1 
Back to overview  <Back  Next>
 

“Endophenotypes provide psychiatrists with a measure on the right biological level to predict the disease outcome and to choose the right treatment.”

 

Prof. Dr. W.J.G. (Witte) Hoogendijk
Department of Psychiatry
 

“Within the CNCR framework we will be able to investigate the biological causes of anxiety and depression not only using neuroendocrine and neuroimaging tools, but also genetics and genomics tools.”

Depression is a complex and heterogenous trait that is hard to correlate to specific genetic defects. Involved genes interact with the environment and generate a range of biological effects that intermediate between genes and the ultimate phenotype. That is why Hoogendijk and colleagues focus on the determination of endophenotypes, groups of patients characterized by strong biological measures.These measures are genetic, endocrine and fMRI based.

 
 

Publications:

Hoogendijk WJG, Purba JS, Hofman MA, de Vos RAI, Jansen-Steur ENH, Swaab DF. Depression does not affect the number of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus in Parkinson patients. Biol Psychiatry . 1998; 43:913-917.

Hoogendijk WJG, Sommer IEC, Pool ChW, Kamphorst W, Hofman MA, Eikelenboom P, Swaab DF. Lack of Association between Depression and Loss of Neurons in the Locus Coeruleus in Alzheimer's Disease. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1999; 56: 45-51.

Hoogendijk WJG, Feenstra M, Botterblom M, Gilhuis J, Sommer IEC, Kamphorst W, Eikelenboom P, Swaab DF. Increased activity of surviving locus coeruleus neurons in Alzheimer's disease. Annals of Neurology. 1999; 45: 82-91.

Appelhof BC, Brouwer JP, van Dyck R, Fliers E, Hoogendijk WJ, Huyser J, Schene AH, Tijssen JG, Wiersinga WM. Triiodothyronine addition to paroxetine in the treatment of major depressive disorder. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004 Dec; 89(12): 6271-6276.

Brouwer JP, Appelhof BC, Hoogendijk WJ, Huyser J, Endert E, Zuketto C, Schene AH, Tijssen JG, Van Dyck R, Wiersinga WM, Fliers E. Thyroid and adrenal axis in major depression: a controlled study in outpatients. Eur J Endocrinol. 2005 Feb;152(2):185-191.

Appelhof BC, Robin P. Peeters, Wilmar M. Wiersinga, Theo J. Visser, Ellie M. Wekking, Jochanan Huyser, Aart H. Schene, Jan G.P. Tijssen, Witte J.G. Hoogendijk, M.D, Ph.D., Eric Fliers. Polymorphisms in type 2 deiodinase are not associated with well-being, neurocognitive functioning and preference for combined T4/T3 therapy. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 2005. In Press.