Skip to content

Topics: Health, Health Care, Pharmaceuticals

  • Safe surgical access to the central core of the human cochlea verified

    An team of surgeons and scientists from, among others, Uppsala University has confirmed secure surgical access to the central core of the human cochlea. The research, published in Scientific Reports, is critical to the first in-human trials of new cell, gene and drug therapies for the inner ear, and will assist with treatment for improving hearing loss and deafness over the long-term.

  • A stem cell protein facilitates relapse of pediatric brain tumours

    The malignant brain tumour type medulloblastoma can become resistant to therapy which can cause relapse. Researchers at Uppsala University have discovered a certain protein that makes tumour cells resting and insensitive to radiation treatment. The research group hopes that the results could eventually lead to better treatments for children that have the highest risk to develop relapses.

  • Healthy food systems in focus at Uppsala Health Summit

    Food lies at the heart of both health and sustainable development. This year’s Uppsala Health Summit takes on the challenges associated with our food systems and how to make them healthier, more inclusive, equitable and sustainable.

  • SSRIs and CBT lead to changes in the brain

    Neurochemical changes in the brain differ among patients with social anxiety treated using both SSRIs and CBT, compared to those treated using only CBT. While the combined treatment involving the medicine blocked the serotonin transporters, availability of such transporters increased in patients who only received CBT. In a double-blind positron emission tomography (PET) study, 24 participants.

  • The vulnerability of surrogate mothers in a global market

    A new dissertation on surrogacy highlights Thai women's experiences of having acted as surrogate mothers. The dissertation shows the women's vulnerability in a global surrogacy industry, but also provides a more nuanced picture of what makes women seek surrogacy and how they relate to the process.

  • Widespread metabolic dysregulation in different organs in type 2 diabetes

    Using state of the art techniques, researchers from Uppsala University have shown that the metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes was much more disturbed than previously known, and that it varied between organs and with the severity of the disease. The study, a collaboration with Copenhagen University and AstraZeneca, among others, has been published in Cell Reports Medicine.

  • Weighted blanket increases melatonin

    A new study from Uppsala University shows that using a weighted blanket at bedtime increases melatonin in young adults. This hormone increases in response to darkness, and some evidence suggests that it promotes sleep. The findings are published in the Journal of Sleep Research.

  • Strong link between gut bacteria and metabolites

    There are strong links between bacteria living in the gut and the levels of small molecules in the blood known as metabolites. Such is the finding of a new study (Uppsala University/Lund University). The study is based on analyses of both fecal and blood samples from 8,583 participants in the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS).

  • Genetic background associated with physically active lifestyle

    In a large international study, researchers at Uppsala University have identified DNA regions that are associated with physical activity or leisure screen time. The findings confirm that physical activity is beneficial for health and suggest that a more sedentary lifestyle can be explained by how muscles respond to exercise.

  • Blood clot formation in cerebral cavernous malformations

    In the condition known as cerebral cavernoma, lesions arise in a cluster of blood vessels in the brain. In a new study from Uppsala University, researchers show that blood coagulation and blood clot formation are very relevant for the disease and that antithrombotic therapy may be beneficial for cavernoma patients.

  • Y chromosome loss causes heart failure and death from cardiovascular disease

    Loss of the Y chromosome in blood cells of men is associated with disease and mortality, but no clear causal relationship has previously been identified. Now, researchers from Uppsala University show in the journal Science that loss of the Y chromosome in white blood cells causes development of fibrosis in the heart, impaired heart function and death from cardiovascular diseases in men.

  • New hypothesis about crocodiles’ ears may help people with impaired hearing

    Impaired hearing affects billions of people, but crocodiles, who live almost as long and can surpass 70 years of age, have good hearing throughout their lives. One reason is because can create new hair cells, and a research group from Uppsala University is now on the path to finding out why. Hopefully, knowledge from the world of crocodiles will be able to help people with impaired hearing.

  • Oral contraceptives and hormone therapy increase the risk of stroke

    Oral contraceptives and hormone therapy at menopause increase the risk of stroke. The increased risk is greatest during the first year of treatment and then declines. The study, which is now published in Stroke, is based on data from over a quarter of a million women from the UK Biobank database.

  • Newly discovered coronavirus common in bank voles

    Researchers from the Zoonosis Science Center at Uppsala University have identified a new coronavirus. Their study of approximately 260 bank voles caught around Grimsö, Örebro County, shows that the virus is well established in Sweden’s red-backed voles. The finding has been published in the journal Viruses.

  • Rare genetic variants not the major contributing factors to common diseases

    Although some rare genetic variants can increase the risk of disease markedly for a few individuals, the genetic contribution to common diseases is mostly due to a combination of many common genetic variants with small effects. This is shown in a comprehensive study by researchers at Uppsala University and SciLifeLab, published in the journal Nature Communications.

  • MS patients with higher B cell counts have a better vaccine response

    MS patients treated with Rituximab have better responses to the COVID-19 vaccine if they have higher B cell counts. This is the finding of a study from Uppsala University published in the journal JAMA Network Open. In patients with B cell counts of 40/µL (microlitres) or more, 9 of 10 patients developed protective levels of antibodies, while significantly fewer with lower counts had similar respon

  • Acute sleep loss may alter the way we see others

    A new study from Uppsala University shows that young adults when sleep-deprived evaluate angry faces as less trustworthy and healthy-looking. Furthermore, neutral and fearful faces appear less attractive following sleep loss. The findings are published in the scientific journal Nature and Science of Sleep.

  • Subgroups of glioblastoma associated with disease prognosis

    Researchers at Uppsala University have detected different subgroups of the brain tumour form glioblastoma, where the cancer cells’ properties depend on which cell type they originate from. The used analysis method could also separate glioblastoma patients with significant differences in survival. The findings open up for identifying specific therapeutic targets for the new subgroups of glioblastom

  • Symptom data help predict COVID-19 admissions

    In COVID Symptom Study Sweden more than 10 million daily reports from participants in COVID Symptom Study Sweden from April 2020 to February 2021. The scope of the study was to develop and evaluate a framework to estimate the regional prevalence of COVID-19 using symptom-based surveillance, and to test if these prevalence estimates could be used to predict subsequent trends in COVID-19 admissions.

  • Armed CAR-T cells to better fight cancer

    Immunotherapy is increasingly becoming a successful way to treat cancer. Researchers at Uppsala University have now developed armed CAR-T cells that reinforce the immune defence against cancer and that could increase the possibilities to successfully treat solid tumours. The study has been published in the journal Nature BioMedical Engineering.

Show more