PhD Defence Rick H.G. J. van Lanen

Keywords: Epilepsy, epilepsy surgery, microcirculation, ultra-high field MRI
 

"Revealing Epilepsy: Insights from the Cerebrovascular Microcirculation and Ultra-High Field MRI"

The dissertation describes new insights into the cause of epilepsy focused on the smallest blood vessels in the brain and discusses the contribution of ultra-high field strength MRI to the epilepsy surgery pathway. The findings emphasise the importance of addressing abnormalities in brain blood vessels, such as glycocalyx dysfunction and impaired blood flow regulation, which could potentially be used as treatments for epilepsy in the future. Furthermore, the application of ultra-high field strength MRI offers opportunities to improve the detection of abnormalities on MRI scans. This aims to enhance the outcomes of brain surgery for epilepsy. Ultimately, the combination of measurements of the smallest brain blood vessels and the use of ultra-high field strength MRI provides the potential for developing new treatment strategies in the quest to cure epilepsy, while also opening new treatment possibilities for other neurological disorders. 

Click here for the live stream.