Le mercredi 18 mai 2022, Monsieur Léandro SANZ subira l'examen en vue de l'obtention du grade académique de Docteur en Sciences médicales sous la direction de Monsieur Steven LAUREYS et Madame Olivia GOSSERIES

Cette épreuve consistera en la défense publique d'un mémoire intitulé :

"Development of diagnostic and therapeutic tools for the clinician working with severely brain-injured patients"

The management of patients with disorders of consciousness following severe brain injuries is challenging for the clinician. Recent guidelines advocate the use of repeated standardized behavioral scales combined with state-of-the-art neuroimaging techniques to reliably diagnose patients’ level of consciousness. However, time-consuming bedside tests and limited access to advanced techniques are major hurdles to the optimal assessment of the patients in clinical care. An accurate diagnosis is yet essential to the elaboration of a personalized treatment plan.

This work aims to bridge the gap between the current theoretical knowledge on consciousness and the limited tools available to the clinician. We developed and validated a novel behavioral scale to assess brain-injured patients in a practical, fast and reliable manner. This tool allows healthcare professionals to examine patients more often in time-constrained settings, without compromising the test validity. We explored new therapeutic avenues to help patients recover consciousness using pharmacologic stimulants. We used a model-based approach to target candidate drugs acting on brain networks involved in altered consciousness. We gained insight into the selectiveness of the response to GABA-agonist zolpidem, and demonstrated that apomorphine is a safe and promising repurposed dopaminergic agent to promote the recovery of patients with chronic disorders of consciousness.

Le Jury sera composé de :

Vincent Bonhomme (Président), Aurore Thibaut (Secrétaire), Gaëtan Garraux, Olivia Gosseries, Steven Laureys, Didier Ledoux, Andrea Rossetti (Université de Lausanne  - Suisse), Fabio Taccone (ULB).