Early Life Events: Diagnostics and Treatment

Content

Early Life Events: Diagnostics and Treatment

Credit load:                       7.5 ECTS                                                      Course code:     BMW33517
Coordinator:                      dr. Laurens Witter                                         Period:               3
Examiner:                         dr. Laurens Witter                                         Time slot:           AD
E-mail address:                l.witter-2@umcutrecht.nl                               Level:                3
Phone:                               +31 88 7554359

Lecturers
Dr. Laurens Witter (dV&B, Coordinator, practical), Caren van Kammen (Practical Supervision), Dr. Marijke Achterberg (Veterinarian Medicine), Dr. Carlijn van den Boomen (Psychology, Social Sciences), Dr. Jeroen Dudink (Neonatology), Dr. Steffie de Gier (Pathology), Dr. Roos de Jonge (Patient participation expert), Dr. Titia Lely (Obstetrics, Gynaecology), Dr. Cora Nijboer (DDOD), Dr. Maarten Rookmaaker (Nephrologist), Dr. Gaby Steba (Fertility & Gynaecology), Dr. Caroline de Theije (DDOD), Dr. Olaf Verschuren (Rehabilitation center de Hoogstraat), Dr. Daniël Vijlbrief (Neonatology), Dr. Jeanine Voorman (Rehabilitation).

Technical support
Bachelor Research Hub, Sebastiaan Corstjens (DDOD), Dr. Tessa Roelofs (dV&B)

Introduction
This course is based on ‘the first 1001 days’ theme of the Utrecht University. It aims to provide you with a broad view of the diagnostics, treatments and biomedical research aimed at this first 1001 days being conducted within the division ‘Woman & Baby’ of the University Medical Center Utrecht. The main topics in this course we will touch upon are the causes, consequences and (experimental) treatment options for children that experienced adverse early life events.
This course is split in two parts. In the first part you will gain a solid foundation in causes, consequences, long-term outcomes and potential treatments of adverse early life events through lectures and workshops. This theoretical basis will support you in the second part of the course where you will conduct research on tissue from an animal model for adverse life events. Through this practical part you will gain further insight in adverse life events, and you will refine your research skills.

Learning goals
After completion of this course, the student is able to:

• describe and explain endometrial factors for implantation and successful pregnancy;
• explain the ‘Developmental Origins of Health and Disease’ (DOHaD) theory;
• explain the biological processes underlying fetal growth retardation and the consequences for later life;
• describe and recognize placental malformations involved in fetal growth retardation;
• describe common forms of early brain damage in babies and explain their etiology;
• provide an overview of experimental treatment options and explain their working mechanisms for infants born with brain damage or growth retardation;
• describe and explain factors in the NICU that can contribute to recovery from brain damage and growth retardation;
• describe and explain how admittance to the NICU can contribute to complications for babies born with early brain damage;
• assess the fundamentals of a data science project and formulate its necessary steps;
• design a research proposal to study recovery from early brain damage or growth retardation;
• describe the impact early brain damage or growth retardation can have later in life;
• explain how inadequate renal development can lead to chronic renal disease;
• describe treatment options to stop or slow the progression of renal disease after inadequate development of the kidneys;
• design a research proposal to study traits of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in babies;
• analyze social play in rodents and understand what the consequences are of social deprivation for later life;
• explain how patient participation is optimally utilized to guide future biomedical research on early life events;

The student is able to:

• create an experimental plan in a research group to gain insight in the consequences of fetal growth retardation in various organs;
• understand the principles of several staining techniques and when to apply which technique for your research questions;
• independently stain tissue sections using basic histological techniques;
• independently use a light microscope to acquire images of tissue sections suitable for analysis;
• quantitatively analyze (immunohistochemical) stainings using common analysis software;
• identify key histological changes in tissue between experimental and control groups;
• relate histological findings to the pathophysiology following an early life event;
• systematically report about research data in a written group report;
• present your research data with your group;
• provide constructive feedback on parts of research reports.

Teaching forms
Prior to the lectures students are expected to gain background knowledge from reading scientific literature and textbook chapters. Students are expected to engage actively with the lecture and reading materials. This will be facilitated by enthusiastic lecturers and activating workshops. For the practical, students are required to attend all practical sessions and associated workshops.

Assessment
Students will be assessed on their individual performance via a written exam covering the first part of the course (35%) and their participation and performance during the practical (15%). A group grade will be given for the practical report (35%) and presentation (15%).
Since the written exam and the practical report concern non-overlapping aims of this course, the written exam, the practical report and the participation grade need to be passed with at a >5.5 mark to successfully complete the course.