Brain & Psychiatry

How to treat patients with disorders originating in the brain like for example Alzheimer's disease, Multiple Sclerose (MS), autism, learning problems or depressions? Experts of Amsterdam UMC want broaden the knowledge of the human brain and nervous system, and to translate this into effective therapies and treatments. Read about our latest activities and insights.

February 7, 2024
Artificial intelligence helps predict whether antidepressants will work in patients In patients with major depression disorder it is, thanks to use of artificial intelligence, now possible to predict within a week whether an antidepressant will work. By inputting a brain scan and an individual's clinical information into an AI algorithm, researchers from Amsterdam UMC and Radboudumc could see up to 8 weeks faster whether or not the medication would work. The results of this study are published today in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
- Brain & Psychiatry
- Artificial Intelligence
December 7, 2023
Simulating Stroke Treatments with a Digital Twin It sounds like something from a science fiction film. Assessing the best treatment for a patient with an ischemic stroke or cerebral haemorrhage by performing the procedure on their digital twin. If it's up to researchers at Amsterdam UMC, this will be reality in six years. They've received a Horizon grant worth 10 million euros from the European Commission to lead 19 partners in making this a reality.
- Brain & Psychiatry
- Artificial Intelligence
October 17, 2023
Smart brain-wave cap recognizes stroke before the patient reaches the hospital A special brain-wave cap can diagnose stroke in the ambulance, allowing the patient to receive appropriate treatment faster. Jonathan Coutinho, neurologist at Amsterdam UMC, is one of the inventors the swimming cap: "Our research shows that the brain-wave cap can recognize patients with large ischemic stroke with great accuracy. This is very good news, because the cap can ultimately save lives by routing these patients directly to the right hospital." The research is published today in Neurology.
- Brain & Psychiatry
- Artificial Intelligence
April 17, 2023
8.8 million euros for accelerated drug repurposing for rare neurological disorders SIMPATHIC Consortium receives grant from European Commission.
- Brain & Psychiatry
March 8, 2023
Alzheimer's double punishment: Women get it more and do more care giving "Women are both disproportionately affected by Alzheimer's Disease while also bearing the bulk of the caregiving burden," concludes Wiesje van der Flier, Scientific Director of the Alzheimer Center Amsterdam at Amsterdam UMC. For van der Flier, more research is necessary. Not only about how the disease develops biologically in males and females, but also how the gender of caregiving determines the care provided.
- Brain & Psychiatry
- Age & Alzheimer
February 17, 2023
Depression cannot be diagnosed with an MRI scan Despite promising small-scale research, it turns out that it is not possible to diagnose depression on the basis of an MRI scan. Together with colleagues from around the world, researchers from Amsterdam UMC used artificial intelligence to look at scans of people with and without depression. Unfortunately, the data wasn't suitable to be used to diagnose depression.
February 16, 2023
Improving the Diagnosis of Dementia Today, ten organisations across the Netherlands join forces to improve the diagnosis of dementia, led by Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC.
- Brain & Psychiatry
- Age & Alzheimer
November 21, 2022
World's largest exome sequencing Alzheimer's study finds two new genes that raise risk of disease An international study led by Amsterdam UMC, the Netherlands, Pasteur Institute of Lille, France and the University of Rouen Normandy, France, has led to the discovery of two new 'Alzheimer genes', and evidence for a third. A genetic alteration in any one of these genes can lead to a significantly increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. The study is published today in Nature Genetics.
- Brain & Psychiatry
- Age & Alzheimer
November 11, 2022
Healthy people with abnormal PET scans are at high risk of future memory problems Cognitively healthy individuals with abnormal amyloid-β and tau PET scans have a greatly increased risk of developing mild cognitive symptoms or even dementia within three-and-a-half years, according to new research by Amsterdam UMC's Alzheimer Center and Lund University in Sweden.