News archive

Arvid Sjölander works with statistical tools and mathematical models to help medical scientists make more reliable estimations of causal effects. Meet one of the new professors of Karolinska Institutet who will participate in this year's installation ceremony at Aula Medica on 3 October.

The Annual PREGART Project Consortium meeting took place from August 5-6, 2024, at Haile Resort in Hawassa City, Ethiopia. The event brought together over 60 participants, including consortium members, government stakeholders, and representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority, and partner organizations. Attendees gathered to review the project’s progress, share insights, and outline plans for the year ahead.

Policy labs at KI continue to be popular. On Tuesday 27 August, it was time for the first lab of the autumn. The theme was Sweden and antibiotic resistance, with a focus on how research and evidence can influence policy at the highest level. This time, the policy lab was opened up to a slightly wider and more external audience, to provide an opportunity to network and share experiences with others.

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet and Maastricht University have developed a technique that enables the examination of embryos for all known genetic abnormalities with a single test. The new method is more accurate and faster than existing techniques, increasing the chance of a healthy child for parents at increased risk of inherited conditions. The research was published today in Nature Communications

A new project RER-CTO (Regulatory and Ethics Readiness for Clinical Trials Oversight) aimed at achieving excellence and harmonization in clinical trial oversight across sub-Saharan Africa has been launched, backed by nearly 1 million euros in funding from the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking.

Abbie Barry is a public health specialist and project manager with extensive expertise in pharmacovigilance, public health epidemiology, and disease control. She currently works as a consultant for the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa, where she focuses on conducting desk research and epidemiological analysis to identify strategic investment areas and develop targeted interventions aimed at reducing the disease burden across the African continent.

Patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) often develop liver failure and the risk of cancer is high. Annika Bergquist hopes her research will add to the understanding of the disease and lead to more efficacious treatment. Meet one of the new professors of Karolinska Institutet who will participate in this year's installation ceremony at Aula Medica on 3 October.

On 1 September we welcome Professor Stefano Romeo to the department of Medicine, Huddinge.

In a study recently published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: the journal of Alzheimer’s Association, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Shandong Provincial University have reported the polygenic risk scores (PRS) with and without APOE gene that were associated both cross-sectionally and longitudinally with around double risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, the PRS, in combination with age, sex, and education, showed good discriminative and predictive accuracies for Alzheimer’s disease.

Being at home is as safe as at the hospital when a medical abortion after twelve weeks of pregnancy is initiated. These are the findings of a study conducted at Karolinska Institutet and the University of Gothenburg and published in The Lancet. When starting at home, day patient care is usually sufficient, and women are satisfied with the treatment.

In a study published in Science, researchers at Karolinska Institutet describe the neural processes behind how morphine relieves pain. This is valuable knowledge because the drug has such serious side effects.

Children who have undergone treatment for cancer often lose the protection against infection provided by previous vaccinations. Anna Nilsson is studying how cancer therapies affect the immune system in order to improve vaccination guidelines for these children. Meet one of the new professors of Karolinska Institutet who will participate in this year's installation ceremony at Aula Medica on 3 October.

A new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Nature Communications provides valuable insights into the activation of receptors on the cell surface. The knowledge opens up for new targeted therapies and drugs against intestinal tumours, among other things.

Karolinska Institutet has discovered that an already registered antidepressant, duloxetine, may also have positive effects on memory and cognitive functions in the elderly.

Many immunodeficiency diseases are serious conditions that require stem cell transplantation. Lisa Westerberg is studying how mutations prevent immune cells from moving properly in order to find new therapeutic strategies. Meet one of the new professors of Karolinska Institutet who will participate in this year's installation ceremony at Aula Medica on 3 October.

Girls with mental illness or neurodevelopmental conditions are less likely than their peers to be vaccinated with the HPV vaccine that protects against future cervical cancer. This is according to a new registry study from Karolinska Institutet published in The Lancet Public Health.

A new registry study from Karolinska Institutet and Tampere University shows that hospital admissions due to allergic reactions in children have increased in Finland while they have decreased in Sweden. The study, published in the journal Allergy, also shows that the incidence of anaphylaxis is higher in Finland than in Sweden.

When analyzing inflammatory markers in blood and cerebrospinal fluid, researchers at Karolinska Institutet found signs of inflammation in tissue from patients with cluster headache, specifically in the samples from the nervous system. The study was recently published in The Journal of Headache and Pain.

Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes are associated with accelerated brain ageing, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Diabetes Care. The good news is that this may be counteracted by a healthy lifestyle.

Andrea Varrone uses PET technology to study how the brain changes in Parkinson’s disease. His aim is to develop new imaging tools that can be used for making early diagnoses and measuring the effects of different therapies. Meet one of the new professors of Karolinska Institutet who will participate in this year's installation ceremony at Aula Medica on 3 October.

Eva Kosek, professor of Clinical Pain Research, has been awarded Roland Melzack Lecture Award by the International Association for the Study of Pain.

Per Nilsson, docent at the Division of Clinical Geriatrics, receives this amount together with Evandro Fang at the University of Oslo. Additionally, the funding is 200,000 USD per year for two years with the possibility of extension.

Professor Agneta Åkesson at the Institute for Environmental Medicine (IMM) has been appointed as a member of EFSA's panel "Contaminants in the food chain". The appointment is valid for five years.

A new study published in Microbiome by researchers at Karolinska Institutet, suggests that a few well-timed samples could help predict long-term imbalances in vaginal health, which is linked to various health issues.

Hang Tran, doctoral student in the Global Child Health and Sustainable Development Goals research team has successfully defended her thesis, titled Clinical and experimental implementation of standardized hypothermia treatment for neonatal asphyxia in low-income setting. Her research in Vietnam explores the use of phase changing material to cool babies with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.

At the start of the academic year, the Global Child Health and Sustainable Development Goals research group meets for an annual retreat. This year editor-in-chief for Acta Paediatrica, Professor Hugo Lagercrantz and Associate Professor Nick Brown, editor-in-chief of Archives of Disease in Childhood Contact were invited to discuss handling of manuscripts and the process of publishing academic papers.

FitForLife is a study where patients with psychosis are educated to physical exercise trainers. For 6 months the trainers led exercise sessions for their fellow patients at sixteen psychiatric outpatient units in three regions. The most important finding was that 6 months after the study ended 15 out of the 16 units continued with the concept. The researchers have seen effects on need of care, social skills and metabolic markers.

As the volume of clinical data increases, so does the amount and complexity of the work needed for a doctor to interpret them. Magnus Boman researches on how AI can be employed for healthcare-improving analyses. Meet one of Karolinska Institutet's new professors who will participate in this year's installation ceremony at Aula Medica on 3 October.

Acute kidney injury is associated with an increased risk of developing dementia, according to a new study published in the journal Neurology by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and others.

We congratulate Caroline Nordenvall, docent and lecturer in surgery, who was awarded two prizes during the Surgeons' Week in Karlstad 2024. She was awarded both with the Regional Prize of Stora Forskarpriset and the Bengt Ihre Scholarship 2024.

Finding out who falls ill and why is essential to preventative action. Jette Möller conducts epidemiological research on our major health issues – cardiovascular disease, mental ill-health and injuries. Meet one of Karolinska Institutet's new professors who will participate in this year's installation ceremony at Aula Medica on 3 October.

Dementia with Lewy bodies is a type of dementia that is similar to both Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease but studies on long-term treatments are lacking. A new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, highlights the potential cognitive benefits of cholinesterase inhibitor treatment.

We congratulate Pernilla Lagergren, Professor of surgical care science, who received the NFSK's research prize 2024 during the Surgeons' Week in Karlstad on August 21.

Every year, 135 people die by suicide in Sweden’s transport system, with about 85 of these occurring in rail transport. Johan Fredin Knutzén investigates intelligent measures that can save lives.

Professor Juleen Zierath is this year's recipient of the prestigious Diabetes Prize for Excellence, awarded by the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) research network and the research foundation Novo Nordisk Foundation. Juleen Zierath receives the prize for her groundbreaking research on physical activity and diabetes.

The study showed that elevated hormone levels during pregnancy affect the placenta and fetal germ cells in mice, but treatment with an androgen receptor antagonist restored their function. Similar mechanisms could be transferred to humans by culturing human placental organoids. Qiaolin Deng and Elisabet Stener-Victorin labs together have a new publication in The Advanced Science.

Although the incidence of cancer during pregnancy is increasing in Sweden, new studies from Karolinska Institutet show that women with breast cancer during pregnancy have good prognosis and low risks of adverse obstetric and perinatal outcomes.

He receives the grant for the project ‘Preclinical Evaluation of Potential Cholinergic PET Imaging Tracers’ and it is valid for a three-year period.

The Rwanda Clinical Trial Capacity Strengthening Team has visited Addis Ababa University. The team included members from the University of Rwanda, Rwanda Biomedical Center, and Rwanda FDA. The purpose of the visit was to learn how The Centre for Innovative Drug Development and Therapeutic Trials for Africa (CDT-Africa) set up a clinical trial training program. The visit was facilitated by Professor Eleni Aklillu from Karolinska Institutet and Professor Eyasu Makonnen from CDT Africa.

Epidemiologist Moa Herrgård has spent six months seconded to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Centre for Health Emergencies in Amman, Jordan. The overall focus of her work has been to enhance health emergency preparedness and response in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East Region. Looking back, she thinks the secondment has taught her a lot that will benefit work at KI.

The WHO has classified the ongoing outbreak of Mpox as an international health emergency. Mpox is caused by a DNA virus belonging to the Ortho poxvirus. Mpox is divided into two types: clade 1 and clade 2. So far, there has been one case of clad 1 in Sweden. The WHO considers the risk of widespread infection in Europe to be low.

Dose-dense adjuvant chemotherapy can improve survival for patients with high-risk breast cancer, according to researchers at Karolinska Institutet and others. The international PANTHER study, which included over 2000 patients where 97% had metastasis to the lymph nodes in the armpit, compared two different chemotherapy regimens and found that the dose-intensive treatment reduced the risk of recurrence and spread of the disease. The results are presented in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer should be treated primarily with second-generation hormone drugs, which offer better treatment response and longer life expectancy than chemotherapy. However, the effect depends on which mutations the patient’s tumour carries. This is shown by results from the ProBio study, led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. The findings are published in Nature Medicine.

A new study published in Nature Medicine shows that partic-ipating in an exercise program can reduce pain and fatigue, and improve the quality of life for individuals with metastatic breast cancer.

A new machine learning model can predict autism in young children from relatively limited information. This is shown in a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in JAMA Network Open. The model can facilitate early detection of autism, which is important to provide the right support.

In the wake of the green transition, new risks are emerging in people's work environments, says Karin Broberg, professor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet. "It goes very quickly from a pilot to being scaled up to become the next generation of fuel or to become the next plant for how to recycle plastic," she says. At the end of the year, her research team will publish a study on the work environment in Sweden for those involved in recycling metals.

We welcome Wilfrid Nicholasiva Farrel Dhanesvara to join the group as an exchange student. Farrel is doing his master study in University of Potsdam in the Netherlands. He is visiting our lab for 3 months with the supports from the Erasmus program. Welcome Farrel! We hope you will enjoy your stay in Stockholm!

Personalized medicine is transforming cancer treatment by tailoring therapies to the genomic profile of each tumor. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is key to this approach, but its complexity and inconsistent reporting have been hurdles. A recent paper in Annals of Oncology introduces new guidelines to standardize NGS reports, aiding clinicians in making informed decisions and improving patient outcomes.

A new study published in the journal Scientific Reports by researchers at Karolinska Institutet reveals that different antiretroviral therapies (ART) influence the gut and oral microbiome, as well as body mass index (BMI), in people living with HIV. The findings highlight the importance of considering microbiome changes when selecting ART regimens.

Karolinska Institutet is ranked 43 in the 2024 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), also known as the Shanghai ranking.