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It has long been assumed that chronic nerve pain is caused by hypersensitivity in the neurons that transmit pain. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now show that another kind of neuron that normally allows us to feel pleasant touch sensation, can switch function and instead signal pain after nerve damage. The results, which are presented in the journal Science, can eventually lead to more effective pain treatments.

What happens in the brain when we see other people experiencing a trauma or being subjected to pain? Well, the same regions that are involved when we feel pain ourselves are also activated when we observe other people who appear to be going through some painful experience. This is shown in a study from Karolinska Institutet published in Nature Communications. But we are sensitive to different degrees to learning fear from other people and one explanation would appear to be found in the endogenou

The expectations are high. Everyone, externally as well as internally, are asking themselves how Ole Petter Ottersen is going to lead Sweden’s most talked-about university once he takes up office as vice-chancellor of Karolinska Institutet this August.

MTC researchers in the Gunilla Karlsson Hedestam Group have published in Immunity this month

Although Parkinson’s disease is often associated with motor symptoms such as stiffness, poor balance and trembling, the first symptoms are often sensory and include a reduced sense of touch and smell. In a study on mice, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now been able to identify neural circuits and mechanisms behind this loss of sensory perception. The study, which is published in the scientific journal Neuron, may open avenues to methods of earlier diagnosis.

An international team of researchers, led from Karolinska Institutet, has identified two receptors on the cells in the blood vessels of the brain that can be blocked and thereby prevent pneumococci from entering the brain. The study, which is published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, shows that the use of antibodies that block the receptors can potentially be used as a new therapeutic strategy for pneumococcal meningitis.