News archive

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet now quickly generate new knowledge on clinically important drug-drug interactions associated to the anticoagulant warfarin.

Cytokines are a type of proteins that are important to the signaling between cells in the body's immune system, for example in the case of an infection or injury. A new study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, by researchers researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Lund University, is now indicating that the cytokine interleukin(IL)-26 could be used as a biological marker (biomarker) for uncontrolled asthma in both adults and children.

Meet your colleagues, while getting some activity and fresh air.
Wednesday: Akademiska Stråket 1, Bioclinicum, Solna
Friday: Blickagången 16, NEO, Flemingsberg
@ 12 am, the walk will be 30-40 minutes and at an easy pace.

Professor Juleen Zierath, the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, is awarded the Swedish Medical Society's Jubilee Prize 2019 for her pioneering translational diabetes research. Her studies have led to new and important knowledge that can improve the health of many people living with diabetes.

Fat-soluble statins can prevent liver cancer and reduce mortality in patients with chronic viral hepatitis. These are findings from a study conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, among others. The study is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) run a greater risk of psychiatric disorders, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in JAMA Pediatrics. The researchers claim that more psychological support and longer follow-up is needed for the children affected and their parents.

The international collaboration project Equal Life has received SEK 120 million from EU-HORIZON 2020. Jenny Selander, researcher at IMM´s unit for occupational medicine, is the main applicant from Karolinska Institutet.

The hormone secreting part of the pancreas, the islets of Langerhans, has a unique cyto-architecture that allows functional interrelationships between the different cell types. Somatostatin is secreted by the delta cell and is an effective inhibitor of the insulin secreting beta cell and the glucagon secreting alpha cell. According to a novel study from Karolinska Instiutet, published in the journal Nature Communications, the delta cell can thereby indirectly affect glucose homeostasis

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered a new sensory receptor organ that is able to detect painful mechanical damage, such as pricks and impacts. The discovery is being published in the scientific journal Science.

Sten Linnarsson, professor of molecular systems biology at Karolinska Institutet, is trying to understand the development of the human brain. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is now giving him this year’s Torsten Söderberg Academy Professorial Chair in Medicine for his work in achieving a detailed map of the human brain. The grant consists of SEK ten million over a five-year period.

Cells exposed to cancer-driving mutations respond by triggering a stress reaction called cellular senescence, which halts cell proliferation and thereby constitutes the major protective barrier to cancer. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now discovered a previously unknown signaling pathway that controls cellular senescence in breast cancer.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have investigated the long-term effect of hormonal therapy in women with the most common types of hormone-sensitive breast cancer. The results, presented in the journal JAMA Oncology, show that the treatment has a protective effect against distant metastatic cancer for both so-called Luminal A and Luminal B breast cancer subtypes, and a long-term effect for women diagnosed with Luminal A cancer.

Psychiatric comorbidity may play an important role in the increased risk of premature death in people with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), according to a new extensive registry study conducted at Karolinska Institutet and Örebro University in Sweden. The results, which are published in JAMA Psychiatry, suggest that improved awareness and care of psychiatric comorbidities such as substance use disorders may help reduce serious outcomes associated with ADHD.

Gioele La Manno is awarded The Dimitris N. Chorafas Prize 2019. The Prize (USD 5.000) is meant to reward pre-graduate scientific contributions within the doctoral education. The candidate should not have reached the age of 32 years at the time he/she is nominated to the prize.

Professor Solvig Eklbad shares her concern and visions in an interview in the Swedish daily paper Svenska Dagbladet.

New study published in PLOS Medicine.

Circadian biology is becoming a critical factor for improving drug efficacy and diminishing drug toxicity.

A novel study, published in the scientific journal Cardiovascular Research, identifies that maternal androgen excess increases the risk of cardiovascular disease in female animal offspring. The findings could have important clinical implications for women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and may explain why women with PCOS and their daughters have increased risk of developing cardiovascular dysfunction in adult life.

In a recent publication in PNAS, the Susanne Schlisio group at MTC in Collaboration with CCK at Karolinska Institutet, the Edinburgh Cancer Research UK Centre, and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, identified how to kill therapy-resistant cells in hypoxic tumors and in cells arising in the von Hippel-Lindau hereditary cancer.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have shown that persistent obesity decreases neurological recovery after stroke in the mouse. The findings could facilitate the development of new stroke rehabilitative strategies for obese and diabetic patients.

Last week Stockholm Pride took place. The festival is part of a global movement to improve the life situation and rights of LGBTQ individuals. Karolinska Institutet participated again in this year’s colourful manifestation.

Following the emergence of the most recent disturbing details, President Ole Petter Ottersen is once again calling for justice for Ahmedreza Djalali.

Dexamethasone, a synthetic glucocorticoid, may be more effective in protecting the auditory system when delivered during the active phase. A novel study shows how the time of the day impacts on the treatment outcome. The study is published in Current Biology and has been conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet.

A new large-scale genome-wide association study published in Nature Genetics, has identified eight genetic variants significantly associated with anorexia nervosa. The study, involving researchers from Karolinska Institutet, shows that the origins of this serious disorder appear to be both metabolic and psychiatric.

A study published in Nature Communications sheds new light on how mutations in an egg coat protein called ZP1 can cause infertility in women. The protein can be a promising candidate for future non-hormonal contraceptive efforts, says Luca Jovine, professor at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, who led the study.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have studied the mechanism of action of a drug used to treat multiple sclerosis. The results, which are published in the journal Nature Communications, show that the drug affects cells in the innate immune system and that there is an unexpected link between therapeutic effect and an increase in the production of reactive oxygen species.

Extra support for parents led to better weight development in young children with obesity than current standard treatment, researchers from Karolinska Institutet report. The researchers hope that the results, which are published in the journal Pediatrics, can help to improve care for families with very young children with obesity.

A new study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet shows that the protein alpha-synuclein, which accumulates in patients with Parkinson’s disease, occurs bound to lipoprotein particles in cerebrospinal fluid, which may explain how the disease spreads in the nervous system. The study is published in the scientific journal PNAS.

The American Journal of Sports Medicine has nominated the paper “Operative Repair of Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Injury Versus Knee Brace in Children With an Acute First-Time Traumatic Patellar Dislocation: A Randomized Controlled Trial” to the most outstanding paper of the year 2018.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified a new mechanism behind the immunological activation in atherosclerosis. The results are expected to lead to new treatment options for cardiovascular disease.

As part of the EU Horizon 2020 funded project IMPACT TB, Knut Lönnroth, Olivia Biermann and Kerri Viney from the Department of Public Health Sciences participated in the IMPACT TB consortium meeting and policy dialogue in Kathmandu, Nepal.

The standard treatment for aggressive skin cancer is to surgically remove the tumour. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now show that a 2 cm operational margin is sufficient, as opposed to the close to 4 cm margin previously applied by surgeons. For the study, which is published in The Lancet, the researchers monitored over 900 patients for an average span of 19 years after surgery.

In June six master candidates successfully defended their thesis and passed the examination.

Karolinska Institutet is granted funding from Vinnova to start a new centre of excellence. The centre will focus on developing next-generation immunotherapy based on NK-cells for the treatment of cancer.

Patients who have undergone surgical replacement of the heart’s aortic valve have a shorter life expectancy than the normal population, the loss in life expectancy being particularly marked in the young. This according to a registry study published in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

The risk of suicide attempts and suicides among individuals with autism spectrum disorders is significantly higher than among the population in general. An especially high risk of suicidal behaviour is noted among women who in addition to autism also have ADHD. These are the findings of a population-based study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the journal Psychological Medicine.

On July 3, Professor Jonas F Ludvigsson will participate in a seminar in Almedalen. At the seminar, participants will discuss the government investigation ”complementary and alternative medicine” (the KAV report), which was handed to the Swedish government in May this year.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found a way of using gene expression conserved across species to divide patients with the inflammatory bowel disease ulcerative colitis into two distinct groups. The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications, and the researchers hope that the method can also be used to subdivide other autoimmune diseases.

Lung cancer cells use antioxidants, endogenous or dietary, to spread in the body by activating a protein called BACH1 and increasing the uptake and use of sugar, Swedish and American researchers report in two independent studies. The studies, which are published in the eminent scientific journal Cell, pave the way for new therapeutic strategies for lung cancer.

Jenny Löfgren from the group Vascular Surgery, the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, has together with researchers from Ghana, USA and Sweden, conducted a study on inguinal hernia surgery recently published in JAMA Surgery. The study shows no statistically significant differences in inguinal hernia surgery completed by medical doctors vs. surgeons.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have studied which genes are expressed in overactive immune cells in mice with asthma-like inflammation of the airways. Their results, which are published in the journal Immunity, suggest that the synthesis and breakdown of fats plays an important part in the process.

Patients with biliary tract cancer have altered genetic architecture in some immune system receptor systems. This has been shown by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden in a new study published in the journal Gastroenterology. It is hoped that the discovery will lead to new effective immunotherapy for these difficult to treat tumour types.

Using a method called Mendelian randomisation, researchers at Karolinska Institutet show that there is a causal association between high BMI and several heart and blood vessel diseases, especially if the fat mass is high. The greatest risk increase was observed for a condition known as aortic valve stenosis. The study is published in the European Heart Journal.

Gonçalo Castelo Branco, at Karolinska Institutet’s Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, is leading one of 38 projects that received a Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Seed Networks for the Human Cell Atlas grant. The project, investigating how oligodendrocytes can be different in the human brain and spinal cord, will be part of the Human Cell Atlas, a global consortium of scientists whose mission is to create comprehensive reference maps of all human cells.

Good news! 9 researchers from ANA Futura received CIMED grant 2020-2022.

KI-researcher Åsa Wheelock has been awarded a grant of SEK 15 million for molecular research on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) has distributed 2 MSEK during 2019 to support a collaborative project between Karolinska Institutet and Region Stockholm.

The grants are distributed over three years: 2010-2022.