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Information about the corona virus for staff and students

Hope for children with high-risk neuroblastoma

Thanks to many years of translational research, some children with the rare childhood cancer neuroblastoma may now be cured. In a new study, researchers at among others Karolinska Institutet and University of Gothenburg write that so-called ALK inhibitors should be used to treat children with high-risk neuroblastoma. That is after an analysis showed that children with mutations in the ALK gene have poorer prognosis.

Immune cells in the human biliary system mapped

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have analysed and described in detail the immune cells residing in the human bile duct. The findings may pave the way for new treatment strategies against disorders of the bile duct, which are often linked to immunological processes. The study is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

The new coronavirus

Low-cost method for finding new coronavirus variants

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a technology for cost-effective surveillance of the global spread of new SARS-CoV-2 variants. The technique is presented in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

KI awarded grant for follow-up studies of COVID-19 vaccines

Two research environments from Karolinska Institutet have been awarded grants for follow-up studies of COVID-19 vaccines. In total, six research environments from five universities will share SEK 100 million from the Swedish Research Council.

National COVID-19 portal an important resource for data sharing

A Swedish COVID-19 data portal has now been in operation for a year and forms part of a European network aimed at promoting data sharing and access to data-related resources. The data portal has contributed to increased support for a large number of research projects and publications.

KI receives SEK 6.5 million in funding for COVID-19 research

Thirteen KI researchers have received funding from the Heart-Lung Foundation for their research on the new coronavirus. The grants total SEK 6.5 million, with approximately 40 per cent of the grants being distributed by the Heart-Lung Foundation (2021).

Low risk of infection in babies born to mothers with COVID-19

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the Public Health Agency of Sweden have studied newborn babies whose mothers tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy or childbirth. The results show that although babies born of test-positive mothers are more likely to be born early, extremely few were infected with COVID-19. The study, which is published in JAMA, supports the Swedish recommendation not to separate mother and baby after delivery.

Find out more at the COVID-19 Resource Hub

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 the COVID-19 Resource Hub.

Parental training and child CBT effective for children with disruptive behavioural disorders

Early intervention for disruptive behaviour disorders in children reduces the risk of antisocial development and psychiatric problems later in life. Parental training and child CBT are two interventions about which more needs to be known concerning the effects on disruptive behaviour disorders. According to a new doctoral thesis from Karolinska Institutet, both have a positive effect on such disorders, where severity should determine the choice of treatment.

Contact with sperm donors aroused many emotions

Sweden was the first country in the world to introduce open-identity sperm donation, whereby adult children are entitled to obtain information about their donors. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now explored how such contacts and relations affect the parents of these young men and women. The study, which is published in Human Reproduction, shows that mothers often find it easier to accept the new situation.

First months decisive for immune system development

Many diseases caused by a dysregulated immune system, such as allergies, asthma and autoimmunity, can be traced back to events in the first few months after birth. To date, the mechanisms behind the development of the immune system have not been fully understood. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet show a connection between breast milk, beneficial gut bacteria and the development of the immune system. The study is published in Cell.

Several persistent chemicals were found in fetal organs

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet found industrial chemicals in the organs of fetuses conceived decades after many countries had banned the substances. In a study published in the journal Chemosphere, the researchers urge decision makers to consider the combined impact of the mix of chemicals that accumulate in people and nature.

Low income increases risk of recurrent heart attacks

More knowledge is needed about risk factors for recurrent cardiovascular disease and myocardial infarction. In his thesis, doctor Joel Ohm at the Department of Medicine, Solna, Karolinska Institutet, describes how socio-economic factors have a major impact on secondary prevention efforts and prognosis. The results may have an impact on people who have survived myocardial infarction.

Common vaccine protects against more HPV viruses than previously known

The human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cancer and many countries run national vaccination programmes to minimise the risk. Studies involving researchers at KI now report on the longitudinal effect of common HPV vaccines. The results, which are published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases and Lancet Infectious Diseases, show lasting protection against more HPV variants than the vaccines were developed for.

Immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth improves survival of pre-term babies

Continuous skin-to-skin contact starting immediately after delivery even before the baby has been stabilised can reduce mortality by 25 per cent in infants with a very low birth weight. This according to a study in low- and middle-income countries coordinated by the WHO on the initiative of researchers at Karolinska Institutet published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Top-publications list

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

New insights on exercise adaptation at a molecular level
Time trajectories in the transcriptomic response to exercise — a meta-analysis, Amar D, Lindholm ME, Norrbom J, Wheeler MT, Rivas MA, Ashley EA, Nature Communications, June 2021.

Severe COVID-19 may be driven by RAAS imbalance
COVID-19 pathophysiology may be driven by an imbalance in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, Rysz S et al, Nature Communications, April 2021.

One step closer toward understanding the origin of neuroblastoma
Single-cell transcriptomics of human embryos identifies multiple sympathoblast lineages with potential implications for neuroblastoma origin, Kameneva P et al, Nature Genetics, April 2021.

Personalized care the way forward to reduce obesity and type 2 diabetes
Metabolic Consequences of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes: Balancing Genes and Environment for Personalized Care, Pillon NJ et al, Cell, March 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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She wants to understand long-term COVID

As a tuberculosis researcher, she is accustomed to studying airborne pandemic contagion. Early in the current pandemic, Judith Bruchfeld saw the need to assemble various experts to investigate long-term illness after COVID-19. “There’s a lot we don’t understand yet.”

The Conversation: COVID during pregnancy poses a low risk to newborns

According to KI researcher Mikael Norman, babies born to women who have tested positive for COVID-19 do not need to be routinely separated from their mothers at birth. Find this news article and others from KI, recently published by the news site 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