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.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
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 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
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.
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
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.
In the condition known as cavernoma, lesions arise in a cluster of blood vessels in the brain, spinal cord or retina. Researchers at Uppsala University show in a new study that white blood cells and protein structures associated with the immune response infiltrate the vessel lesions.
Researchers at Uppsala University have discovered that the ancestors of legionella bacteria infected eukaryotic cells as early as two billion years ago. It happened soon after eukaryotes began to feed on bacteria. These results, described in a new study published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, also contributes to the chicken-or-egg debate about whether mitochondria or phagocytosis came first
Uppsala researchers have succeeded in designing a molecule that inhibits the replication of coronaviruses and that has great potential for development into a drug suitable for treating COVID-19. The molecule is effective against both the new variant and previously identified coronaviruses. The article has been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Although many people know what increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks, not everyone recognises their own risk factors. This is shown by a new study of 423 Swedes aged 40–70 years, which has now been published in the scientific journal Preventive Medicine Reports.
Researchers at Uppsala University have used AI to develop a new method to study brain cancer. The method is based on transplanting tumour cells from patients to fish embryos, followed by observation with AI. The method, which is described in the scientific journal Neuro-Oncology, can partly replace current mouse models for studying tumour growth and treatment.