are inherently intertwined. In this project, we will include a technical and a social component, developed in close interaction. In the technical component, we will leverage the information standardly contained within patient electronic patient files, where rich data is collected from structured fields and unstructured clinician notes. With regard to the social component, we will explore the acceptability and legitimacy of using an AI application to detect domestic violence in mental health care. The finance will be used to study of the social component of the development and implementation of this ML algorithm in mental health care. Acceptability and legitimacy will be studied using focus groups. Focus groups will be organized such to optimally assess the perspectives of clients, clinicians, data-scientists, privacy officers and legal staff, and managerial staff.

This pilot project is a collaboration between academic and societal partners, i.e. the EMC (Dept of Psychiatry), EUR (ESHPM), Delft University of Technology (Dep of Human-Centered Design), UMC Utrecht (COVIDA, PsyData), regional mental health care institutes (Antes and BavoEuropoort/Parnassia Groep, GGZ Delfland), and patient representatives (MIND).

The iBerry Study receives grant Stichting tot Steun VCVGZ

We are pleased to inform you that dr. Nina Grootendorst received a grant from Stichting tot Steun VCVGZ for the study 'In the red – the relationship between debts and mental health among youth'. The project will be embedded in the iBerry Study and Susan Ravensbergen is appointed as a PhD student on this project.

Recent numbers show that one out of twelve Dutch households has registered, problematic debts. More specifically, during the past five years the number of young adults with debts has rapidly increased. Previous studies show a positive relationship between financial problems and mental health, suggesting a vicious circle that even seems to be passed on from one generation to the next. The exact relationship between debts and psychiatric symptoms still remains unclear. The transition into adulthood seems to be a crucial phase. During this period adolescents become legally responsible for their own financial matters and psychiatric problems often emerge at this age as well.

Due to the longitudinal nature of the iBerry Study, the researchers will be able to assess the mutual effects between debts and various forms of psychopathology and the development of both over time. Furthermore, they will explore how debts arise and which factors predict financial problems in youth. In this way they expect to find starting points to develop targeted policy and suitable care for adolescents who either develop psychiatric disorders, financial debts, or both.

Connect2Grow projectteam

Mijke Lambregtse-van den Berg, Hilmar Bijma en het Connect2Grow projectteam hebben een subsidie van 50.000 euro ontvangen binnen het SET COVID-19 2.0 programma van de overheid.

Connect2Grow is een leer- en verbeterproject waarbij zorgverleners samenwerken met ouders in de gemeente Rotterdam. Zij brengen samen in kaart wat nodig is, bij gezinnen in complexe kwetsbare omstandigheden, om een gezonde relatie met hun (ongeboren) baby op te bouwen. Het is een gezamenlijk project van het Erasmus MC Rotterdam (afdelingen Verloskunde, Psychiatrie en Kinder- en Jeugdpsychiatrie) en de gemeente Rotterdam, waarbij nauw wordt samengewerkt met andere instanties en zorgverleners in Rotterdam.

Met de komst van Covid-19 is er een grote urgentie om deze zorg ook meer digitaal te ondersteunen. Hiervoor heeft het Connect2Grow team in samenwerking met MijnKindOnline een zorgnetwerkmodule ontwikkeld om deze zorg digitaal te kunnen ondersteunen. Middels deze subsidie zal deze module ook in andere regio’s rond Rotterdam worden aangeboden, met als doel om dit uiteindelijk ook landelijk te kunnen gaan implementeren.

Zie voor meer informatie over het Connect2Grow project: www.connect2grow.info

'From surgery to active surveillance in esophageal cancer patients (SANO-2 study)'

It is a great pleasure to announce that Leonieke Kranenburg, who in collaboration with colleagues from the department of Surgery, received a grant of 275k Euro for the study 'From surgery to active surveillance in esophageal cancer patients (SANO-2 study)'.

The grant was approved by an Erasmus MC Internal grant and the Zilveren Kruis (Theia Foundation and Foundation Achmea Gezondheidszorg).
Within this project, the departments Surgery and Psychiatry closely collaborate. Two PhD-candidates, a physician-researcher and psychologist will jointly investigate the clinical and psychological outcomes of an experimental non-invasive treatment for esophageal cancer patients. Next to outcomes with regard to the effectivity and safety of this active surveillance treatment, the project focuses on the practice of decision counseling and on the psychological outcomes of decisional regret, fear of cancer recurrence and quality of life in this patient group.

The Create2Solve program

It is a great pleasure to announce that Femke de Vrij will receive a grant from ZonMw within the Create2Solve program.

This prestigious grant is a follow-up of the Phase 1 proof-of-concept study awarded last year, to continue Phase 2 of this project for 5 years with a 1M€ subsidy. Together with Steven Kushner and a talented team of researchers ( KUSHNERLAB), a 3D model will be developed with human brain cells that can simulate the brain’s complex structure in early development. These micro-brains (3D MICro-brains) will reduce the modelling of the frontal cortex to its essence in a format of, literally, a millionth of the normal brain volume.
The platform contains all relevant brain cell types: functional neurons and glia in layered radial structures, including astrocytes, myelin-producing oligodendrocytes and microglia that play a crucial role in inflammatory processes in the brain.

Furthermore, this model is entirely animal-free and thus contributes to the transition to animal-free research. Due to its scale and reproducibility, this platform is ideally suited for automated applications in drug development and research, which will be further elaborated with industry partner Core Life Analytics that will add automated, high-resolution image processing to this project.

For more information, see: ZonMw

Joint appointment of Prof. dr. Steven Kushner at the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry in New York

We are pleased to announce the joint appointment of Prof. dr. Steven Kushner at the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry in New York beginning March 1st, as an extension of his continued appointment at the department of Psychiatry at Erasmus MC.

This collaboration marks a further expansion of the GEZIN study bringing together psychiatric genetics, stem cell modeling and translational neurobiology, and offers unique opportunities for knowledge exchange and visits between faculty, staff and students of the department of Psychiatry of Erasmus MC and Columbia University.

ZonMW Create2Solve challenge grant for Femke de Vrij

We are pleased to inform you that Femke de Vrij has been awarded 100k Euro for a first-phase grant of the ZonMW Create2Solve challenge for the study 'An animal-free human 3D cortical network platform for screening myelination and inflammation phenotypes'.

Project description:

Recent developments in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology offer the unique opportunity to implement lineage-specific human cellular models suitable for drug development applications. In this project, researchers will expand their established platform for 3D neural networks of human brain cells that resemble the human frontal cortex in early development. An industry partner contributes innovative synthetic extracellular matrix technology to support 3D structure formation. The resulting 3D MICrobrains model the essence of cortical structure formation in a miniature format that is literally about 1millionth the size of a normal human brain. The platform will contain all relevant cell types: functional neurons and glial cell types in layered radial structures, including astrocytes, myelinating white matter cells (oligodendrocytes) and cells that are crucial for immune responses in the brain (microglia). Moreover, this advanced animal-free 3D MICro-brain platform is amenable to high throughput analyses for screening purposes.

Demi Brizee awarded Thesis Prize for Biology

Demi Brizee has been awarded the Young Talent Thesis Prize for Biology for her master thesis written for the Research Master in Neuroscience, titled 'Activity-dependence of parvalbumin interneuron myelination.' The prize was awarded by the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (Koninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen) and was sponsored by Enza Zaden.

In her thesis, Demi described how myelination, the insulating protective layer surrounding brain cells, could be changed in the adult brain by activity of the brain cells themselves. Unexpectedly, these changes were accompanied by alterations in the shape of the cells. Demi’s thesis shows that the brain, even in adult age, remains plastic in various manners, which could potentially be important for the treatment of various brain disorders.

The thesis work was performed in the Department of Psychiatry at the Erasmus University Medical Center under supervision of Prof. dr. Steven Kushner. The thesis has been published in the leading Journal of Neuroscience.

'Optimizing psychosocial care for oncology patients'

We are pleased to inform you that Leonieke Kranenburg has received a grant from the Stichting Roparun (245k Euro) for a PhD student to perform a study focusing on the need for supportive psychosocial care in oncology patients, both those in a curative and in a palliative trajectory. The study comprises an evaluation of the organization of this type of care in new centers that combine formal and informal care, namely the Patiënt Informatie Centrum Oncologie (PATIO) in Rotterdam and IntermeZZo Nazorgcentrum in Zwolle. One of the research questions within this project is how the referral function for psychosocial care can be improved. In addition, this project will focus on the group of cancer patients who experienced diagnosis or treatment as extremely stressful and consequently have developed (symptoms of) post-traumatic stress disorder. A cost-effectiveness study on EMDR-treatment for this group will be performed.

iBerry Study 1000 jongeren!

Meer dan 1000 jongeren (en hun ouders) hebben meegedaan aan de baseline van de iBerry Study! We zijn super trots op al onze deelnemers, (oud)studenten, (oud)medewerkers die ons geholpen hebben om dit prachtige resultaat te bereiken.

We zijn inmiddels direct vliegend van start gegaan met de eerste vervolgmeting. Er zijn alweer 75 jongeren langs geweest!

Voor ons hartstikke leuk om de jongeren weer terug te zien, maar met name zeer interessant hoe het hen in de afgelopen jaren is vergaan. In de vervolgmeting vragen we de jongeren onder andere naar de volgende onderwerpen:

Lichamelijk welzijn

Lichamelijke klachten en pijn zijn geen verzinsel. De psyche is bij het hele lichaam betrokken en andersom. Deze klachten trekken een zware wissel op mensen die ermee te maken krijgen en zorgen voor veel schoolverzuim en problemen in sociale relaties. Binnen iBerry proberen we inzicht te krijgen in het ontstaan van het pijnprobleem.

Slaap

Vrijwel alle psychische klachten gaan samen met een verstoring van de slaap. De vraag is ga je slechter slapen door deze klachten of maken de klachten dat je slechter gaat slapen? Om dit te onderzoeken vragen we de 1000 jongeren in het iBerry onderzoek 9 dagen lang een ‘actigrafie-horloge’ te dragen om de slaap in kaart te brengen.

Financiële problemen

Hoe gaan jongeren om met hun financiën en welk effect hebben financiële problemen bij jongeren die net op eigen benen gaan staan? Dit willen we graag onderzoeken in deze meting.

Benoeming van dr. Roel Ophoff tot bijzonder hoogleraar Psychiatrische moleculaire genetica

Wij zijn erg verheugd te kunnen melden dat het College van Bestuur EUR ingestemd heeft met de benoeming van dr. Roel Ophoff tot bijzonder hoogleraar Psychiatrische moleculaire genetica per 1 april 2019. Roel werkt bij UCLA in Los Angeles in de Verenigde Staten, maar hij zal eens in de twee maanden een week bij het Kushner lab en andere groepen binnen het Erasmus MC werken. Graag wil Roel kennismaken met zijn collega’s van de afdeling Psychiatrie en mogelijkheden tot samenwerking bespreken.

Roel's langetermijnvisie voor de leerstoel is om meer begrip van de genetische architectuur van psychiatrische stoornissen tot stand te brengen en manieren te vinden om deze kennis in de klinische praktijk toe te passen voor verbetering van de patiëntenzorg en ziektepreventie.

It is a great pleasure to announce the following recognitions of achievement of Steven Kushner

First, Steven has been elected as Chair of the Dutch Society for Neuroscience, starting 1 July 2018. A true honor to run the nations Neuroscience!

Second: the Dean has invited Steven to be a member of the Research Council of the Erasmus MC.
From the letter of the Dean: 'On 19th February, the Board of Directors approved a proposal for setting-up a new Research Council as an independent advisory committee to the Dean. The Research Council will have the responsibility for closely following internal and external research (policy) developments and advising on their opportunities and possible consequences for Erasmus MC. Discussion topics within the Research Council include: 1) (inter)national and novel developments in science, 2) funding of research, 3) organization and evaluation of research, 4) research infrastructure, 5) local, national and international strategic research alliances, and 6) opportunities for increasing societal impact of research'.
Steven will represent 'Thema Hersenen & Zintuigen' in the Research Council.

ESPRi Symposium
Dinsdag 19 maart 2019

Preventie van Ernstige Psychische Aandoeningen: hoe gaan we dat doen?

Ernstige Psychische Aandoeningen (EPA) ontstaan in de adolescentie en hebben vaak een langdurig karakter. Dat willen we voorkomen. We gaan werken aan preventie van EPA in de jeugd en proberen herstel van EPA te bevorderen. Maar hoe kunnen we dit doen en wat werkt?

Het belooft een interessant en levendig symposium te worden met presentaties van nieuw onderzoek en ideeën. Aansluitend aan de presentaties vindt er een preventie-debat plaats, waarbij de vraag 'wat kunnen we doen om de transitie naar EPA te voorkomen?' centraal staat.

Noteert u alvast de datum. Het programma voor de middag vindt u in picture_as_pdf de flyer. De toegang is gratis.

Dr. N. Grootendorst- v. Mil
Prof.dr. C.L. Mulder
Prof.dr. W. Hoogendijk

'Human iPSC models of rare familial depression'

We are pleased to inform you that Femke de Vrij has been granted an Erasmus MC Human Disease Model Award (HDMA) for her project entitled 'Human iPSC models of rare familial depression'.

Project summary: The project is a collaboration with co-applicant Najaf Amin of the department of Epidemiology. The award grants 250.000 euro to further study a depression-linked genetic variant in the RCL1 gene based on Femke’s recent paper in Molecular Psychiatry, using induced pluripotent stem cell technology. By focusing on rare familial depression, Femke hopes that this approach will lead to novel insights in the underlying biology of RCL1-associated depression.

Ideaal om nieuwe behandelingen te testen, maar ook ethisch beladen: wetenschappers kweken stukje mensenbrein in muizenhoofd

Voor hersenwetenschappers vormen de muis-mensbreintjes een langverwachte doorbraak.

Het is een experiment om je toch even bij achter de oren te krabben. Amerikaanse onderzoekers zijn erin geslaagd een stukje mensenbrein te kweken in het hoofd van een muis, gekoppeld aan het brein van het knaagdier. Ideaal om hersenziektes te bestuderen en nieuwe behandelingen te testen - maar ook ethisch beladen, want wat zou zo'n stukje mensenbrein opgesloten in een muizenhoofd er zelf eigenlijk van vinden?

Veel hogere gedachten verwachten experts vooralsnog niet van de stukjes mensenbrein, per stuk niet groter dan een haar dik. 'Alles wijst erop dat dit weefsel nog maar heel losjes is verbonden met het muizenweefsel. Maar we moeten het wel in de gaten houden', reageert hoogleraar neurobiologische psychiatrie Steven Kushner (Erasmus MC), zelf niet betrokken bij de Amerikaanse proef. Kushner pleit voor vervolgonderzoek: 'Licht het menselijke weefsel bijvoorbeeld op als de muis iets ervaart? Dan wordt het toch een wat ander verhaal.'

Meer (de Volkskrant)

The KNAW has awarded Christian Bouwkamp (member of Steven Kushner's Lab)

ASara van Dam grant of 100k Euro to perform the research project entitled

'Cognitive neurodevelopment in children from the Israeli Bedouin community.'

Summary of project: Higher levels of consanguinity (relatedness by blood) are associated with increased risks of mortality and morbidity in infants and children, in particular with regard to cognitive neurodevelopment. No prior studies however have examined childhood social and cognitive outcomes in the Negev Bedouin community. Therefore, through an established collaboration with dr. Zaid Afawi (Ben Gurion University, Israel), we intend to address the following question: To what extent are cognitive and social functioning outcomes in children from the Negev Bedouin community associated with familial consanguinity and genomic burden of homozygosity? If confirmed, we intend as a longer-term goal to establish whether a dedicated program for family-based genetic counseling would offer the opportunity to improve the developmental and global health outcomes in children within the Negev Bedouin community.

Desiderius Consolidator Research Fellowship

It is with great pleasure to announce that Steven Kushner has been awarded the Desiderius Consolidator Research Fellowship by our dean (Hans van Leeuwen) on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Erasmus MC. The grant of 400.000 Euro is for the project

'The pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders resulting from increased UBE3A gene dosage.'

In the letter to Steven, the dean used the following formulation:
'The committee was highly impressed by your vision on advancing the understanding and treatment of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. Your continued successes in obtaining extramural funding will undoubtedly lead to a string of top publications. Your recent publication in Molecular Psychiatry on candidate CSPG4 mutations in familial schizophrenia is an illustration of your pioneering work. The committee noted that you have many fruitful collaborations within Erasmus MC, and your work is well connected with several ACEs within Erasmus MC. This makes you a suitable candidate for the Desiderius grant. In line with the mission of Desiderius, I hope this award will give you the opportunity to expand your research ideas further and build a strong scientific future at Erasmus MC.'

We are very proud for this recognition of the work of Steven and his research group, and congratulate him with this achievement!

Factors influencing access to transplantation (FIAT-Study): a qualitative research on stakeholders' perspective

Congratulations Sohal Ismail et al! Well done.

Please find herewith the details of a project that has been granted last week. The client is the Dutch Kidney Foundation ('Nierstichting') and the amount is 260.000 euro (for 4 years).
The number of transplantations with a living donor kidney is rising in the Netherlands. Nearly half of these transplantations with a living donor are performed pre-emptively. Hence, 75% of the patients who receive a kidney transplant first undergo a period of dialysis, disposing patients to harmful aspects of the dialysis period. Addressing disparities in equal access has recently been expressed as a research priority in organ transplantation in literature. The present proposal aims to investigate the multidisciplinary factors that influence 'on time' and 'equal access' to transplantation.
We will use focus groups and 'grounded theory' for an in-depth investigation of the psychological, clinical, ethical, social, economic and policy factors which influence access to transplantation from different stakeholders' perspective: the patient-, health care professional-, insurance- and health policy perspective.

ESPRi symposium

'Verwaring over verwardheid'

Het belooft een interessant en levendig symposium te worden met o.a. presentaties van onderzoek uitgevoerd in samenwerking met de politie en een 'Amsterdamse' blik.
Tot slot vindt er een levendige paneldiscussie plaats.

Wanneer: Donderdag 11 mei 2017 12:30 17:00

Waar: Collegezaal 1, Onderwijscentrum, Erasmus MC

Meer informatie (ESPRi-site)

'Neem je brein waar'

Op zaterdag 18 maart 2017 houden de afdelingen neurowetenschappen en psychiatrie een open dag voor het algemene publiek in hun laboratoria. De open dag is onderdeel van 'Brain Awareness Week', een jaarlijkse internationale campagne die het belang van hersenonderzoek onder de aandacht brengt. Het Erasmus MC huist toponderzoek naar o.a. het sensorisch systeem, maar ook neuro-ontwikkelings ziektes en psychiatrische aandoeningen worden op verschillende levels bestudeerd. Hoe dit onderzoek echter plaatsvindt, blijft voor velen een mysterie. Daarom openen deze onderzoekers voor het eerst in geschiedenis de labdeuren voor het algemene publiek.

De dag belooft veel goeds. Zo zijn er discussie groepen met professoren van de verschillende afdelingen en workshops waarbij in laboratoria zelf experimenten kunnen worden uitgevoerd. Ook zijn er labtours langs de verschillende laboratoria en een heuse Neuroscience Art Gallery.

De onderzoekers hebben er dit jaar voor gekozen geen conventionele lezingen te geven, maar 'Dynamic Discussions' te organiseren. 'Het publiek kan allerlei vragen stellen over het brein, hersenziektes, over hoe we het brein onderzoeken', vertelt hoogleraar Steven Kushner. Andere onderwerpen die worden besproken zijn stamcel onderzoek en genetische manipulatie.

Een daadwerkelijk hoogtepunt in het programma is de workshop 'Menselijke hersencellen in een petri-schaaltje'. Deelnemers hebben de kans om zelf cellen te kweken in het speciale celkweek lab. 'Het werken in een dergelijk lab is vaak alleen weggelegd voor getrainde wetenschappers', legt onderzoeker-in-opleiding Bas Lendemijer uit. Echter, onder begeleiding kunnen participanten de kunst van het cellen kweken eens zelf uitproberen.

Voor wie graag vermaakt wil worden is er ook veel goeds. Zo is er een demonstratie van humane hersenen. Participanten kunnen zien hoe een brein er daadwerkelijk van binnen uitziet. Ook kunnen participanten hun zintuigen laten bedriegen in verschillende illusie experimenten en uiteraard zijn hersensimulatie experimenten niet meer weg te denken. Je kunt er allemaal aan meedoen!

Als topje van de ijsberg is er de 'Neuroscience Art Gallery'. Is biologie niet helemaal je ding, dan kun je je alsnog goed vermaken op deze expositie. Wetenschap levert veel cijfertjes en feiten op, maar zo nu en dan struikelen wetenschappers op magnifieke beelden. Deze zijn het delen waard, vinden ze. Met uitgebreide 1 op 1 uitleg van de hersenonderzoekers zelf kunnen ook de deelnemers zich even wagen in het dagelijkse creatieve gedachtegoed van de neurowetenschappers.

De open dag is voor iedereen toegankelijk en deelname is gratis. Ook is er een apart programma voor kinderen.

Voor meer informatie, bezoek brain-awareness-rotterdam.nl.

Registratie is verplicht en verloopt via de website. Wij vragen om identificatie aan de poort. Voor vragen kan contact opgenomen worden via brainawarenessrotterdam@gmail.com

Persvoorlichters kunnen contact opnemen via press@erasmusmc.nl.

'Studio Erasmus | Talkshow'

Studio Erasmus is de maandelijkse talkshow van de Erasmus Universiteit over wetenschap en actualiteit. Met interviews, minicolleges en livemuziek. Op dinsdag 7 maart oa te gast: psychiater Witte Hoogendijk over zijn boek 'Van Big Bang tot Burn-Out'.

De Erasmus Universiteit over de actualiteit en het laatste academische onderzoek – dat is Studio Erasmus. Verrassend, prikkelend, maar altijd academisch verantwoord. Op dinsdag 7 maart 2017 in de Rotterdamse Schouwburg, staat o.a. op het programma:
Kunnen we de stress ontlopen? – Hoogleraar psychiatrie Witte Hoogendijk schreef samen met Volkskrant-journalist Wilma de Rek 'Van Big Bang tot Burn-Out', waarin ze aantonen dat onze verhoogde stressgevoeligheid niet los te zien is van de evolutionaire wordingsgeschiedenis van de mens. En gelukkig: er is een uitweg.

Dit weekend staat er een interview in het NRC en een voorpublicatie in de Volkskrant over het boek dat Witte Hoogendijk met Volkskrant journaliste Wilma de Rek over stress schreef.

Meer informatie. (Website YouTube)

Daarnaast zullen Witte en Wilma op zondag 19 maart a.s. om 14.00 uur worden geïnterviewd bij Boekhandel Donner te Rotterdam (Coolsingel 119, 3012 AG Rotterdam).

'Van big bang tot burn-out'

Stress is zonder twijfel een van de meest misbruikte begrippen van deze tijd. Maar wat ís stress eigenlijk?

13,7 miljard jaar na de oerknal, 200.000 jaar nadat homo sapiens zijn intrede deed en twee eeuwen na de Industriële Revolutie is de wereld in steeds hoger tempo steeds complexer aan het worden. Ons stress-systeem, grotendeels gevormd in een periode waarin nog niet eens leven op het land bestond, is helemaal niet toegerust om de problemen van deze tijd het hoofd te bieden. Het is dan ook geen toeval dat het aantal gevallen van slapeloosheid, depressie en burn-out een alarmerende groei laat zien.

In dit boek pleiten Hoogendijk en De Rek voor een radicaal andere visie op stress-gerelateerde aandoeningen. Op heldere en overtuigende wijze leggen zij uit hoe het komt dat wij zoveel moeite hebben alle veranderingen bij te houden. Het is tijd onze opgefokte verwachtingen onder de loep te nemen. Net als onze ongezonde relatie met de farmaceutische industrie.
Dit weekend staat er een interview in het NRC en een voorpublicatie in de Volkskrant over het boek dat Witte Hoogendijk met Volkskrant journaliste Wilma de Rek over stress schreef.
Voor de geïnteresseerden hier een link naar het boek.

https://www.uitgeverijbalans.nl/boeken/van-big-bang-tot-burn-out/

'Kidney Team at Home'

It is a pleasure to announce that Sohal Ismail and Jan van Busschbach have received two grants for implementing the 'Kidney Team at Home' (Nierteam aan Huis) project on a national level. The first grant of 1.7M Euro is a joint venture with the department of Internal Medicine, section Nephrology and Transplantation, and is subsidized by the Zorgverzekeraars Nederland. Sohal and Jan will use 157k Euro of the 1.7M Euro for project coordination (see description below).
The second grant of 251k Euro will be used to investigate the cost-effectiveness of the 'Kidney Team at Home' interventions; this grant is provided by the Nierstichting.

Summary projects:

Implementation of 'Kidney Team at Home': A Home-based Educational Intervention.

The implementation of this program is based on the favourable results of a previous RCT during 2010-2014 at the Erasmus MC. Results showed that home-based educational interventions support well-informed decision making among renal patients and their social network and that the number of living donor kidney transplantations increases. The implementation of the intervention: dialysis patients and their family/friends will receive two home visits in addition to regular hospital information. The aim of this intervention is to provide broad and neutral information on kidney disease, dialysis, kidney transplantation and living kidney donation while highlighting the psychosocial aspects. Central to this intervention will be the promoting of communication between the patient and his/her social network regarding the different forms of treatment, of which transplantation with a kidney for a living donor is the most optimal. For this intervention the communication model and skills as elaborated in 'multi-system therapy' (MST) will be used. The objective of this implementation project is to map the generalizability while maintaining quality, by creating a secure framework and quality checks.

The second project will use data from the national implementation study and will be conducted by a PhD student in Health Economics. In order to make a confinable plea that nationwide investments in the educational programs is justifiable, the balance between costs and effects has to be established with a formal cost-effectiveness analysis. The aim is to execute a formal cost-effectiveness analysis on the basis of the national guideline for cost-effectiveness analyses. If the implementation of the home-bases intervention is effectively employed, it is likely that the number of patients on the waiting list for transplantation will drop. The model that will be used is a so called 'dynamic population model'; the model will estimate these changing needs, and can therefore help to guide long term investments in dialysis centres and transplantation facilities.

'A longitudinal qualitative study of patients’ decision-making, experiences and preferences regarding Pixantrone treatment in aggressive B cell non Hodgkin lymphoma'

Servier Nederland has granted Jan van Busschbach and Sohal Ismail (MPP) 150k Euro to perform the observational research project entitled 'A longitudinal qualitative study of patients’ decision-making, experiences and preferences regarding Pixantrone treatment in aggressive B cell non Hodgkin lymphoma'.
The second grant of 251k Euro will be used to investigate the cost-effectiveness of the 'Kidney Team at Home' interventions; this grant is provided by the Nierstichting.

Summary project: The diagnosis of a haematological malignancy and its treatment substantially lead to symptoms and complications that influence the quality of life (QOL). In contrast to the large number of QOL studies in patients with solid tumours, relatively few QOL studies have been conducted in patients with haematological malignancies. Targeted patients are patients with a relapsing or refractory aggressive B-cel non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) who were treated with at least 2 earlier regimens. Given the expected increase in NHL incidence rates due to the increasing average age and the relatively few QOL studies under this patient population, there is still much to be done to understand patients’ morbidity in this area of haematological malignancies. Pixantrone is indicated as monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with multiply relapsed or refractory aggressive NHL. The present longitudinal qualitative study reflects real life practice of Pixantrone use and aims to collect data on the patients’ considerations for, expectations of and experiences with pixantrone and trajectories in their quality of life values in a Dutch clinical setting.

MRace awarded Veerle Bergink with an Erasmus MC Fellowship 2016!

This grant will allow Veerle to expend her research and research group focused on postpartum psychosis.

Summary project:
The diagnosis of a haematological malignancy and its treatment substantially lead to symptoms and complications that influence the quality of life (QOL). In contrast to the large number of QOL studies in patients with solid tumours, relatively few QOL studies have been conducted in patients with haematological malignancies. Targeted patients are patients with a relapsing or refractory aggressive B-cel non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) who were treated with at least 2 earlier regimens. Given the expected increase in NHL incidence rates due to the increasing average age and the relatively few QOL studies under this patient population, there is still much to be done to understand patients’ morbidity in this area of haematological malignancies. Pixantrone is indicated as monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with multiply relapsed or refractory aggressive NHL. The present longitudinal qualitative study reflects real life practice of Pixantrone use and aims to collect data on the patients’ considerations for, expectations of and experiences with pixantrone and trajectories in their quality of life values in a Dutch clinical setting.

Inaugural Lecture

The rector magnificus of the Erasmus University Rotterdam announces that at Erasmus MC - Faculty of Erasmus University Rotterdam

Dr. W.W. van den Broek appointed as endowed professor of Evidence Based Medical Education, on behalf of the Vereniging Trustfonds EUR, will publicly accept his appointment on Friday April 8, 2016 with an inaugural lecture entitled: 'Dokters, gaat heen en onderwijst!'

The ceremony will start promptly at 4 pm in the Aula of the university (Erasmus building), Burgemeester Oudlaan 50 Rotterdam.

picture_as_pdf Oration. (Dutch)

It is a pleasure to announce that NWO has decided to award Veerle Bergink a Veni grant

'Etiology and outcome of affective psychosis triggered by childbirth'

This grant (250k Euro) will provide Veerle with the opportunity to further develop her research in the field of postpartum psychosis (see summary below).

Summary project: The overall aim of the proposal is to investigate the pathophysiology of postpartum psychosis (PP), and identify predictors of longitudinal outcome. The first objective will be focused on the etiology of PP, for which the primary hypothesis is that the autoimmune pathophysiology of PP may result in white matter abnormalities. To address this question, a detailed investigation of neuroimaging during the acute and remitted states of PP will be performed. The second objective will focus on which women experiencing a first-onset PP will progress to BD versus those women for whom their risk is elevated only during the postpartum period in order to identify predictors for the disease course. The Danish population-based birth cohort registry will be utilized in which long-term follow-up is available in over 900 women with first-onset PP.

April 16-18, 'Creating Connections III'

Resilience, the fundamental and vital ability to be able to survive, will be the theme of this two-day conference which is organized for the third time. This time in the theater in the Efteling. The organization is in the hands of Berry Aarnoudse and Jos van de Loo, the driving forces behind Creating Connections Conference III. International speakers like Dan Siegel (Professor of clinical psychiatry at UCLA School of Medicine), Frans de Waal (Primatologist and ethologist), Witte Hoogendijk (Head of Department of Psychiatry at the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam and Professor of Psychiatry) and Marco Iacoboni (Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Biology) will give presentations.

By lectures and workshops, speakers will show interactions between various psychotherapeutic insights and trends. The relationship between attachment styles and Mindfulness, between insightful and behavioral perspectives, is underpinned by the latest scientific knowledge and research.

The conference takes place on Thursday 16 and Friday, April 17th, on Saturday, April 18th there is space for the 'post-conference', Sue Johnson, Steven Hayes and Jon Kabat Zinn give a full-day master class.

The full program can be found at www.creatingconnections.nl (Website)

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of light therapy for depression during pregnancy.

Mijke van den Berg was granted a sum of 300k Euro from NWO and 100k Euro matching money by Philips for the project 'A randomized, double-blink, placebo-controlled study of light therapy for depression during pregnancy'. This grant will provide Mijke the means to hire a PhD student and a part-time postdoc. See below for a description of the project.

Depression during pregnancy negatively affects pregnancy, birth outcome and child neurocognitive development. Since treatment with antidepressant medication is controversial because of its unknown effects on intrauterine child development, alternative non-pharmacotherapeutical interventions are of high relevance. Bright light therapy (BLT) has proven to be effective in depression, with few adverse reactions. Therefore, it is an attractive candidate treatment for pregnant women with depression. This study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial comparing the antidepressive effects of BLT with placebo in 150 pregnant women with d epression. The primary aim of this study is to investigate whether BLT is an effective treatment for depression during pregnancy compared with low-intensity light therapy (placebo). Secondary aims of the study are to demonstrate the effect of BLT on sleep quality, endocrine function during pregnancy, and on delivery outcomes; if any of these effects are present, their mediating role on mother and child outcomes will be tested.

Defining and measuring quality in General Hospital Psychiatry.

The 'Network of Quality Development in Mental Healthcare' (Dutch: Netwerk Kwaliteitsontwikkeling GGZ / https://www.kwaliteitsontwikkelingggz.nl) grants psychiatrist Maarten van Schijndel and co-applicants 160k Euro for defining a nationwide quality standard in General Hospital Psychiatry.

Maarten van Schijndel and co-applicant psychiatrists of the VU Medical Center, Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis and Rijnstate hospitals will develop a Dutch quality standard covering Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Medical Psychiatric Units. This standard will be developed in collaboration with delegates of the Dutch Association of Psychologists, patient organizations, insurance companies and referring physicians. As part of the project, relevant stakeholders will agree upon standardized quality indicators. Finally, pilot implementation of the quality standard and associated quality indicators will be carried out in the participating hospitals.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of light therapy for depression during pregnancy.

Within the NWO call ‘Light, Cognition, Behaviour and Health’ Mijke van den Berg was granted a sum of 300k Euro from NWO and 100k Euro matching money by Philips for the project “A randomized, double-blink, placebo-controlled study of light therapy for depression during pregnancy”. This grant will provide Mijke the means to hire a PhD student and a part-time postdoc. See below for a description of the project.

Depression during pregnancy negatively affects pregnancy, birth outcome and child neurocognitive development. Since treatment with antidepressant medication is controversial because of its unknown effects on intrauterine child development, alternative non-pharmacotherapeutical interventions are of high relevance. Bright light therapy (BLT) has proven to be effective in depression, with few adverse reactions. Therefore, it is an attractive candidate treatment for pregnant women with depression. This study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial comparing the antidepressive effects of BLT with placebo in 150 pregnant women with d epression. The primary aim of this study is to investigate whether BLT is an effective treatment for depression during pregnancy compared with low-intensity light therapy (placebo). Secondary aims of the study are to demonstrate the effect of BLT on sleep quality, endocrine function during pregnancy, and on delivery outcomes; if any of these effects are present, their mediating role on mother and child outcomes will be tested.

Best Poster Award presented to: Mira Staphorst.

Congratulations to Mira Staphorst, who received the Best Poster Award during the 2nd International Pediatric Conference in Europe, Amsterdam, September 25-26

Title poster: Self-reported experience of children during medical research procedures: an explorative study.
picture_as_pdf Click here

Summary: Institutional Review Boards often lack empirical evidence about children's experiences when evaluating the burden of study protocols. Therefore, we explored children's experiences in clinical research studies by interviewing them about their experiences.

Most interviewed children considered physical, mental and logistical discomfort of the medical research procedures as acceptable, and viewed their participation in clinical research as a positive experience. We used the outcomes of the interviews for the development of a questionnaire to systematically measure discomfort of medical research procedures.

Visie en meerjarenbeleidsplan afdeling Psychiatrie: Zorg voor wetenschappelijk onderzoek.

De toekomst van ons onderzoek.

picture_as_pdf Klik hier om de visie en het meerjarenplan van de afdeling Psychiatrie in te zien.

Wetenschappelijk onderzoek afdeling Psychiatrie - Jaarverslag 2013.

'Wij zijn er voor patiënten die in de gespecialiseerde GGZ onvoldoende geholpen kunnen worden en voor wetenschappelijk onderzoek voor de patiënt van morgen, waarvoor momenteel nog geen goede behandeling bestaat.'

picture_as_pdf Klik hier om het jaarverslag in te zien.

Opleiding tot psychiater op de afdeling Psychiatrie van het Erasmus MC.

De psychiater als medisch specialist.

Het algemene gedeelte van de opleiding tot psychiater in een Academisch Ziekenhuis kent veel voordelen. Het accent in de eerste twee jaar van de opleiding ligt op de diagnostiek. We zijn gewend met ingewikkelde ernstige problematiek te worden geconfronteerd waarbij de belangrijkste vraag is: wat is er met de patient aan de hand.

Onze afdelingen en opleiders zijn gewend veel aandacht te besteden aan het beantwoorden van deze vraag. Daarbij zijn belangrijke andere onderscheidende factoren van onze opleiding het samenwerken met de andere medisch specialisten, uitgebreid diagnostische mogelijkheden, het doen van wetenschappelijk onderzoek.

Op de afdeling wordt intensief supervisie gegeven en er is een breed aanbod aan onderwijsactiviteiten (bijvoorbeeld patiëntdemonstraties, wetenschappelijke bijeenkomsten, bedside teaching, neurologie, interne geneeskunde, geriatrie, discipline overstijgend onderwijs en teach de teacher).

20 mei 2014: Uitnodiging oprichtingssymposium Universitair Centrum Zwangerschapspsychiatrie, Erasmus MC.

Zwangerschapspsychiatrie is al decennia lang één van de belangrijkste speerpunten van de afdeling Psychiatrie van het Erasmus MC. Zowel op het gebied van patiëntenzorg als op het gebied van wetenschappelijk onderzoek is de afdeling nationaal en internationaal toonaangevend.

Leidend hierbij is hoogwaardige patiëntenzorg voor psychiatrisch kwetsbare zwangeren en ouders met hun jonge kinderen. Multidisciplinaire samenwerking tussen de afdelingen Psychiatrie, Gynaecologie, Kindergeneeskunde, Kinder- en Jeugdpsychiatrie/Psychologie en de Ziekenhuisapotheek is ons fundament en onze drijvende kracht.

Tevens willen wij graag feestelijk stilstaan bij onze recent vernieuwde Moeder Baby Unit op de afdeling Psychiatrie.

Wij nodigen u van harte uit om deze dag met ons mee te vieren. picture_as_pdf Klik hier voor meer informatie

Indonesian valuation and validation the EQ-5D-5L and its application in families living in unhealthy circumstances and in breast cancer patients.

At the end of April, Fredrick Dermawan Purba starts his research project entitled “Indonesian valuation and validation the EQ-5D-5L and its application in families living in unhealthy circumstances and in breast cancer patients” Fredrick is a PhD student from Indonesia.

His study (between April 2014-April 2018) is a cooperation among the Erasmus MC Rotterdam, the Free University Amsterdam, and the Padjadjaran University Bandung Indonesia.

The project was made possible by a funding of the Indonesian Directorate General of higher Education – Neso (DIKTI-Neso) PhD scholarship (www.uts.edu.au/international) and a research grant from the EuroQoL group (https://www.euroqol.org). Applicants and supervisors of the project are Joke Hunfeld, Jan Passchier (academic director international office Indonesia, VUmc), and Jan van Busschbach.

The workplace of Fredrick is at the Erasmus MC, section Medical Psychology and Psychotherapy.

Dr. Astrid Kamperman was awarded a NWO grant of 490k Euro for the project that proposes to study the adaptation, implementation and effects of the LARA intervention (Linking Abuse and Recovery through Advocacy) in Rotterdam.

The LARA intervention is specifically developed to support psychiatric patients that are victims of domestic violence. The intervention effectiveness will be evaluated in a cluster RCT.

The primary outcome is the detection rate of domestic violence. The secondary outcomes are: referral rate between community mental health care and municipal domestic violence services, and improvements in professional knowledge. The impact of the intervention on patients , feasibility, sustainability, and acceptance will be evaluated qualitatively.

The project is a collaboration between Erasmus MC, King’s College London, Antes, BavoEuropoort and GGD Rotterdam.

Dr. Veerle Bergink has received the news that her Rubicon Travelgrant has been approved.

This grant will allow her to collaborate with colleagues from the Aarhus University on:

1. The co-occurrence of postpartum psychiatric episodes and immune disorders. Identification of the sequential occurrence or co-occurrence of these two disorders could provide a solid ground on which to proceed clinically and in translational research studies.
2. Pharmacological treatment during pregnancy and subsequent risk of psychiatric episodes in women at high risk, to provide guidance to physicians regarding the optimal time-course and dosing of medication to prevent postpartum psychosis.

This proposal builds directly on accessibility to a platform of invaluable information within the Danish population-based registry of 4.4 million births, thereby providing the necessary statistical power to investigate lower-incidence disorders such as postpartum psychosis.

Studie naar vrijheidsbeperkende interventies krijgt een interne subsidie van het Erasmus MC.

Vrijheid beperkende interventies bij patiënten met somatische en psychiatrische comorbiditeit.

De felicitaties gaan uit naar psychiater Dr. K.M. Koorengevel en verpleegkundige Tim Korteland van de afdeling Psychiatrie, Erasmus MC.

Alle subsidies komen van het Erasmus MC zelf. De beoordeling van de onderzoeksvoorstellen is gedaan door de Medische Research Advies Commissie (Mrace).

Het doel is het bevorderen van kwalitatief hoogwaardig en maatschappelijk relevant medisch onderzoek en het bevorderen van samenwerking en communicatie tussen de onderzoekers.

The Stichting Koningsheide granted € 20.000 for research on the biological factors leading to aggression.

The effect of oxytocin on trust and aggression.

The Stichting Koningsheide granted € 20.000 for research on the biological factors leading to aggression, in particular the protocol "The effect of oxytocin on trust and aggression", in which Youri Berends, Hjalmar van Marle and Joke Tulen investigate the effects of an intranasal dose of oxytocin on two laboratory paradigms that measure trust and aggression.

The Stichting Koningsheide is a foundation that subsidizes projects that make a connection between psychiatry and society, with a special focus on the forensic psychiatric population. With this grant, the Stichting Koningsheide makes it possible to broaden the scope on the interaction between hormones and behavior.

Dr. Veerle Bergink was awarded an EUR fellowship grant for her Postpartum psychosis project.

Postpartum psychosis is the most severe form of pregnancy-related psychiatric illness, with a prevalence in the general population of 0.1% .

With the EUR Fellows Scheme, the Erasmus University Rotterdam wants to provide talented researchers with more assurance in their career move.

Summary project: Postpartum psychosis is the most severe form of pregnancy-related psychiatric illness, with a prevalence in the general population of 0.1% . However, the underlying pathophysiology remains uncertain.

Thus far, no endocrinological aetiology for postpartum psychosis has been demonstrated. In contrast, postpartum psychosis has remarkably similar characteristics to many pregnancy-related autoimmune diseases: cyclical exacerbation-remission pattern, high familial occurrence, and high relapse rates with subsequent pregnancies. Furthermore, they recently demonstrated that patients with postpartum psychosis have significantly elevated rates of autoimmune thyroiditis and pre-eclampsia, both of which have established (auto)immune etiologies.
Therefore, the overall aim of the proposal is to conduct a focused investigation of the novel hypothesis that immunological dysfunction represents a primary mechanism underlying the onset of postpartum psychosis.

Objectives:

1. Autoantibody screening for central nervous system antigens
2. Within-subject differential gene expression profiling: acute onset vs. remission

For this proposal, she will focus on the Rotterdam postpartum psychosis cohort, the largest such cohort in the world, for which 120 patients with postpartum psychosis have been prospectively enrolled with blood samples obtained in both the acute and remitted states. Together, these studies have the unique potential to both advance our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying postpartum psychosis, as well as provide a clinically-meaningful risk stratification algorithm.

The grant application of Mijke Lambregtse-van den Berg has been approved within the ZonMw program Goed Gebruik Geneesmiddelen.

Stop or Go? Tapering antidepressants in pregnancy: a pragmatic multicenter RCT to investigate risk and benefits for mother and child.

Summary project:

About 2% women use Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) during pregnancy for symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. SSRI use in pregnancy is controversial. On the one hand SSRIs may be toxic to the intrauterine developing child, on the other hand, relapse of depression and/or anxiety during pregnancy holds risks for mother and child. Among patients and professionals there is an urgent need for evidence from randomized studies to make rational decisions around continuing or tapering of SSRIs during pregnancy. No such studies exist to date.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of guided tapering of SSRI and additional preventive cognitive therapy in early pregnancy as compared to continuation of SSRIs during pregnancy. We will include 200 women who use an SSRI at their first antenatal visit (16 weeks gestation), without clinical anxiety and/or depression. Women will be randomized to either continuation or guided tapering of SSRI under clinical management and additional preventive cognitive therapy.

Vier keer meer nierdonoren dankzij nieuwe methode.

Mensen zijn sneller bereid een nier te doneren als ze daarover worden bijgepraat in het bijzijn van een patiënt die zo'n orgaan dringend nodig heeft.

Mensen zijn sneller bereid een nier te doneren als ze daarover worden bijgepraat in het bijzijn van een pati nt die zo'n orgaan dringend nodig heeft. Het aantal donoren zou daardoor zelfs verviervoudigen, blijkt uit onderzoek van het Rotterdamse Erasmus MC.

Een speciaal team van het ziekenhuis experimenteerde de afgelopen tijd met groepsvoorlichting. Familieleden en vrienden verzamelen zich dan bij de patiënt thuis en werden voorgelicht door een zogeheten Nierteam aan Huis. Zo'n team geeft informatie over transplantaties en kunnen vragen beantwoorden van mogelijke donoren. Het Nierteam bestaat niet alleen uit een deskundige op het gebied van transplantaties, maar ook uit een psycholoog.

De nierstichting, die het project subsidieerde, is enthousiast over de eerste resultaten: 'Er is bereikt dat vier keer meer nierpatiënten getransplanteerd zijn met een donornier van iemand uit hun naaste omgeving in vergelijking met pati nten die de voorlichting niet kregen.'

Die extra donororganen zijn hard nodig. Nierpati nten worden nu nog geconfronteerd met lange wachtlijsten. Sinds een paar jaar mogen ook levende mensen een nier afstaan, maar potiëntele donoren zijn vaak lastig te overtuigen een orgaan af te staan.

Meer informatie (Website)

Veerle Bergink over kraambedpsychoses.

Waar blijft die roze wolk?

Psychiater Veerle Bergink van het Erasmus MC over kraambedpsychoses, de zeldzame maar zeer heftige aandoening, waar zowel moeder als kind erg onder kunnen lijden. Bergink won de Ramaermedaille voor haar onderzoek.

Studio Erasmus is de maandelijkse talkshow van de Erasmus Universiteit, over wetenschap en actualiteit. Deze editie werd op 10 september 2013 opgenomen in de Rotterdamse Schouwburg en is een coproductie van SG Erasmus, Erasmus Podium en de Rotterdamse Schouwburg.
Te gast tijdens deze editie: Onno Steenbeek (econoom), Willem Jan Kortleven (rechtssocioloog), Veerle Bergink (psychiater), Bernadette Kester (mediawetenschapper), Schwalbe (theatermakers) en Sjaak Braster (onderwijskundige).

Presentatie: Geert Maarse. Productie: Lucienne Boehmer en Willem Scholten. Camera: Erik van den Berg en Floyd Richards.

Bekijk hier de talkshow (website)

Psychiatry Top Stories of 2012.

Prevention of postpartum psychosis and mania in women at high risk paper.

The editors of Journal Watch Psychiatry are pleased to present the Psychiatry Top Stories of 2012. These stories were chosen by the editorial board, with an eye toward relevance to clinical practice. At Journal Watch Psychiatry, we cover many different areas of the field.

'Prevention of postpartum psychosis and mania in women at high risk paper' is verkozen tot top 10 meest relevante paper in de psychiatrie van 2012.
Researchers from the Department of Psychiatry Erasmus MC:

Veerle Bergink, M.D.; Paul F. Bouvy, M.D., Ph.D.; Jeroen S.P. Vervoort, N.P.; Kathelijne M. Koorengevel, M.D., Ph.D.; Eric A.P. Steegers, M.D., Ph.D.; Steven A. Kushner, M.D., Ph.D.

Go to the website of JournalWATCH

Vrijdag 12 april heeft Veerle Bergink de Ramaermedaille van de Nederlandse Vereniging voor Psychiatrie ontvangen voor haar onderzoek naar postpartum psychose.

Meest verdienstelijke bijdrage op het gebied van de psychiatrische wetenschap.

Deze Ramaermedaille wordt eens in de twee jaar uitgereikt aan de Nederlander die in de afgelopen twee jaar de meest verdienstelijke bijdrage heeft geleverd op het gebied van de psychiatrische wetenschap.

De jury heeft met deze prijs erkent dat Veerle Bergink de eerste in de wereld is die systematisch gegevens van vrouwen met postpartum psychose heeft verzameld. Veerle Bergink en de gehele groep van betrokken onderzoekers (van P3 en van afdelingen waarmee wordt samengewerkt) dragen daarmee bij aan de toppositie die de Nederlandse psychiatrie inmiddels in de internationale onderzoekswereld heeft bereikt.

Meer info over kraambedpsychose: zie Bergink’s proefschrift. (Website https://repub.eur.nl)

Jay Couey and Priyanka Rao of the group of Steven Kushner have been awarded an 'Hersenstichting Kleine Subsidie'.

Molecular and functional characterization of hippocampal neuronal sub-populations activated during learned fear: Implications for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

This award will stimulate their research into the molecular and cellular mechanisms of emotional memories (see project description below).

Project Summary: Recent advances into the molecular and cellular mechanisms of emotional memories have reinvigorated efforts to develop more effective treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). However, a major challenge in elucidating the detailed biology underlying traumatic memories has been the technical difficulty to specifically identify the limited minority of neurons that participate in any given memory trace. Towards this goal, we have recently validated the use of a novel transgenic mouse strain that selectively expresses a fluorescent reporter protein specifically in neurons activated during fear learning.

Therefore, we propose an innovative and combinatorial approach of cell-type specific gene expression analysis and multi-neuron electrophysiology to characterize hippocampal neuronal ensembles specifically activated during the acquisition of a fear memory. Gene expression analysis will be performed using high-coverage RNA sequencing of neurons activated specifically during fear conditioning, using fluorescence-based cell sorting. In parallel, multi-patch electrophysiology will be performed to characterize the cell-type specific electrophysiological changes that occur during fear learning, including synaptic plasticity and local connectivity.

Together, we hope to advance our understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which traumatic memories are encoded, and ultimately provide novel avenues for clinical translation in patients with PTSD.

Maarten van Schijndel, resident in psychiatry and PhD-student, received an internal Erasmus MC research grant.

Evaluation of a high acuity Medical Psychiatry Unit (MPU) compared with Psychiatric Consultation on medical wards (standard care): a randomized controlled trial.

Maarten van Schijndel, resident in psychiatry and PhD-student, received an internal Erasmus MC research grant ('Mrace Doelmatigheidsonderzoek') of 150,000 euros for his project on the cost-effectiveness of Medical Psychiatry Units (MPUs).

Project title: 'Evaluation of a high acuity Medical Psychiatry Unit (MPU) compared with Psychiatric Consultation on medical wards (standard care): a randomized controlled trial.'

Project description: The prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity in hospital inpatients is high: more than 40% of these patients have a comorbid psychiatric condition. Psychiatric comorbidity is associated with increased morbidity, mortality, healthcare use and costs. Medical and nursing hospital staff are often inadequately trained to care for these complex patients; to improve quality and safety of care, MPUs have been set up worldwide to cater for their care needs.

An MPU is a medical ward that specializes in the (concurrent or integrated) care for patients with combined medical and psychiatric illness. Experts believe that MPUs can be cost-effective by reducing care utilization and healthcare costs. While being a widespread intervention, evidence on the (cost-)effectiveness of MPUs is limited to a number of observational studies with poor generelizability.

A 'state of the art' cost-effectiveness analysis of the future Erasmus MC Medical Psychiatry Unit (scheduled opening late 2013) will be carried out in collaboration with the Erasmus University institute of Health Policy and Management, VU University Medical Center and Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis hospital. This project uses an experimental research design (randomized controlled trial) and adopts a broad health economic perspective. Furthermore, evidence on the organization of MPUs will be generated, facilitating implentability of cost-effectiveness analysis results.

Section Medical Psychology and Psychotherapy.

Cora de Klerk and Aulia Iskandarsyah of the section Medical Psychology and Psychotherapy have received a KWF Development Cooperation Program grant of €231.680.

The project is a collaboration between the Erasmus MC, VU University Amsterdam (prof. Jan Passchier & Edith van ‘t Hof), and Padjadjaran University (prof. Sawitri Sadarjoen).

Between 2010 and 2012, this research group conducted a pilot study at the Rumah Sakit Hasan Sadikin Hospital (RSHS) in Bandung, Indonesia. The aim of the pilot study was to explore potential psychosocial and cultural factors associated with non-adherence to medical recommendations in Indonesian women with breast cancer.

The KWF grant will enable the research group to develop and evaluate a culturally sensitive and context appropriate intervention program to increase treatment adherence in this population.