News archive

The Fourth meeting of the European Burden of Disease Network was arranged by the research group Epidemiology of Psychiatric Conditions, Substance use and Social Environment (EPiCSS) together with WHO on the 20-21 August at KI.

Genes cannot be used to determine an individual’s sexual orientation. A study published in the journal Science found only five out of hundreds of thousands genetic variants occurred somewhat more often in people who had had same-sex partners. This suggests human sexuality is influenced by a complex mix of genetic and environmental factors, according to the researchers. The study is based on data from the UK Biobank, the U.S. company 23andMe and the Swedish Twin Registry at Karolinska Institutet.

Researchers have come one step closer to understanding how our immune system responds to acute dengue fever, a disease that has affected hundreds of thousands of people in Southeast Asia this summer. In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Duke-NUS Medical School show that so-called natural killer cells were especially active shortly after an infection. The discovery could hopefully contribute to the development of new vaccines and treatments.

An international team of researchers from Karolinska Insitutet and the University of Leeds, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) may have discovered why some people experience muscle pain after taking statins. The research, published in JACC: Basic to Translational Science, could help doctors prevent a known side effect of statins and ensure people are able to reap the benefits of the life-saving drugs.

Bengt Winblad has been awarded the 2019 European Grand Prix for Alzheimer research by Fondation sur Recherche Alzheimer.
The prize consists - in addition to the honor - of a total of €100 000, of which €90 000 are intended for his lab research and €10 000 are regarded as a personal prize.

This year’s Sjöstrand lecture was held by Professor Jennifer Doudna, best known for having developed the CRISPR/Cas-9 tool with professor Emanuelle Charpentier. Apart from the lecture itself, she was also involved in several activities during the day at which she met researchers and students from SciLifeLab and Karolinska Institutet.
“I’ve read about her work and never thought I’d get to present my own project to such an important pioneer,” says KI researcher Mihaela Zabulica.

Hi Bárbara Avelar Pereira, PhD-student at the Division of Aging Research Center. On 16 September you will defend your thesis ”Multimodal imaging: Functional, structural, and molecular brain correlates of cognitive aging”, what's the main focus of the thesis?

SRP Diabetes researcher Juleen Zierath 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.

The Amgen Scholars Program at KI is a summer research program for European undergraduate students at Karolinska Institutet (KI) funded by the Amgen Foundation.

Marie Hasselberg has been appointed Professor of Public Health Epidemiology at the Department of Public Health Sciences, from 1 July 2019.

The paper's motto was: ”Among women with diabetes and high HbA1c, there is a risk that the fetus too early the outside world will see”

The winning study was led by Professor Jonas F Ludvigsson, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, KI, and shows that pregnant women with type 1 diabetes are at increased risk of pregnancy complications, including preterm birth. With increasing HbA1c the risk of preterm birth increased further.

Clear evidence that higher levels of physical activity - regardless of intensity - are associated with a lower risk of early death in middle aged and older people, is published by The BMJ today. The findings also show that being sedentary, for example sitting still, for 9.5 hours or more a day is associated with an increased risk of death.

The 2nd year ToxMaster students at IMM have together with teachers participated in the 2nd European Commission Joint Research Centre’s Summer school on Non-Animal Approaches in Science Challenges & Future Directions with in total 120 junior scientists in Ispra, Italy 21-24 May 2019.

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.