Elaine Berghout

The longest-running population study in the Netherlands – The Rotterdam Study – in the Ommoord district is 35 years old. Professor of Epidemiology and research leader Arfan Ikram is still enthusiastic. The insights from ERGO have led to policy changes in the Netherlands and beyond. ‘It has triggered a change in thinking.’

With the new virtual reality screen at the Obstetrics and Gynecology outpatient clinic at Erasmus MC, it’s as if parents step into the womb. The I-Wall magnifies the secrets of the unborn fetus as a hologram. It is the centerpiece of the world’s first outpatient center for innovative prenatal imaging.

A reliable test that can quickly diagnose frontotemporal dementia. That is the goal of a new project that Erasmus MC neurologist Harro Seelaar and researcher Esther Bron are starting with 15 partners from 9 European countries. The consortium will receive a grant of almost €8 million from the Horizon Europe programme.

Recovery from a rare anti-NMDAR encephalitis is possible for longer than previously thought. In the first six months, epileptic seizures dissolve and deficits improve the fastest, but improvement is possible up to three years after diagnosis. This is evident from research by Erasmus MC. ‘I believe in growth.’

Epileptic seizures and a brain hemorrhage caused Tom van Vliet to lose trust in his own body. But after a complex, tense, and successful surgery, he now dares to make plans for his retirement. A procedure he would recommend to anyone. ‘Otherwise, we would still be living in uncertainty.’

Medical devices that doctors use to treat an aneurysm in the brain are regularly reported to be safe and effective in scientific articles, while the evidence for this claim is lacking. This is the conclusion of researchers at Erasmus MC after analyzing more than 1,350 international studies.

A red nose and then a child’s smile. Children accompanied by hospital clowns report less anxiety and pain when undergoing medical procedures than children accompanied by their parents. This is according to research by psychologist Heike Gerger of Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam.

Children who engage in sports as youth are less likely to experience anxiety and depressive problems than their peers who do not exercise. Their sense of self-esteem plays a key role. This is shown by research of Erasmus MC published in the scientific journal JAMA Psychiatry.