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Our role Genetics is the study of the transmission of hereditary traits. In medicine it involves sequencing, "reading" and characterising the genome, that is, the totality of a person's genetic material (chromosomes and genes).  To learn more about the Genetics Centre, click here. Image Image Image Image Our speciality is transverse and concerns all medical disciplines and all ages of life. At present, our focus is on rare diseases. But in a near future genetics will be used increasingly for more common pathologies. Pr Guillaume Smits Director of the ULB's Human Genetics Centre Our specialities The ULB's Human Genetics Centre is organised in 5 sectors: Preconception genetics aims to determine the risk of transmitting a genetic disease to descendants. In the case of in vitro fertilization (IVF), the preimplantation diagnosis makes it possible to select and implant embryos that do not carry the said disease (examples: cystic fibrosis, spinal muscular atrophy, sickle cell anaemia, etc.)    Prenatal genetics makes it possible to confirm or specify certain pathologies with which a foetus is already infected. Examples: Down syndrome, malformations, intellectual deficiency, etc.  Paediatric genetics: More than 70% of rare diseases are paediatric. Genetics makes it possible to make or refine a diagnosis, to avert the development and/or complications of the disease or to propose a treatment.   Adult genetics: A growing number of medical specialities have increasing recourse to genetic tests when treating certain diseases.   Oncogenetics has two principal fields of action:  Predictive genetics aims to detect and quantify hereditary risks of cancer, in particular within the same family. Example: mutations of BRCA-1 and -2 that predispose women to breast and ovarian cancer.   Pharmacogenetics involves checking whether a patient carries a gene that would respond positively to (cancer) treatment.    Our team Image Our specialist doctors Focus The ULB's Human Genetics Centre analyses samples collected within the  CHORUS network (that brings together the hospitals of the Brussels University Hospital (HUB), the Iris network and the CHIREC group) and the Tivoli and Ambroise Paré University Hospitals with a view to genetic testing. The department cooperates with each of the 7 Belgian genetic centres for certain tests.    Research The ULB's Human Genetics Centre carries out research on what genetic testing of the future could be:  sequencing of the entire genome; methylome sequencing, which can reveal certain rare diseases;   transcriptome analysis to identify what genes use what kind of cell;   very long genome sequences to characterise complex zones and variants in the DNA.  Publications Implementation of fetal clinical exome sequencing: Comparing prospective and retrospective cohorts Authors : M. Marangoni et al.Journal : Genet Med. 2022 Feb;24(2):344-363. doi: 10.1016/j.gim.2021.09.016. Epub 2021 Nov 30. PMID: 34906519  Toward reporting standards for the pathogenicity of variant combinations involved in multilocus/oligogenic diseases Authors : Sofia Papadimitriou et al.Journal : HGG Adv. 2022 Dec 2;4(1):100165. doi: 10.1016/j.xhgg.2022.100165. eCollection 2023 Jan 12. PMID: 36578772  A form of muscular dystrophy associated with pathogenic variants in JAG2 Authors : Sandra Coppens et alJournal : Am J Hum Genet. 2021 May 6;108(5):840-856. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2021.03.020. Epub 2021 Apr 15. PMID: 33861953  Genetic testing in autoinflammatory diseases - past, current and future perspectives Authors : Anouk Le Goueff et al.Journal : Eur J Intern Med. 2022 Dec;106:71-79. doi: 10.1016/j.ejim.2022.08.020. Epub 2022 Sep 22. PMID: 36153184 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejim.2022.08.020 

Our role Geriatrics is concerned with the care of persons aged 75 and over who are in fragile health due to the accumulation of chronic or acute diseases, (risk of) falling, malnutrition, cognitive disorder, etc. Image Image This holistic approach means that geriatrics is an interdisciplinary medical discipline. Geriatricians work in teams, with nurses, auxiliary nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dietitians, speech therapists, (neuro)psychologists, social workers and also with other specialist doctors Professor Sandra De Breucker Head of the Geriatric Department at the Erasmus Hospital Our specialities The Erasmus Hospital Geriatric Department is structured around 5 areas of care as defined by the Royal Decree on the Care Programme for Geriatric Patients:   The Geriatric Hospitalisation Unit with 50 beds at the Erasmus Hospital and 84 beds at the Geriatric Rehabilitation Centre (CRG) in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert.  Geriatric consultations given by geriatricians who each have a subspeciality:   orthogeriatrics, cardiogeriatrics, oncogeriatrics, psychogeriatrics, geriatric emergencies, sarcopenia and (mal)nutrition (see Focus).    The Geriatric Day Hospital  which patients attend as outpatients during one or two days for a diagnosis or to administer certain treatment (transfusion,  intravenous iron, treatment of osteoporosis, etc.) at the request of the GP or specialist doctor.   Internal geriatric liaising  that involves a multidisciplinary mobile team assessing geriatric patients hospitalised in other hospital departments. Persons identified as fragile benefit from a specific care pathway (assessment, multidisciplinary assessment, opinion and follow up).   External geriatric liaising  that involves cooperation with partners outside the hospital, namely the GP, rest and care home, rehabilitation centres and/or home care providers so as to ensure effective continuity of geriatric care.    Our team Image Our medical specialists Focus Each geriatric subspeciality – orthogeriatrics, cardiogeriatrics, oncogeriatrics, psychogeriatrics, geriatric emergencies and (mal)nutrition  – is the subject of a specific care pathway. Example: A 75-year-old patient with a fragile profile and with cancer. The oncologist refers the patient to the specialist oncogeriatrics doctor and his or her team. They assess the patient and draw up recommendations at the nutritional, functional and therapeutic level so that the patient is best placed to be able to tolerate the cancer treatment.    Research The Erasmus Hospital Geriatric Department participates in a number of clinical studies. Example: Evaluation of the effectiveness of fall sensors fitted in hospitalisation rooms, evaluation of  the  characteristics and needs of close helpers, influence of nurses training on managing pain in elderly patients admitted for hip fracture, etc.       Publications Analysis of inflammatory markers and hormones in old cancer patients: a descriptive study. Authors : Sandra De Breucker, Sylvie Luce, Rose Njemini, Ivan Bautmans, Lore Decoster, Tony Mets, Thierry PepersackJournal : Exp Gerontol. 2020 ;130:110787. doi : 10.1016/j.exger.2019.110787. Profile and needs of primary informal caregivers of older patients in Belgian geriatric day hospitals: a multicentric crosssectional study. Authors : Eyaloba C, De Brauwer I, Cès S, Benoit F, Gillain S, Pesch L, Rouvière H, De Breucker S.Journal : BMC Geriatr. 2021 May 17;21(1):315. doi: 10.1186/s12877-021-02255-1.  Intrinsic capacity assessment by a mobile geriatric team during the covid-19pandemic.  Authors : Angioni D, Nicolay C, Vandergheynst F, Bare R, Cesari M, De Breucker S.Journal : Front Med (Lausanne). 2021 May 25;8:664681. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.664681.  Nutritional rehabilitation after acute illness among older patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Authors : Szklarzewska S, Mottale R, Engelman E, De Breucker S, Preiser JC.Journal : Clinical Nutrition 2023 ; 42(3) : 309-336. Doi :10.1016/j.clnu.2023.01.013.