Neuroprotection & Neuromodulation - NEUR

06/10/2025

Heb je ooit gehoord van het cerebellum, de kleine hersenen, achter in je hoofd gelegen?
De meeste mensen niet, en lange tijd dacht men dat het alleen beweging en evenwicht regelde. Maar het doet veel meer: het speelt ook een rol in hoe we denken!

Hoewel het cerebellum traditioneel niet met de ziekte van Alzheimer wordt geassocieerd, laat de nieuwe studie van Van Rossem en collega’s zien dat Alzheimerpatiënten met een kleiner cerebellum slechter presteren op taken die taal, geheugen en oriëntatie meten.

Blijkbaar is het cerebellum dan toch belangrijker dan we dachten!🧠

Benieuwd? Je kunt het volledige artikel hier lezen: https://rdcu.be/eIiGr

VUB - Vrije Universiteit Brussel UZ Brussel

11/09/2025

🧠 New Case Report Published!

Dr. Anissa Ourtani and colleagues shared a rare case where a stroke in the brainstem (pontine infarction) caused not only movement problems, but also changes in thinking and emotions.

✨ The study shows that the cerebellum – usually thought of as the “movement center” of the brain – also plays a big role in memory, attention, and mood.

👏 Big congratulations to the researchers for shedding light on this important brain–mind connection!

📖Read the full article here: https://doi.org/10.58624/SVOANE.2025.06.021

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🧠 Nieuw casusrapport gepubliceerd!

Dr. Anissa Ourtani en haar collega's deelden een zeldzame casus waarbij een beroerte in de hersenstam (pontine infarct) niet alleen bewegingsproblemen veroorzaakte, maar ook veranderingen in denken en emoties.

✨ De studie laat zien dat het cerebellum – meestal gezien als het “bewegingscentrum” van de hersenen – ook een belangrijke rol speelt bij geheugen, aandacht en stemming.

👏 Grote felicitaties aan de onderzoekers voor het belichten van deze belangrijke verbinding tussen brein en geest!

📖 Lees het volledige artikel hier: https://doi.org/10.58624/SVOANE.2025.06.021

05/09/2025

🎓 Congratulations to Dr. Joke Temmerman! 🎉

This week, Joke successfully defended publicly her PhD:
"Disease progression biomarkers in multiple sclerosis: paving the way towards clinical implementation" .🧠

Supervised by Profs. Miguel d'haeseleer, Maria Bjerke and Sebastiaan Engelborghs, Joke explored how brain imaging and blood-based biomarkers can detect progression in multiple sclerosis. Her work highlights the value of combining different biomarkers to improve monitoring of disease progression, while also addressing the current limitations for routine clinical use.

Wishing you all the best in your next chapter! 🚀

01/09/2025

📢 We start September with a PhD thesis! 💪 📖

This Wednesday Joke Temmerman will publicly defend her PhD thesis: ¨Disease progression biomarkers in multiple sclerosis: paving the way towards clinical implementation¨ . 🧠 In her PhD research, she finds support for using multiple biomarkers to detect the hidden progression of multiple sclerosis.

Joke was supervised by Prof. Miguel D'haeseleer, Prof. Maria Bjerke and Prof. Sebastiaan Engelborghs

Best of luck! 🍀

UAntwerpen VUB - Vrije Universiteit Brussel UZ Brussel

26/06/2025

🧠 Nieuw onderzoek helpt Alzheimer beter te begrijpen!

We hebben een nieuw model getest dat helpt om in te schatten in welk ziektestadium iemand met een ziekte van Alzheimer zich bevindt. Dit kan artsen helpen om de ziekte eerder en nauwkeuriger te herkennen — ook in de dagelijkse praktijk.

Een stap vooruit richting snellere diagnose en betere behandelingen in de toekomst!

📖 Lees meer (in het Engels): https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-025-01788-6

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VUB - Vrije Universiteit Brussel UZ Brussel

Background Event-based modeling (EBM) traces sequential progression of events in complex processes like neurodegenerative diseases, adept at handling uncertainties. This study validated an EBM for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) staging designed by EuroPOND, an EU-funded Horizon 2020 project, using resea...

27/03/2025

News from our Vietnam visit! 🗺️

Today, the VUB Rector and Vice-Rector and the VUB - Vrije Universiteit Brussel delegation, amongst whom Profs. Guy Nagels (AIMS) and Sebastiaan Engelborghs (NEUR), met with H.E. Mr. Karl Van den Bossche, ambassador of Belgium in Vietnam. Our bilateral collaborations have been discussed, as well as the topic of prevention of dementia, brain health and brain age🧠.

Very interesting and stimulating discussions! 💡

VUB International Relations UZ Brussel Embassy of Belgium in Vietnam

26/03/2025

🗺️ Today, Prof. dr. ir. Guy Nagels (AIMS Research Group) and Prof. dr. Sebastiaan Engelborghs (NEUR Research Group) have visited Bệnh viện Bạch Mai hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam. This is the largest hospital of Vietnam, and has a strong link with Associate Professor Linh-Trung Nguyen and other researchers from Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU). The Neurology department counts 250 beds, and consists of amongst others a neuro-ICU and a stroke center.

Both Professors have discussed neurology cases, presented by local neurology staff members. They as well exchanged best practices with regard to MS and dementia care, as well as dementia prevention, aiming to reinforce the existing research collaboration. 🧠

UZ Brussel VUB - Vrije Universiteit Brussel VUB International Relations

26/03/2025

We’re proud to see Prof. dr. Sebastiaan Engelborghs and Prof. dr. ir. Guy Nagels contributing to this important visit! Their participation strengthens our collaborations and reinforces the impact of our work on a global scale👏🌏

Follow the visit on Instagram: ! 📸 VUB International Relations

25/03/2025

New Research Alert! 💡

Prof. Jan Versijpt and colleagues have published a comprehensive review in The Lancet, exploring the role of CGRP-targeted therapies in treatment🧠VUB - Vrije Universiteit Brussel UZ Brussel

This publication is essential for health professionals in the field of headache and neurology📖

🔗 Find the article here:

Almost 40 years ago, the discovery of the vasoactive neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and its role in migraine pathophysiology ushered in a new era in migraine treatment. Since 2018, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting the CGRP pathway are available for migraine prevention. The...

21/03/2025

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Sebastiaan Engelborghs, NEUR Chair at VUB - Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Head of Neurology at UZ Brussel, has recently been appointed as a member of the Scientific Leadership Group (SLG) of InRAD – International, practice-based registry for Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias

This prestigious international committee is dedicated to advancing global research on ’s disease and other dementias through collaboration and real-time data analysis.

His appointment highlights the crucial role of and in the quest for breakthroughs in research.

21/03/2025

This week we had the pleasure to welcome two new NEUR members! 🥳

▶️ Carlo Manco - PhD candidate from Università degli Studi di Siena who will stay with us at UZ Brussel/Vrije Universiteit Brussel for the next 3 months

▶️ Johan Baijot - new Business Developer of NEUR-o-AIMS consortium

To celebrate, we had some delicious 🍕 and drinks at our flex-desk office.

Welcome!! 🧠 👏

14/11/2024

Welcome to the official page of the NEUR research group!

We’re a team of researchers from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and UZ Brussel (Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry departments) dedicated to advancing clinical and translational neuroscience.

We’re excited and looking forward to sharing our journey, discoveries, and insights with you!

Follow us to learn more about our team, what we do and how we're making an impact.

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Welkom op de officiële Facebook-pagina van de NEUR-onderzoeksgroep!

Wij zijn een team van onderzoekers van de Vrije Universiteit Brussel en UZ Brussel (afdelingen Neurologie, Neurochirurgie en Psychiatrie) toegewijd aan het bevorderen van klinische en translationele neurowetenschappen.

We zijn enthousiast om onze reis, ontdekkingen en inzichten met jullie te delen!

Volg ons om meer te weten te komen over ons team, wat we doen en hoe we een verschil maken.