Abstract

We are at the dawn of a large epidemic of neurodegenerative disease and cerebrovascular disease that will have major impact on our society. It is estimated that currently at least 35 million people live with dementia worldwide and this number is expected to double every twenty years: 66 million in 2030 and 115 million in 2050.1 At the same time, every year 15 million people suffer from a stroke.2 Apart from imposing a huge burden on individuals and families, no other disease costs the society more than these.3 It is not surprising that governments of countries have recently started to invest billions of dollars and Euros in brain research.

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A. Hofman (Albert) , A. van der Lugt (Aad)
The work presented in this thesis was conducted at the department of Epidemiology and the department of Radiology of the Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The Rotterdam Study is supported by the Erasmus MC and Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMW), the Re-search Institute for Diseases in the Elderly (RIDE), the Netherlands Genomics Initiative, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports, the European Commission (DG XII) and the Municipality of Rotterdam. The contributions of the inhabitants, general practitioners and pharmacists of the Ommoord district to the Rotterdam Study are gratefully acknowledged. Financial support for the publication of this thesis was kindly provided by the Departments of Epidemiology and Radiology of the Erasmus MC, and the Dutch Heart Foundation (Nederlandse Hartstichting), grant number: 2009B102.
hdl.handle.net/1765/51146
Erasmus MC: University Medical Center Rotterdam

Verhaaren, B. (2014, April 16). Determinants of Subclinical Vascular Brain Disease in Aging. The work presented in this thesis was conducted at the department of Epidemiology and the department of Radiology of the Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The Rotterdam Study is supported by the Erasmus MC and Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMW), the Re-search Institute for Diseases in the Elderly (RIDE), the Netherlands Genomics Initiative, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports, the European Commission (DG XII) and the Municipality of Rotterdam. The contributions of the inhabitants, general practitioners and pharmacists of the Ommoord district to the Rotterdam Study are gratefully acknowledged. Financial support for the publication of this thesis was kindly provided by the Departments of Epidemiology and Radiology of the Erasmus MC, and the Dutch Heart Foundation (Nederlandse Hartstichting), grant number: 2009B102. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1765/51146