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Brechtje de Jong

 PhD student Profile
PhD student
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Patients with pediatric brain tumors often experience long-lasting side effects after radiotherapy treatment, including endocrine dysfunction and a decline in cognitive function. Progressive neurocognitive decline results in, among other things, impaired learning, memory and executive functioning. These side effects are caused by the unavoidable radiation of normal brain tissue when using radiotherapy to treat brain tumors. However, the mechanisms underlying these long-lasting side effects are not fully understood, and there is currently no effective treatment to conquer these severe side effects. Radiation affects, besides the tumor, also many other cell types in normal brain tissue, among which cells involved in the endocrine system and the neuroimmune response. Especially activation of microglia by radiation is associated with the cognitive decline observed in patients with brain tumors. In this PhD project, we will investigate the role of the neuroimmune response, especially the role of microglia, in the development of radiotherapy-induced neurological decline in pediatric brain cancer patients. In addition, we will also study the effects of radiation on the endocrine system in patients with pediatric brain tumors.
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