gezonde – -Translation – Keybot Dictionary

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Show textShow cached sourceOpen source URL	Naar een gezonde werkomgeving: het ontwikkelen en testen van interventies in de strijd tegen HIV- en tuberculosestigmatisering bij het gezondheidspersoneel in de Free State provincie, Zuid-Afrika.
Compare text pagesCompare HTM pagesOpen source URLOpen target URLDefine uantwerpen.be as primary domain	Towards a health-enabling working environment: developing and testing interventions to decrease HIV- and TB-stigma among healthcare workers in the Free State Province, South Africa.

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Show textShow cached sourceOpen source URL	Opsporen van balans strategieën tijdens het stappen bij gezonde volwassenen, patiënten met een vestibulair deficit en patiënten na een cerebrovasculair accident.
Compare text pagesCompare HTM pagesOpen source URLOpen target URLDefine uantwerpen.be as primary domain	Identification of gait adaptability strategies in healthy adults, patients with vestibular dysfunction and stroke patients.

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Om de hypothese te staven dat een verschillende verdeling van DC subtypes en/of functie bijdraagt tot een verstoring van de regulatie van de balans tussen immuniteit en tolerantie, zullen we zowel aantal, fenotype als functie van DC in het perifeer bloed van MS-patiënten en gezonde individuen bepalen.

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To date, knowledge with regard to the distribution of myeloid and plasmacytoid dendritic cells in the circulation of MS patients is lacking. To support the hypothesis that a disturbance in the distribution of DC subtypes and/or DC function contributes to an imbalance in the regulation of immunity and tolerance, the number, phenotype and function of DC in the peripheral blood of MS patient and healthy controls will be determined.

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In dit project wordt naar genen gezocht betrokken bij ouderdomsslechthorendheidn lawaai-geïnduceerde doofheid en otosclerose. Via een genoom-wijde associatiestudie worden bij aangetaste en gezonde proefpersonen honderdduizenden genetische varianten bepaald.

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The objective of this project is to find genes involved in age-related hearing impairment, nloise-induced hearing loss and otosclerosis. In a genome-wide association study, affected and non-affected persons are genotyped for hundred thousends of genetic variants across the entire genome. These variants are tested for association with the affection status. Apart from classical statistical tests, we will apply new analysis methods that are only possible if whole genome data are available.

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Om een betere differentiatie van interfererende factoren toe te laten worden ook gezonde vrijwilligers van verschillende leeftijdscategorieën en met verschillende risicoprofielen voor coronarialijden in het onderzoek betrokken.

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In this study, the effect of exercise on the number and function of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPC), is evaluated in chronic heart failure patients. A single bout of maximal exercise as well as a physical training program are investigated as stimuli for the release of EPC. Underlying physiological mechanisms are assessed and special attention goes to homing factors, nitric oxide and oxidative stress. Healthy subjects and patients with coronary artery disease will serve as a control group.

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Nieuwe modellen van het menselijke hoofd zullen worden gemaakt d.m.v. statistische analyse, verschillende types materialen en elektrodes zullen worden vergeleken en de druk die door de headset wordt uitgeoefend op het hoofd zal worden gesimuleerd om een optimaal ontwerp te bekomen, dat toegevoegde waarde zal genereren voor alle betrokken partijen. Dit ontwerp zal dan geproduceerd worden en geëvalueerd door een groep gezonde testpersonen, waarna het zal gevalideerd worden door ALS-patiënten.

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The goal of this project is to find the requirements for the design of a comfortable, wirelessly operating EEG headset which will be a first step towards medically approved EEG-BCI devices that can be used to communicate by patients and support clinicians in the diagnosis of patients suffering from brain disorders. New ways to model the human head will be researched using statistical analysis, different types of materials and electrodes will be compared and simulations of pressure exerted by the headset will be made in order to achieve an optimal design, which will provide an added value for all involved stakeholders. This design will then be produced and evaluated by a test panel of healthy subjects, after which it will be validated by patients suffering from ALS.

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Via prospectief longitudinaalonderzoek naar het voorkomen van Mycoplasma fermentans, Mycoplasma hominis and Mycoplasma penetrans dmv P CR in 50 CFS patiënten, 50 gezonde controles uit dezelfde leefomgeving en 50 chronisch vermoeide patiënten, die niet lijden aan CFS wordt gezocht naar prevalenties, alsook correlaties tussen klinisch beeld en PCR resultaat.

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The etiology of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome(CFS) remains unclear; infectious agents like Mycoplasma species have been proposed to play a role. In a prospective longitudinal study of a limited number of CFS patients(n=50), an equal number of healthy controls living in the same area and 50 patients with a CFS-Iike clinical picture, prevalence of Mycoplasma fermentans, Mycoplasma hominis and Mycoplasma penetrans is investigated by P CR. Correlations between clinical picture and laboratory results will be studied.

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Deze experimenten lopen op gezonde dieren (om in vivo een beter beeld te krijgen van de overleving, migratie en functie van autologe en allogene adulte stamcellen) en ziekte- en letselmodellen (om mogelijke therapeutische toepassingen van stamcellen te evalueren).

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MRI and bioluminescence imaging allow the study of transplantation effects over time in small animal models, by visualizing and quantifying endogenous and externally administered stem cell recruitment in rodents and songbirds in vivo. These experiments are performed both in healthy animals to gain better insight into the survival, migration and function of autologous and allogeneic adult stem cells in vivo, and in disease and injury models to assess the potential therapeutic use of stem cells.

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Show textShow cached sourceOpen source URL	18. De master promoot een gezonde levensstijl.
Compare text pagesCompare HTM pagesOpen source URLOpen target URLDefine uantwerpen.be as primary domain	18. The master promotes a healthy lifestyle.

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Show textShow cached sourceOpen source URL	INTER-ACT studie: coaching tussen zwangerschappen voor een gezonde toekomst
Compare text pagesCompare HTM pagesOpen source URLOpen target URLDefine uantwerpen.be as primary domain	INTER-ACT study: Inter-pregnancy coaching for a healthy future.

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Dit onderzoek richt zich op het zoeken naar nieuwe biomerkers voor deze aandoening die gemeten kunnen worden door middel van niet-invasieve staalname. Hiervoor wordt gebruik gemaakt van de differentiële analyse van proteïnen in speeksel, nasale lavage matrix en uitgeademende lucht condensaat bij astmapatiënten en gezonde controlepersonen.

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Asthma is a chronic disease of the airways that is common in young children. For the moment diagnosis of this disease is not possible under the age of 6. This project focuses for new biomarkers for asthma that can be detected in non-invasive matrices. To accomplish this, differential analysis of proteins will be assessed in saliva, nasal lavage fluid and exhaled breath condensate in asthma patients and healthy controls. Because of the non-invasive way of sampling, a diagnostic test based on the new biomarkers can be used on children, but is also more ethical for adults.

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Terwijl het de klinische consequenties van sommige varianten eenduidig zijn, kunnen anderen aanwezig in zowel ogenschijnlijk gezonde en ernstig gestoord familieleden zijn, wat aangeeft dat disease modifying varianten een rol in de klinische presentatie spelen.

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Today, technologies exist that are able to screen complete human genomes for genetic defects, hereby producing massive amounts of data. These techniques include microarrays for the detection of duplicated or missing genomic material and next-generation sequencing for the detection of variation at the nucleotide level. In parallel, extensive public resources contain additional biological information on the observed variation to aid in interpretation of the data. While some variants show full penetrance, others can be present in both seemingly healthy and severely impaired family members, indicating that disease modifying variants play a role in the clinical presentation. This led to the formulation of a 'many genes, common pathways' paradigm. To study genetic variation under this paradigm, novel models placing interpretation of individual results in a context of multiple patients are mandatory. Searching for common patterns over large patient cohorts might identify recurrently affected pathways with a critical role in the studied disease. Simultaneously considering multiple variants affecting such a pathway will thus help to explain both the observed phenotype and combined with pedigree information, the intrafamilial variability. Here, we will investigate how we can apply state-of-the-art data mining methods to reveal hidden relationships between variants, with the goal of gaining new insights in the molecular pathology of heritable diseases, focusing on cognitive disorders.

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Verder zal onderzocht worden of de geïdentificeerde risicogenen in AD, de ontwikkeling van "Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)" naar AD kunnen voorspellen bij MCI patiënten. Bevindingen uit het AD onderzoek zullen tevens geanalyseerd worden in een groep gezonde individuen afkomstig van een Zweedse geheugenpopulatie.

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in the elderly. In the majority of AD patients the molecular cause of neurodegeneration is so far unknown. Once AD appears it can be considered as an end point of several disease processes which impedes the research of the exact etiology. Intermediate phenotypes such as the episodic memory, which change early in the pathological process are more directly under influence of the underlying genetic factors and can therefore support the genetic research of AD. By a molecular genetic approach this project will contribute to the research of the neurodegenerative process in AD and will therefore lead to a better understanding of the etiology of dementia. Genetic association studies on selected candidate genes as well as genomic association studies will be performed in a large and well characterized Belgian AD population. The role of the identified AD risk genes in the conversion of "Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)" to AD will be further investigated in MCI patients. Results from the AD research will also be analyzed in a group of healthy individuals coming from a Swedish memory population. Additionally we will identify novel biomarkers in plasma or cerebrospinal fluid using amyloid beta quantifications and proteomics profiling experiments. When genetic informative multiplex families are available, genomic linkage studies will be carried out.

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In gezondheidseconomische evaluatie, zoals toegepast in dit rapport, wordt hetgeen het grootste voordeel is voor onze maatschappij gedefinieerd als de combinatie van interventies die leiden tot de grootste mogelijke gezondheidswinst, voor zoveel mogelijk mensen (d.i. het maximaliseren van de gezondheidswinst (hier hoofdzakelijk uitgedrukt als levensjaren en "voor kwaliteit van leven aangepaste levensjaren" of "gezonde levensjaren" (Quality Adjusted Life Year, QALY)), gegeven een beperkt budget.

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In this report, a simulation model was used to help understand the implications of deciding on the use of the currently available oral rotavirus vaccines (Rotarix® and RotaTeq®) to our greatest advantage. In health economic evaluation, as applied in this report, what is to our society's greatest advantage is defined as the combination of interventions leading to the greatest possible health gains, for as many people as possible (i.e. maximization of health gains (expressed here mainly as life years and Quality-Adjusted Life-Years (QALYs gained)), under a given budget constraint. We have reviewed the international published and unpublished literature, and collected and analyzed a wide range of Belgian epidemiological and cost data. A simulation model was developed, parameterized and fitted by using scientifically validated data, as much as possible from Belgian sources. Simulations were performed to estimate how effective and cost-effective universal rotavirus vaccination of Belgian children would be.

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Vervolgens zullen we een experimenteel cross-sectioneel onderzoek ontwikkelen waarbij patiënten met mild cognitive impairment (MCI), patiënten met een milde vorm van Alzheimer en een gezonde controlegroep worden getest.

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Research has shown that Alzheimer (AD) patients manifest deterioration in language production. This research project aims to develop valid screening tasks that enable researchers and clinicians to characterize the longitudinal decline of on-line written language production in AD over a 12- month period. These aims will be addressed in three consecutive studies: 1. a task-validity study, 2. a cross-sectional study, and 3. a longitudinal study. Since findings from previous research indicate the need for a screening task that assesses multiple components of language, we will combine writing tasks that focus on motor and cognitive and linguistic aspects. The more general screening tasks (i.c., describing two pictures depicting a situation) that focus on the cognitive and linguistic aspects need to be validated first. The quality of the elicitation, and consequently of the screening tool, will benefit from a careful validation of the tasks at hand. Based on the findings of the task validity study, we will design an experimental cross-sectional study involving patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), mild AD and a healthy control group. The observation method used, keystroke logging, is non-intrusive, timesaving, and hence cost-reducing, when compared to other diagnostic tools. Finally, in a longitudinal study, the cross-sectional study will be replicated at three different moments (0-6-12 months) in order to document the (potential) cognitive decline.

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Van bepaalde biomarkers is reeds bewezen dat ze bijdragen aan de diagnostische accuraatheid en in staat zijn om de ziekte van Alzheimer (AD) te onderscheiden van gezonde controles en patiënten met een depressie of andere psychiatrische stoornissen.

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This project aims to investigate biochemical markers for dementia with Lewy bodies aiming at improved clinical diagnosis of this neurological disorder that is often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's disease. This research project aims at improving the AD versus DLB differential dementia diagnosis, combining both existing and new biomarkers: Neurodegenerative dementias are characterized by changes in the brain that include aggregation and deposition of proteins. Biochemical markers (biomarkers) that reflect these neuropathological changes have potential diagnostic value. Some biomarkers have proven their diagnostic value and are able to discriminate Alzheimer's disease (AD) from healthy controls and patients with depression or other psychiatric disorders. However, given the overlap in clinical symptoms, pathology and pathophysiology, the discrimination of AD from dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) remains a clinically relevant but unsolved issue. A correct and early AD diagnosis will be of great importance once disease-modifying drugs for AD will become available as these (potentially toxic) drugs will probably be not effective for other types of dementia. This research will focus on biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that reflect the neuropathology and thus with potential diagnostic value for discriminating AD from DLB. The combination of different biomarkers in clinically and pathologically well-characterized patient groups makes this research valuable and is clinically relevant as probably only the combination of markers can achieve more accurate results to discriminate DLB from AD. This research will not only improve diagnosing AD and DLB but will also provide new insights in the pathophysiology of dementia.

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Er wordt gesteld dat de anti-kanker capaciteit van plasma gerelateerd is aan de vorming van reactieve zuurstof en stikstof deeltjes (reactive oxygen and nitrogen species; RONS). Voorgaand onderzoek heft ook aangetoond dat plasma selectief kancercellen kan doden ipv gezonde cellen, wat een voordeel is tov traditionele behandelingsmethoden, zoals radio- en chemotherapie.

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Recently, a new approach based on non-thermal plasma (NTP) to treat cancer cells is gaining interest in the medical field. Plasma is an ionized gas. It is a highly reactive mixture, containing electrons, ions, radicals and energetic neutrals, while still operating at room temperature. Precisely this combination of reactive species and low gas temperature makes it suitable for treating biological samples. It is suggested that the killing capacity of plasma is related to the formation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS). Moreover, previous research showed that plasma can selectively kill cancer cells over healthy cells, which is an advantage over traditional treatment methods, such as radio- and chemotherapy. Unfortunately, little is known about the actual working mechanism, or selectivity, making it difficult to convince pharmaceutical collaborators to invest in this technique and develop it into a valuable treatment option for cancer. During this research, I will investigate the anti-cancer capacity of NTP, which RONS are responsible, and how NTP alters the DNA damage response (DDR) of cancer cells. The latter is a collection of mechanisms that are activated whenever DNA damage is detected in order to repair it. This is interesting because (a) plasma is shown to induce DNA damage, and (b) it is known that the DDR of cancer cells is already partially compromised, making it a valuable oncological target. I will use a brain tumour, glioblastoma multiforme, as model.

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An prominent onderdeel is de verplichting van lidstaten om hun begrotingen in evenwicht te houden. Dat creëert een spanning tussen het principe van parlementaire democratie, fundamentele rechten en een gezonde financiële status.

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The reforms in fiscal and budgetary governance triggered by the 2008 financial crisis brought about a major shift in governance architecture and instruments. A prominent feature is the obligation for Member States to have a sound and balanced public budget. This creates a tension between parliamentary democracy, human rights and a sound public financial status. Instead of a top-down approach, a coordinating system is set up that triggers fiscal responsibility at the national level, yielding paradoxical results. While the budget is to an extent depoliticized, a conflict of constitutional principles and values arises. In some cases, the forum for this balancing exercise will be the judiciary - a far cry from their role as the mere bouches de la loi. But the national balancing act – hypothesise a budget in deficit justified on human rights claims - might have important consequences on the European level. A clash between national authorities and the European Commission or the Court of Justice on budgetary matters is a plausible option due to the new regulatory framework. Two research questions are put forward: firstly, what are the normative arguments underpinning judicial involvement? Several problems arise with respect to the separation of powers and the legitimacy questions intertwined with such a review. Secondly, how should judges approach questions related to public finances: for instance, how to discern between structural and cyclical deviations? -

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Op basis van de bevindingen van het validiteitsonderzoek, zullen we een experimenteel vergelijkend onderzoek uitvoeren bij drie groepen: 1. patiënten met een milde cognitieve beperking (MCI); 2. patiënten met milde dementie als gevolg van de ziekte van Alzheimer; 3. een gezonde controlegroep. De onderzoeksmethode die we hierbij gebruiken is toetsregistratie (keystroke logging).

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Research has shown that Alzheimer (AD) patients manifest deterioration in language production. This research project aims to develop complementary screening tasks that enable researchers and clinicians to characterize the longitudinal decline of on-line written language production in AD . These aims will be addressed in three consecutive studies: 1. a task-validity study, 2. a cross-sectional study, and 3. a longitudinal study. Since findings from previous research indicate the need for a screening task that assesses multiple components of language, we will combine writing tasks that focus on motor and cognitive and linguistic aspects. The more general screening tasks (i.c., describing two pictures depicting a situation) that focus on the cognitive and linguistic aspects need to be validated first. The quality of the elicitation, and consequently of the screening tool, will benefit from a careful validation of the tasks at hand. Based on the findings of the task validity study, we will design an experimental cross-sectional study involving patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), mild AD and a healthy control group. The observation method used, keystroke logging, is non-intrusive, time-saving, and hence cost-reducing, when compared to other diagnostic tools. Finally, in a longitudinal study, the cross-sectional study will be replicated twice (after 6 and 12 months) in order to document the (potential) gradual cognitive decline.

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In een zeer grote Belgische FTLD stamboom identificeerden we eerder een GRN nulmutatie. Deze stamboom telt 7 generaties en 226 klinisch gedocumenteerde personen, waarvan 42 patiënten (aanvangsleeftijden variërend van 45 tot 76 jaar) en verscheidene gezonde mutatie dragers.

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Mutations in the gene progranulin (GRN) are an important cause of familial frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). A striking feature is the wide variability of onset age in mutation carriers, which can span 40 years within one family. This points towards the existence of one or multiple potent modifiers of the onset of disease. Insight into these modifying factors may provide inroads for development of therapy that can delay or even prevent the disease. In this project we will follow a family-based approach to discover genetic modifiers of onset age of GRN-related neurodegeneration. In an extended Belgian pedigree segregating FTLD we identified a GRN null mutation. This pedigree offers a powerful setting for this onset age analysis, including 226 clinically well documented individuals spanning at least 7 generations amongst whom 42 patients (onset age ranging from 45 to 76 years) and numerous at risk mutation carriers. Segregation analyses suggest one major quantitative trait locus (QTL) affecting onset age in this pedigree. We will employ a combination of methods to identify the genetic modifier, starting from a genome-wide linkage analysis for censored traits, SNP fine-mapping and next generation sequencing. Comparative brain transcriptomics and serum proteomics have been performed on a number of relatives, facilitating identification of the genetic modifying factor.

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Tevens is er klinisch bewijs van een gewijzigde scapula positionering en bewegingspatroon tijdens een elevatie taak van de schouder bij patiënten met nekklachten in vergelijking met gezonde proefpersonen.

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;Neck pain is one of the three most commonly reported musculoskeletal complaints, with point prevalence's varying between 10% and 22%. The lifetime prevalence has been estimated to be between 67% and 71% indicating that approximately two-thirds of all individuals will experience an episode of neck pain at some time during life. Several alterations in scapulothoracic muscle activity has been reported in patients with neck pain. In addition, there is clinical evidence that scapular position at rest and scapular motion during elevation of the upper limb may be altered in individuals with neck pain when compared to a healthy population. However, the literature clearly lacks a comprehensive studying of this relationship between scapular dysfunctions and neck pain. These insights may contribute to the rationale for the development of new therapeutic and/or preventive interventions. Therefore, the general purpose of this study is to obtain an understanding in the movement of the scapula in patients with neck pain in comparison to healthy controls. This leads to the following research questions: Do subjects with neck pain have a different movement pattern of the scapula compared to asymptomatic control subjects? and which variables affect scapular movement in neck pain patients? Consequently, patients with grade II neck pain according to the Classification of The Bone and Joint Task Force on Neck Pain and matched controls will be enrolled in this study. Pain and function will be evaluated with a Visual Analogue Scale, Neck Disability Index, Neck Bournemouth Questionnaire and CROM for cervical range of motion. The movement of the scapula will measured with the Polhemus 3SPACE FASTRAK, in order to register three scapular motions: posterior tilting (X-axis), upward rotation (Y-axis) and external/internal rotation (Z-axis).

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In vergelijking met gezonde controlepersonen van dezelfde leeftijd, is er een afname van de Aß concentratie en een toename van de tau en P-tau concentraties in het CSV van patiënten met de ziekte van Alzheimer.

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Diagnosis of sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD) is based on clinical exclusion criteria and the required diagnostic work-up is time-consuming and expensive at best resulting in a diagnosis of probable AD. In specialized centers, a diagnostic accuracy of maximally 65-90 % is obtained. Besides, diagnosis is only definite on post-mortem neuropathological examination of the brain. Therefore, a validated biological marker allowing diagnosing AD at an early stage of the disease is highly desirable. In AD, several proteins accumulate in the brain. As the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is in close contact with the brain, those proteins can be detected in the CSF. CSF levels of beta-amyloid protein (BAP) are decreased in AD patients compared to age-matched controls whereas CSF levels of protein tau (tau), hyperphosphorylated tau (P-tau) are increased compared to controls. The determination of BAP, tau or P-tau helps discriminating AD from normal aging or depression. However, as changes in biomarker levels are found in other dementia syndromes too, the discriminatory power of each biomarker separately is too small to allow differentiation between AD and other forms of dementia. We hypothesize that a combined assessment of CSF levels of BAP, tau and P-tau increases discriminatory power allowing differentiating AD from other dementias or to identify patients with incipient AD. As this combined assessment has not been validated and as its discriminatory power and its added diagnostic value remain to be established, we set up a prospective study. Aims: (1) To validate and to establish the added value of a combined assessment of CSF levels of BAP, tau and P-tau for diagnosing AD and for discriminating AD from other forms of dementia. (2) To establish the predictive value of a combined assessment of CSF levels of BAP, tau and P-tau for the conversion to AD in patients with mild cognitive impairment (patients with isolated memory problems, not severe enough to allow diagnosing a dementia; many of those patients appear to have incipient AD). (3) The identification of specific clinical, behavioral and neuropsychological symptoms that are associated with certain biomarker profiles.

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Deze doctoraatstudie richt zich op dynamische evenwichtscontrole bij gezonde volwassenen, patiënten met een vestibulaire dysfunctie en patiënten na een beroerte. De focus ligt op het identificeren van verschillende strategieën om de gang aan te passen aan verminderde dynamische balanscontrole.

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The objective of this PhD study is to investigate dynamic balance control in a population consisting of healthy adults, patients with vestibular dysfunction and stroke patients, thereby exploring different strategies to adapt gait to reduced dynamic balance control. To do so, biomechanical measures of gait stability, will be considered as primary outcome measures. Secondary outcome measures are postural instability, falls and fear of falling, documented using the "Dizziness Handicap Inventory" (DHI) and the "Activities specific Balance Confidence scale" (ABC). Fall risk is determined using standardized clinical tests. The goal of this study is to gain further insight into the relation between variability in foot placement, measures of biomechanical stability and postural instability, risk of falling and documented falls. Different populations will be considered, consisting of community dwelling adults, patients with vestibular deficit and stroke patients. Patients with vestibular deficit are an interesting population to study gait adaptability because, despite loss of vestibular function, in unilateral vestibular deficit no increased risk of falling is observed. In stroke patients, on the other hand, up to 50 percent annually reports a fall. Differences in gait adaptability strategies in these three populations will be investigated using a case-control design. To investigate predictive ability of gait stability measures a prospective cohort study will be performed. Insight into gait adaptability strategies creates opportunities to develop guidelines for gait training and rehabilitation.

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Hiertoe zullen we investeren in het uitbouwen van een uitgebreide, goed gekarakteriseerde collectie van biologische materialen ¿ DNA/RNA, plasma/serum, EBV cellijnen, fibroblasten, CSF, hersenmateriaal ¿ van FTLD patiënten, families en gezonde controle individuen om zodoende een krachtig instrument creëren om genoomwijde associatiestudies te ondernemen.

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Aging of the global population has caused dementia to become one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Notwithstanding there is still no therapy available that can cure or prevent dementia. For this research project our focus is on frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). FTLD is after Alzheimer's disease one of the major causes of dementia, accounting for 5 to 10% of all dementia patients and up to 20% of patients younger than 65 years. Up to up to 40% of FTLD patients have a positive family history of dementia. In the last few years major progress has been made in dissecting the genetic etiology of FTLD. Four genes have already been identified for autosomal dominant FTLD ¿ MAPT, PGRN, CHMP2B, VCP ¿ explaining about 20% of patients. Despite these efforts the majority of FTLD patients still remain unexplained. It is expected that in these patients the cause of the disease is complex in nature, i.e. the result of interplay between genetic and environmental factors. The aim of this research project is to identify such genetic factors that contribute to the risk of developing FTLD in a significant fraction of patients trough a genome-wide association approach. To this extent we will invest in the assembly of an extended, well-documented collection of biomaterials ¿ DNA/RNA, plasma/serum, EBV cell lines, fibroblasts, CSF, brain material ¿ from FTLD patients, families, and control individuals to create a powerful tool to undertake genome-wide association studies. This project will allow extended clinical, pathological, and biologic information to be combined with whole-genome information which will in turn offer the potential to increase our understanding of the pathogenesis of FTLD and provide targets for early diagnosis, prevention and therapy.

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Deze Skellefteå populatie is een geografisch geïsoleerde populatie, gesticht in 1320 en gekarakteriseerd door lage immigratie en emigratie en een hoge expansiesnelheid. Voor de associatiestudies hebben we patiënten-controle populaties bestaande uit 276 SZ patiënten en 500 gezonde onverwante individuen en 276 BP patiënten en 500 gezonde onverwante individuen.

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This PhD project aims to identify susceptibility genes that play a role in the etiology of the psychiatric disorders schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BP). Both are severe psychiatric disorders with a worldwide prevalence of about 1%. Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder characterized by the cyclic alteration of manic and depressive periods, schizophrenia is characterized by the occurrence of psychoses (periods in which contact with reality is disturbed), affective and cognitive symptoms. These are complex disorders, meaning that they are caused by an interaction of different genetic and environmental factors. Despite the high prevalence, morbidity and socio-economical costs, the pathophysiology and etiology of BP and SZ are still unknown. In this project we will use a positional cloning strategy. By performing a complete genome scan we will be able to determine chromosomal regions that show linkage with the disorders and positional candidate genes will be evaluated for their contribution to the etiology of BP and SZ through association studies. Also already known functional candidate genes will be analyzed using population based association studies. For the genome scan we have access to a unique family-based patient population from the Skellefteå region in the province of Västerbotten (northern Sweden). This Skellefteå population is a geographically isolated population, founded in 1320 and characterized by low immigration and emigration and a high expansion rate. For the association studies we have patient-control populations existing of 276 SZ patients and 500 non-related healthy controls and 276 BP patients and 500 non-related healthy controls.

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Het humaan amnionvlies wensen wij te begruiken als cultuur bodem waarop regenertaie van eilandjes van gezonde conjunctiva kan plaatsvinden en meer in het bijzonder van conjunctivale epitheel cellen zodat deze opnieuw bekwaam is om mucine aan te maken vanuit gegenereerde goblet cells, onontbeerlijk om de traanfilm aan het corneaal oppervlak te hechten.

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The conjunctiva is a thin membrane, which covers the white part of the eye and the inside of the eyelids. It is essential that this membrane functions correctly as it plays an important role in the maintenance of a healthy ocular surface and the preservation of vision. In some ocular disorders, the conjunctiva is damaged resulting in excessive scarring leading to surface disorders such as severe dry eyes, eyelid distortions and eventually blindness. Current treatment strategies for conjunctival reconstruction include surgically removing the diseased tissue and placing a human amniotic membrane over the bare sclera to aid in tissue regeneration. However, at times either due to the nature of the diseased environment, or a lack of properly functioning conjunctival stem cells, there is aberrant wound healing with scar formation, worsening the outlook for ocular reconstruction. In this project, we address this issue by creating a cellularized conjunctival substitute that can be transplanted onto the ocular surface following debridement of diseased tissue. This approach intends to reduce/eliminate scar formation and facilitate regeneration by providing a functional conjunctival replacement containing both mucin producing goblet cells to stabilize the tear film as well as conjunctival epithelial cells to establish a barrier to infectious microbes. The human amniotic membrane will be investigated as a biological scaffold for cultivating the cellular grafts for this purpose.

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Deze Skellefteå populatie is een geografisch geïsoleerde populatie, gesticht in 1320 en gekarakteriseerd door lage immigratie en emigratie en een hoge expansiesnelheid. Voor de associatiestudies hebben we patiënten-controle populaties bestaande uit 276 SZ patiënten en 500 gezonde onverwante individuen en 276 BP patiënten en 500 gezonde onverwante individuen.

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This PhD project aims to identify susceptibility genes that play a role in the etiology of the psychiatric disorders schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BP). Both are severe psychiatric disorders with a worldwide prevalence of about 1%. Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder characterized by the cyclic alteration of manic and depressive periods, schizophrenia is characterized by the occurrence of psychoses (periods in which contact with reality is disturbed), affective and cognitive symptoms. These are complex disorders, meaning that they are caused by an interaction of different genetic and environmental factors. Despite the high prevalence, morbidity and socio-economical costs, the pathophysiology and etiology of BP and SZ are still unknown. In this project we will use a positional cloning strategy. By performing a complete genome scan we will be able to determine chromosomal regions that show linkage with the disorders and positional candidate genes will be evaluated for their contribution to the etiology of BP and SZ through association studies. Also already known functional candidate genes will be analyzed using population based association studies. For the genome scan we have access to a unique family-based patient population from the Skellefteå region in the province of Västerbotten (northern Sweden). This Skellefteå population is a geographically isolated population, founded in 1320 and characterized by low immigration and emigration and a high expansion rate. For the association studies we have patient-control populations existing of 276 SZ patients and 500 non-related healthy controls and 276 BP patients and 500 non-related healthy controls.

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Nochtans blijven fundamentele vragen over de exacte functie van microorganismen in de darm onbeantwoord voor de meerderheid van therapeutische, toxische en voedingsgerelateerde xenobiotica. De globale samenstelling van het darm microbioom blijkt over het algemeen stabiel bij gezonde volwassenen, en draagt bij tot een goede gezondheid.

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The human lives in symbiosis with millions of micro-organisms. A great amount of bacteria is located in the human gut. These micro-organisms, in combination with their unique genes, are called the gastrointestinal microbiome. Only recently the role of the intestinal microbiome in the formation of metabolites of orally ingested compounds has become evident. Fundamental questions concerning the role of the gut microbiome however remain unanswered for the majority of therapeutic, toxic and diet-derived xenobiotics. The composition of the gut microbiome is quite stable in healthy adults and contributes to the maintenance of a healthy state in adulthood. On the other hand, several pathological states are characterized by a modified composition of the intestinal microflora as already demonstrated in obesity and type 2 diabetes. Therefore, the aim of the project is to develop an integrated experimental platform to identify biotransformation due to the microbiome and to evaluate the influence of different disorders (type 2 diabetes, obesity) on this 'microbiotic metabolism'. The fate of the test compounds (simvastatin, tetrabromobisphenol A and epigallocatechin gallate) in a validated in vitro gastrointestinal dialysis system with a colon phase and in well-characterized phenotypes of healthy people and obese and type 2 diabetic patients, will be studied. Detection and identification of the metabolites will be achieved by advanced analytical techniques.

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Zij gaan ervan uit, tot bewijs van het tegendeel, dat de vaccins levenslange bescherming bieden, op voorwaarde dat een adequaat immuunantwoord na volledige vaccinatie werd aangetoond bij een gezonde persoon.

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Hepatitis B is an infectious disease, which has a global occurrence and which causes substantial morbidity and mortality. Recent estimates show that 1/3 of the world's population has ever been exposed to the hepatitis B virus (HBV), that 367 million people are HBV carriers, and that hepatitis B causes 600,000 deaths each year. Yet hepatitis B is prevenatble by vaccination. Therefore, the World Health Organization (WHO) has incited to incorporate hepatitis B vaccination into the existing vaccination programmes, sinds 1997. In the year 2000, after having reviewed the data on the persistence of vaccine-induced antibodies and on the cellular-mediated immunity after vaccination against hepatitis B, and in view of the absence of reports of clinical cases of hepatitis B in vaccinated persons, an expert group reached a consensus that there is no need for hepatitis B booster vaccination. Vaccine-induced protection is assumed to last life-long, conditional on an adequate immune response after a complete series of hepatitis B vaccines in a healthy person. Nevertheless, the exact duration of protection after vaccination remains unknown, despite the availability of hepatitis B vaccines for over 20 years. Since universal hepatitis B vaccination has been implemented 168 countries (mostly in newborns and infants), knowledge on the duration of protection is currently needed. This research project aims to augment this knowledge, by measuring the anti-HBs antibody levels in a time series (up to 15 years) of annual blood samples of adults who have been fully vaccinated against hepatitis B and who have received their last dose at least 5 years ago. In addition, the hepatitis B-specific immune memory will be determined - both anti-HBs producing B-lymphocytes and hepatitis B-specific T-helper type 1 and type 2 memory T-lymphocytes - and the seroconversion for anti-HBc antibodies and HBsAg antigen during the follow-up period will be assessed. These data will also be used to study which variables influence the presence and/or the magnitude of HBsAg-specific cellular-mediated immunity, and to study the correlation between humoral and cellular immunity.

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Het doel van deze studie is het onderzoeken van de methylatiepercentages van het NR3C1-1F exon en het effect hiervan op het feedbacksysteem van de HPA-as in tinnituspatiënten, vergeleken met gezonde controles.

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Tinnitus is a prevalent and potentially disabling disorder characterised by the perception of sound in the absence of an external sound source. Like other chronic health problems, tinnitus can be regarded as a chronic stressor, leading to a dysregulation of the hypothalamo-hypopituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. More specifically, a hypersuppression of cortisol is seen in tinnitus patients after administration of a low dose of dexamethasone, suggesting an enhanced HPA axis feedback sensitivity. The mechanism responsible for this enhanced negative feedback remains unclear, but epigenetic phenomena such as hypomethylation of the 1F exon of the glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1), an important component of the HPA axis feedback system, might be involved. The current study aims to investigate the methylation percentage of the NR3C1-1F exon, as well as its effect on glucocorticoid feedback in tinnitus patients as compared to healthy controls. In tinnitus patients, lower methylation percentages of the NR3C1-1F exon and an associated hypersuppression of cortisol secretion in response to a 0.5mg dexamethasone challenge are expected. Given the frequent co-morbidity of and the clinical overlap between tinnitus and panic disorder, characterised by recurrent and unexpected panic attacks, the effect of panic attacks on NR3C1-1F methylation and its impact on negative HPA axis feedback in tinnitus patients will also be investigated. NR3C1-1F methylation percentages are expected to be higher in the group with panic attacks, and associated with a higher cortisol secretion following the dexamethasone suppression test, due to the normal to low cortisol suppression rates reported in PD. 60 patients with tinnitus for which insufficient medical cause was found, will be recruited at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of the Antwerp University Hospital, among them 30 patients with and 30 without panic attacks. Exclusion criteria are a current diagnosis of major depressive or post-traumatic stress disorder, active substance abuse or a past or current diagnosis of bipolar or psychotic disorder, pregnancy or lactation, treatment with corticosteroids or hormonal replacement therapy (with the exception of contraception). 30 healthy controls will be matched for age and gender. DNA will be isolated from peripheral blood and analyzed through quantitative pyrosequencing to determine methylation percentages of the NR3C1-1F exon. mRNA will be isolated from whole blood and expression levels w