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Information about the corona virus for staff and students

Elevated heart rate linked to increased risk of dementia

Having an elevated resting heart rate in old age may be an independent risk factor of dementia, according to a study at Karolinska Institutet published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. Since resting heart rate is easy to measure and can be lowered through exercise or medical treatment, the researchers believe that it may help to identify people with higher dementia risk for early intervention.

Study shows how digital and molecular data can be integrated and used to improve health

Analysing molecular characteristics and their variation during lifestyle changes, by combining digital tools, classical laboratory tests and new biomolecular measurements, could enable individualised prevention of disease. This is according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Helsinki in Finland published in the journal Cell Systems. The researchers show what a proactive healthcare model could comprise and how it could help in maintaining good health.

Four new Wallenberg Academy Fellows to Karolinska Institutet

Four of the 27 new Wallenberg Academy Fellows appointed in 2021 will conduct their research at Karolinska Institutet. The five-year grant is financed by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation to provide young and talented PIs with long-term research funding in Sweden.

New way of identifying early risk of cardiovascular disease

The risk of developing cardiovascular disease is strongly associated with the “bad” LDL cholesterol. A large study by scientists at Karolinska Institutet now shows that two proteins that transport cholesterol particles in the blood provide early and reliable risk information. The researchers advocate introducing new guidelines for detecting cardiac risk and say the results, published in PLOS Medicine, may pave the way for early treatment, which could help lower morbidity and fatality rates.

Early interventions could help counteract muscle loss

Weakening muscles are a natural part of the ageing process, but for some people with a condition called sarcopenia the decline is abnormally fast. A new study from Karolinska Institutet suggests that the early stages of sarcopenia could be counteracted with timely interventions designed to preserve physical and cognitive function and manage chronic conditions. The results are published in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle.

Rare diseases the central topic of Spanish state visit

On November 24, H.M. Queen Letizia of Spain, H.M. Queen Silvia and H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital.

New findings on bacteria that increase risk of pancreatic cancer

Bacteria from the digestive system seem to have the potential to cause damage to pancreatic cells, increasing the risk of malignant tumours. Now for the first time, live bacteria from cystic pancreatic lesions that are precursors to pancreatic cancer, have been analysed by researchers at Karolinska Institutet. The study, which is published in Gut Microbes, can lead to prophylactic interventions using local antibiotics.

Research on COVID-19

Likely lower risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes from SARS-CoV-2 than previously feared

The risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in women who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 is likely lower than several earlier studies have suggested, a national study of all pregnant Swedish women tested for SARS-CoV-2 between March 2020 and January 2021 reports. The study, published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and led by KI researchers, shows that the association varies widely depending on the routines used for testing pregnant women.

COVID-19 immunity in young Swedish adults investigated

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have analysed the presence of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies and memory cells of the immune system in young adults. The results, published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, show that over one in four had antibodies due to the infection. Fewer of these individuals had measurable levels of memory B and T cells compared with other age groups. The researchers will now study long COVID in young adults and the effects of vaccination on immunity.

Two vaccine doses boost antibody levels in the airways after COVID-19

Antibodies in the airways quickly wane after SARS-CoV-2 infection, but vaccination results in a strong increase in antibody levels, especially after two doses, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the journal JCI Insight. The results suggest that having a second dose of vaccine also after recovering from COVID-19 may be important for protecting against re-infection and to prevent transmission.

Statins linked to reduced risk of death from COVID-19 in major population study

Statins are a recommended and common intervention for preventing cardiovascular events by reducing levels of lipoprotein cholesterol in the blood. During the pandemic, it has been debated whether statins influence the risk of death from COVID-19. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now conducted the largest population study to date in the field. The study, which is published in PLOS Medicine, indicates that statin treatment slightly lowers COVID-19 mortality.

More news and features on the new coronavirus

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet are responding to the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, through a myriad of initiatives. For more news and features on the work being conducted at Karolinska Institutet, including vaccine and drug development, please see our page Spotlight on COVID-19.

Top-publications list

A limited selection of recent publications in high impact journals to which researchers at KI have contributed.

Folding patterns of the genome give clues on identify of brain cells
Cell-type specialization is encoded by specific chromatin topologies
Warren Winick-Ng, Alexander Kukalev, Izabela Harabula, et al, Nature, November 2021

Cells need Topoisomerase 1 to remember what to do after they divide
Topoisomerase 1 activity during mitotic transcription favors 1 the transition from mitosis to G1
Anika Wiegard et al, Molecular Cell, November 2021

New knowledge on why prostate cancer so commonly spread to the bone
Human prostate cancer bone metastases have an actionable immunosuppressive microenvironment, Kfoury Y, Baryawno N, Severe N, Sykes DB, Kharchenko PV as part of the Boston Bone Metastases Consortium, Cancer Cell, October 2021.

Tumour DNA in blood accumulates in exosomes
Extracellular vesicles are the primary source of blood-borne tumour-derived mutant KRAS DNA early in pancreatic cancer, Daniel W. Hagey et al, Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, October 2021.

Defective gene on the X chromosome behind severe COVID-19 in men
X-linked recessive TLR7 deficiency in ~1% of men under 60 years old with life-threatening COVID-19, Asano T et al, Science Immunology, August 2021.

Autoantibodies against type I interferons may explain 20% of COVID-19 related deaths
Autoantibodies neutralizing type I IFNs are present in ~4% of uninfected individuals over 70 years old and account for ~20% of COVID-19 deaths, Bastard P et al, Science Immunology, August 2021.

More high impact publications

KI in the media

The Macchiarini case: timeline

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View a summary of the events and decisions in the Macchiarini case.

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Creating a better future for all children

Professor Stefan Swartling Peterson isn’t interested in getting more papers published. No, he wants to spend the last ten years of his career helping to create a better future for all children. And time’s running out.

The Conversation: More accurate way to predict who will develop Alzheimer’s disease

Study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet shows that an early accumulation of tau in the brain is a better predictor of Alzheimer’s related memory decline than an accumulation of amyloid plaque. Unlike the presence of beta-amyloid in the brain, the presence of tau measured by PET turned out to be linked to a rapid decline of episodic memory. Read more in The Conversation.

President‘s blog

Spotlight on Vaccine Research

Vaccines have saved lives for more than 200 years, but the research area continues to evolve with new discoveries that provide more effective and safer vaccines. Doors are now opening to develop vaccines against, for example, cancer, dementia and cardiovascular disease. The COVID-19 pandemic has given vaccine research a real boost.

Meet our researchers

What causes depression and why is fat cells so hard to study? These are some of the questions that researchers at KI are interested in. Find interviews and articles prevously published here at the news site or in our popular-science magazine, Medicinsk Vetenskap.

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Top-publications list