PhD conferral Mr drs. Mark R. Hazebroek

“Unraveling the origins of dilated cardiomyopathy: how genes, viruses, toxic, metabolic, electric and autoimmune disorders interact to cause dilated cardiomyopathy”

Dilated cardiomyopathy is a heart disease that causes a sudden weakening of the heart muscle in adults aged thirty to fifty years in particular. This condition may lead to heart failure, arrhythmias and even sudden cardiac death. Dilated cardiomyopathy is associated with a poor prognosis, as there is no specific treatment for it. However, a recent doctoral research project may provide new insights. During this project, cardiac biopsies, genetic material, ECGs and other diagnostic tests were gathered and analysed for years. The study results show that an important predictor of this heart muscle disease is a combination of factors. By characterising patients on the basis of these individual features physicians can offer them a more specific treatment and even prevent this heart muscle disease.