News

Imec and UZ Leuven develop super fast coronatest

23 October 2020

Imec and UZ Leuven join forces for the development of a ground-breaking SARS-CoV-2 test. The new test will work based on exhaled air and will provide a reliable result on how contagious a person is within five minutes. The project will receive two million euro in funding from the Flemish government.

Cancer during pregnancy has no serious impact on the child’s brain development

21 October 2020

UZ Leuven has set up a large-scale follow-up trial examining the influence of cancer during pregnancy on the brain development of children. Cancer and chemotherapy during a pregnancy hardly appeared to influence the child’s brain.

Robot-assisted breast reconstruction using the patient's own abdominal tissue is a European first

19 October 2020

Last month, UZ Leuven physicians performed a robot-assisted breast reconstruction with tissue from the patient's lower abdomen. This was a European first. The new technique should limit damage to the abdominal muscles to an absolute minimum.

Corona measures have a psychological and medical impact on cancer patients

12 October 2020

For cancer patients and their environment, the impact of the coronavirus is becoming more and more heavy to bear, both psychologically and medically. Physicians and psychologists are seeing more and more early modified therapies, serious complaints of anxiety and depression and postponed diagnoses.

Doctors construct new outer ear from rib cartilage

9 October 2020

About 1 in 6,000 babies is born with a deformed or absent pinna at one or both ears. This rare disorder is called microtia. UZ Leuven has a technique in place where a new pinna is constructed from the patient's own rib cartilage. Since 2015, 13 children have successfully undergone such a pinna reconstruction. 

Leuven associations organise art auction in aid of corona research

29 September 2020

Two Leuven associations, Kiwanis Oud-Heverlee and Soroptimist Leuven, will be raising money for the Leuven DAWn trials, that research the coronavirus. They are organising an online art auction, starting on 12 October. The artworks can be viewed 'in real life' in a pop-up art gallery.

Scientists discover common genetic and immunological cause in life-threatening COVID-19 cases

25 September 2020

Leuven scientists collaborated on two new trials, published in Science, that offer an explanation for at least 13 procent of severe COVID-19 cases.

Human papillomavirus virus now also standard for boys in the battle against oropharyngeal cancer

20 September 2020

For more than 10 years, Flemish girls are being vaccinated against the human papillomavirus, which can cause cervical cancer. Recently it has been shown that boys can also benefit from the vaccine as the virus can also cause oropharyngeal cancer in them.

First patients receive radiation therapy in the Leuven proton therapy centre

16 September 2020

The first patients to receive radiation therapy in the brand new proton therapy centre in Leuven were treated over the summer of 2020. Proton therapy is an innovative form of radiotherapy which targets a tumour very precisely, causing minimal damage to the surrounding tissue.

Belgian COVID-19 patient re-infected only three months after first infection

2 September 2020

A Belgian woman was infected twice with COVID-19. 93 days after the first infection she was re-infected. The patient's virus samples were mapped in the coronavirus reference lab (UZ Leuven, KU Leuven).

New technology can examine thousands of leukemia cells individually

20 August 2020

VIB, KU Leuven and UZ Leuven researchers, under the supervision of prof. Jan Cools, used a new technology to examine genetic defects in individual leukemia cells of patients with T-cell leukemia. Their trial sheds a new light on the development of leukemia and on how cells react to chemotherapy.

UZ Leuven prepares for a potential second corona wave

22 July 2020

UZ Leuven is prepared for a potential second COVID-19-wave. There is plan that can be scaled up should a larger amount of patients need care. At this moment, there is one hospital ward that admits proven and non-proven COVID-19-patients.