Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre

Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre

Geert Grooteplein zuid 10
6525 GA Nijmegen
The Netherlands

http://www.umcn.nl/

Scientific Lead

Dr. Hedi Claahsen - van der Grinten
Phone: +31 (0)24 3614430
Fax: +31 (0)24 3616428

Contact

Project Staff

Prof. Ad Hermus
Head of the department of endocrinology

Institute Presentation

The Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre (RUNMC) has a tradition of more than 40 years in providing medical care for patients with adrenal diseases and in carrying out research in this field. Recently, the Radboud Adrenal Centre (RAC) has been established to further stimulate patient care and to promote top level research on adrenal diseases. The Radboud Adrenal Centre is especially predestined as a beneficiary within this project as we are very experienced in the care of pediatric and adult patients with DSD, especially in the care of patients with adrenal DSD. About 200 patients/per year with DSD (pediatric and adult patients) are followed within our centre. Dr. Hedi Claahsen-van der Grinten is founding member of the RAC steering committee. She takes care of 90 children and adolescents with CAH. Her main field of clinical and scientific interest is long-term complication fertility patients with CAH. PhD students are actually working on CAH related subjects. Most of the female patients with the classic type of CAH undergo reconstructive genital surgery in early childhood by our own experienced surgical team. Professor Wout Feitz has more than 20 year experience in reconstructive genital surgery. After reaching the adult age all patients are transitioned to Professor Ad Hermus and Dr. Nike Stikkelbroeck both with longstanding experience in the care of CAH. Continuing of optimal care is guaranteed by the intense collaboration between the pediatric and adult departments an important condition for long term follow up studies in these patient groups. One of their main scientific interests is the long-term outcome of feminising genital surgery and cardiovascular complications in adult CAH patients. Our laboratory (head Professor Fred Sweep) has a long-standing expertise in measuring steroid hormones within special interest in the hypothalamus-pituitary adrenal/gonadal axis and free hormones. Furthermore, our centre serves as one of the two national expert centers for patients with disorders of sexual differentiation (DSD) in the Netherlands and took part of the multicentre study of outcome of endocrine treatment, genital surgery and psychosexual development in patients with DSD.