A research group at Uppsala University has developed a simple and effective artificial blood-brain barrier model that can be used to determine how well antibody-based therapies can enter the brain. Today animal experimentation is the most common method for testing an antibody’s function and the new model could reduce the need for animal testing.
The use of broad-spectrum antibiotics increased drastically in intensive care at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. At first, this helped patients and seemed to prevent the growth of most bacteria. However, it also contributed to a sharp growth in enterococci, an antibiotic-tolerant group of bacteria, which rendered the treatment of urinary tract infections more difficult.
Thanks to a new prognostic method for detecting cancers including cancer of the large intestine, doctors could provide clearer disease prognoses and predict which patients will respond best to immunotherapy. The method consists of a combination of two types of immune cells that characterise certain forms of cancer. This has been shown in a new study published in the journal eBioMedicine.
The earlier infants begin to taste small samples of solid food, the earlier they eat more food and stop breastfeeding. This is shown in a new study from Uppsala University and Sophiahemmet University, in which the mothers of 1,251 infants from all over Sweden participated. Almost half of the infants received tastings at the age of four months.
Bacterial perseverance is a new phenomenon that helps explain how bacteria adapt to survive antibiotic treatments. A group of researchers at Uppsala University have studied how individual bacteria react when exposed to different antibiotics. The result underlines the importance of adhering strictly to antibiotic prescriptions.
A new study from researchers at Uppsala University presents novel findings on why human lymph nodes lose their function with age and the consequences for the effectiveness of our immune system. The article has been published in The Journal of Pathology.
Men are at an increased risk of a severe bout of COVID-19 compared to women. Researchers at Uppsala University have now shown that this may be due to loss of the Y chromosome in part of their white blood cells. The findings could eventually be used to assess the risk of developing severe COVID-19 and perhaps to improve treatment.
Using new gene mapping methods, researchers have found connections between atopic dermatitis in dogs and several regions of the genome. Some genes identified coincide with genes linked to similar problems in humans. The filaggrin gene region, for example, which is regarded as the most powerful risk factor for atopic eczema in humans, has now also been linked to this disease in Labrador retrievers.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
