| Karolinska Institutet Nyheter

Early food introduction can reduce risk of food allergy in children

Infants who were given a taste of peanut, milk, wheat and egg from the age of three months had a lower risk of developing a food allergy at the age of three years than controls, reports a study by researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Oslo in Norway published in The Lancet.

New approach to treatment of deadly kidney cancer

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have linked resistance to treatment for a deadly form of kidney cancer to low mitochondrial content in the cell. When the researchers increased the mitochondrial content with an inhibitor, the cancer cells responded to the treatment. Their findings, which are published in Nature Metabolism, offer hope for more targeted cancer drugs.

Improved protein function opens way for new drug development concept

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and SciLifeLab describe in a study published in Science how they have improved the ability of a protein to repair oxidative DNA damage and created a new protein function. Their innovative technique can lead to improved drugs for diseases involving oxidative stress, such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and lung diseases, but the researchers believe it has even greater potential.

Successful repatriation of remains to North America

On May 18, Dan Jibréus, who travelled to North America on behalf of the KI to return the remains of two persons, returned to Sweden. He describes the trip as very successful, and the two remains, from the Arikara and Miami peoples respectively, have now been returned to their places of origin.

Three KI researchers among the “Future research leaders“

The Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, SSF, has appointed the eight generation of "Future research leader", three researchers from Karolinska Institutet. The researchers receive 15 million SEK each during a five year period and will join a leadership training program.

LGBTQI-inclusive work and study environment in focus during pride week

As in previous years, several of Stockholm's academic institutions are joining together with a united theme during Pride week to draw attention to LGBTQI issues. Academic Pride 2022 is organising a seminar on LGBTQI-inclusive work and study environments and joint participation in the Pride Parade. The Pride flag will also be flown at all participating universities throughout the week of this festive week.

Diabetes and cardiovascular disease increase dementia risk

People with at least two of the diseases type 2 diabetes, heart disease or stroke have double the risk of developing dementia. Prevention of diabetes and cardiovascular disease could therefore be a strategy for reducing dementia risk, a study from Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia suggests.

Antibiotic resistance

The silent pandemic

Antibiotic resistance is sometimes referred to as the silent pandemic – a contagion that spreads without us really knowing its extent or severity. But research is in progress to find new ways of fighting bacteria. And as with COVID-19, everyone can help to reduce the spread – and save lives.

Resistant bacteria took her daughter's life

Pernilla Rönnholm lost her daughter because of antibiotic resistant intestinal bacteria. Now she works for preventing more children to being affected.

She will strengthen the international work against resistance

KI alumni Malin Grape has been appointed by the government as AMR ambassador to work against antimicrobial resistance.

Why antibiotics are overused in dentistry

Broad-spectrum antibiotics are overused in dentistry because many patients mistakenly believe they have a penicillin allergy. But such allergies are rare and should be investigated by a doctor, says Bodil Lund, chair of the Tandvårds-Strama network, which supports rational antibiotic therapy in dentistry.

Gel fights drug-resistant bacteria and induces body’s natural immune defense

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital and KTH Royal Institute of Technology have developed a new kind of antibiotic-free protection for wounds that kills drug-resistant bacteria and induces the body’s own immune responses to fight infections. The technology is described in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and could be an important tool in the fight against multidrug-resistant bacteria.

Patient-initiated brief admission an important complement to psychiatric outpatient care

Patient-initiated brief admission as a complement to outpatient psychiatric care is appreciated by nurses and patients, and can reduce levels of anxiety in people with emotional instability and self-harm, a new thesis from Karolinska Institutet reports.

Red blood cell units from female blood donors do not increase risk of death of transfused patients

A study from Karolinska Institutet sheds new light on the question of whether the sex and previous pregnancy of blood donors affects survival in patients who receive red blood cell transfusions. According to the study, which is published in JAMA Internal Medicine, neither of these factors has such an effect, after accounting for the lower haemoglobin levels in blood from women.

The Coronavirus

Omicron elicits lower antibody responses in individuals with prior COVID-19 infection

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Danderyd Hospital have followed participants who have received three doses of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and compared their immune responses after Omicron infection. The results, which are published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, show that Omicron infection elicits significantly higher antibody responses in individuals without prior COVID-19 infection as compared to previously infected individuals.

Gene variant influences blood clot risk in severe covid-19

Researchers at Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet are one step closer to explaining why COVID-19 patients have a substantially increased risk of blood clots. The study, published in Nature Immunology, shows that a gene variant in the innate immune system influences the risk for blood clots in the lungs of severely ill COVID-19 patients.

mRNA booster vaccines may be a good investment in resource-poor countries

Vaccines based on inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus are commonly used in resource-poor countries due to their low cost. New research from Karolinska Institutet shows that a booster shot of mRNA vaccine to individuals who have received two doses of inactivated vaccine offers the same level of protection against COVID-19 as three doses of mRNA vaccine. The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.

Air pollution linked to higher risk of COVID-19 in young adults

Residential exposure to ambient air pollutants is linked to an elevated risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, an observational study of young adults in Stockholm shows. The study was conducted by researchers from Karolinska Institutet and is published in JAMA Network Open.

No increase in pregnancy complications after COVID-19 vaccination

Vaccination against COVID-19 during pregnancy is not associated with a higher risk of pregnancy complications, according to a large-scale registry study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health published in the journal JAMA.

Study describes new way of generating insulin-producing cells

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden show how a molecule that they have identified stimulates the formation of new insulin-producing cells in zebrafish and mammalian tissue, through a newly described mechanism for regulating protein synthesis. The results are published in Nature Chemical Biology.

How screen habits affects children's health

Can climate worry be used constructively?

The Conversation: 6 ways long-term smell loss can affect us

Top publications in selection

Low socioeconomic status linked to increased risk of bleeding after aortic valve replacement
Dalén M et al, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, June 2022

”Unexpected finding on the 3D organisation of chromosomes”
Björkegren C et al, Science Advances, June 2022

New study on IRF7 protein deficient patients with COVID-19 and influenza
Campbell T et al, Journal of Experimental Medicine, June 2022

A non-coding RNA regulates gene expression in human mitochondria
Xuefeng Zhu et al, Cell, June 2022

New stem cell-based technology opens for possible future treatment in Parkinson’s
Alekseenko Z et al, Nature Communications, June 2022

Improved method for single-cell RNA-sequencing at scale
Hagemann-Jensen M et al, Nature Biotechnology, May 2022

Blocking calcium pump inhibitor as potential treatment for heart failure
De Genst E et al, Nature Communications, May 2022

More high impact publications

Researchers, teachers and students on life after the pandemic

Vaccines against COVID-19 and other diseases – how they continue to evolve

Information regarding the war in Ukraine

KI at Almedalen 2022

President‘s blog

The Macchiarini case: timeline

Select an option

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

KI in the debate

KI constantly engages in the public debate and comments on current issues concerning our operations. On this page you find published opinion pieces and comments.

If you are

If you want to

Departments

Top publications in selection

Early food introduction can reduce risk of food allergy in children

New approach to treatment of deadly kidney cancer

Improved protein function opens way for new drug development concept

Successful repatriation of remains to North America

Three KI researchers among the “Future research leaders“

LGBTQI-inclusive work and study environment in focus during pride week

Diabetes and cardiovascular disease increase dementia risk

Antibiotic resistance

The silent pandemic

Resistant bacteria took her daughter's life

She will strengthen the international work against resistance

Why antibiotics are overused in dentistry

Gel fights drug-resistant bacteria and induces body’s natural immune defense

Patient-initiated brief admission an important complement to psychiatric outpatient care

Red blood cell units from female blood donors do not increase risk of death of transfused patients

The Coronavirus

Omicron elicits lower antibody responses in individuals with prior COVID-19 infection

Gene variant influences blood clot risk in severe covid-19

mRNA booster vaccines may be a good investment in resource-poor countries

Air pollution linked to higher risk of COVID-19 in young adults

No increase in pregnancy complications after COVID-19 vaccination

Study describes new way of generating insulin-producing cells

How screen habits affects children's health

Can climate worry be used constructively?

The Conversation: 6 ways long-term smell loss can affect us

Top publications in selection

Researchers, teachers and students on life after the pandemic

Vaccines against COVID-19 and other diseases – how they continue to evolve

Information regarding the war in Ukraine

KI at Almedalen 2022

President‘s blog

The Macchiarini case: timeline

KI in the debate

KI in the media

Research subjects wanted