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Topics: Medical research

  • Childhood overweight is associated with socio-economic vulnerability

    More children have overweight in regions with high rates of single parenthood, low education levels, low income and high child poverty. The pandemic may also have reinforced this trend. This is shown by a study conducted by researchers at Uppsala University and Region Sörmland in collaboration with Region Skåne.

  • New research model for predicting hip fractures could save lives

    Researchers at Uppsala University have developed a clinical model that can accurately predict the risk of hip fractures in the elderly. The model is based on analyses of data from the entire Swedish population and can identify patients at high risk, without the need to measure skeletal strength. This can speed up the process for doctors and allow patients to receive preventive treatment.

  • Early prostate cancer surgery extended life

    The survival rate of men with prostate cancer who had their entire prostate gland removed immediately after the tumour was detected increased by 17 percentage points compared with those who did not have treatment until the tumour began to cause symptoms. On average, they also lived more than two years longer. These are the final results of a 30-year Scandinavian study led from Uppsala University.

  • Olof Rudbeck Day with focus on AI in care and health

    What are the opportunities of using AI in healthcare? And what potential risks does it entail? These issues will be discussed during the Olof Rudbeck Day on 18 October. This year’s Rudbeck Prize winner, Ulf Gyllensten, will also give a lecture on his research into gynaecological cancer.

  • One in five UK doctors use AI chatbots

    A survey led by researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden reveals that a significant proportion of UK general practitioners (GPs) are integrating generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, into their clinical workflows. The results highlight the rapidly growing role of artificial intelligence in healthcare – a development that has the potential to revolutionise patient care but also raises concerns.

  • Cow slime can help disc herniation patients after surgery

    Researchers at Uppsala University have developed a gel inspired by cow slime for patients suffering from disc herniation. By adding the mucin gel immediately after surgery, it is possible to create a protective barrier around the discs to prevent the immune system from attacking their nucleus pulposus. This keeps the discs intact and reduces the risk of further damage.

  • Promising treatment for rectal cancer confirmed in major study

    A new treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer shows favourable results in that surgery can sometimes be avoided completely. It also reduces the risk of recurrence. The method has been confirmed as effective in a comprehensive study conducted at Uppsala University and published in eClinicalMedicine.

  • Chronic cough may be hereditary

    Chronic cough is among the most common reasons for seeking medical care, with middle-aged women the group most affected. New studies at Uppsala University also show that this condition appears to be a hereditary phenomenon. The studies have been published in ERJ Open Research and PLOS ONE.

  • Greater attention needs to be paid to malnutrition in the sick and elderly

    As many as half of all patients admitted to hospital, other healthcare facilities are malnourished. This has serious consequences for the individual in terms of poorer quality of life and mortality. Providing nutrients can alleviate these problems, but not enough attention is paid to this knowledge, writes researchers from Uppsala University and the University of Gothenburg published in the NEJM.

  • Lymphoma patients at high risk of infections after diagnosis

    Every year, around 100 people are affected by mantle cell lymphoma. A study at Uppsala University shows that these patients are more vulnerable to other diseases and that the risk of infection for this type of patient should therefore be carefully evaluated. The results of the study have been published in the journal Hemasphere.

  • Macrophages behave like mural cells to promote healing of ischemic muscle injury

    Innate immune cells including macrophages and neutrophils have unique properties that allows them to quickly accumulate in large numbers at the site of infection or injury. A new study from researchers at Uppsala University establishes that macrophage in the adult ischemic muscle induce a phenotype switch into mural cells to support restoration of functional blood flow and thereby promote healing.

  • Robots' sense of touch could be as fast as humans

    Research at Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet could pave the way for a prosthetic hand and robot to be able to feel touch like a human hand. Their study has been published in the journal Science. The technology could also be used to help restore lost functionality to patients after a stroke.

  • Vole fever spreading further south

    Researchers have discovered that bank voles in Skåne, southern Sweden, carry a virus that can cause hemorrhagic fever in humans. This finding was made more than 500 km south of the previously known range. This is revealed in a new study from Uppsala University. The researchers were surprised that such a high proportion of the relatively few voles they caught were actually carrying a hantavirus.

  • New discovery concerning occurrence of antibiotic resistance

    A new study shows how heteroresistance, a transient resistance common in many bacteria, can act as a precursor to the development of antibiotic resistance. According to researchers at Uppsala University, this is the first time this link has been demonstrated.

  • Lower survival rates for women than men with germ cell tumours

    Women with a type of ovarian cancer known as germ cell tumours have a worse prognosis than men with similar tumours, i.e. testicular cancer. After five years with the disease, 98 percent of men were alive while the survival rate for women was only 85 percent. This has been revealed by a new study from Uppsala University and Uppsala University Hospital published in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

  • Too little sleep raises risk of type 2 diabetes

    Adults who sleep only three to five hours a day are at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This is demonstrated in a new study from Uppsala University, published in JAMA Network Open. It also shows that chronic sleep deprivation cannot be compensated by healthy eating alone.

  • Double risk of dementia after mouth ulcer virus

    People who have had the herpes virus at some point in their lives are twice as likely to develop dementia compared to those who have never been infected. A new study from Uppsala University confirms previous research on whether herpes can be a possible risk factor for dementia.

  • A standard blood test can predict a heart attack

    Using the results of a standard blood test and an online tool, you can find out if you are at increased risk of having a heart attack within six months. The tool has been developed by a research group at Uppsala University in the hope of increasing patients’ motivation to change their lifestyle.

  • Many more infected by TBE virus than previously known

    The number of infections by the tick-borne TBE virus that are not detected by health services is far higher than previously assumed. This has been shown in a new study of Swedish blood donors from Uppsala University and the University Hospital in Uppsala. The results have been published in the journal Eurosurveillance, which is associated with the EU’s Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

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