News archive

Patients with a near relative that has experienced a myocardial infarction, has an over 60 % increased risk of also being afflicted when attending the emergency with chest pain. Researchers from Karolinska Institutet have observed this association by combining data in a completely new way. The results are published in European Heart Journal: Acute Cardiovascular Care.

While the onset of inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease) in adulthood is tied to a higher mortality, the actual number of deaths has been falling, a Swedish study from Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Gut reports. Now it is a case of ascertaining which of the newer treatments are the most efficacious, say the researchers.

Stem cells are surrounded and protected by the stem-cell niche – the microenvironment – of the tissue in which they are found. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have mapped the stem-cell niche in the bone marrow of mice and studied how it is influenced by developing leukemia. Their results, which are published in the journal Cell, show that the bone-marrow microenvironment is more complex than expected and contribute knowledge to future therapies for the disease.

New research from Stockholm University and Karolinska Institutet shows that viruses interact with proteins in the biological fluids of their host which results in a layer of proteins on the viral surface. This coat of proteins makes the virus more infectious and facilitates the formation of plaques characteristic of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. The study is published in Nature Communications.

StratNeuro awards a total of 10 MSEK to the following Collaborative Neuroscience Pilot Research Projects.

On May 31 the WHO celebrates the World No Tobacco Day. At at the department of medical epidemiology and biostatistics (MEB), researchers have during the last year published some 40 papers on tobacco and health. Here we present a selection of papers.

András Simon has been appointed Head of Department for the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB).

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have identified blood-based biomarkers that may determine which patients will benefit from continued hormonal therapy for advanced prostate cancer. The results are published in the journal JAMA Oncology. The researchers envision that this discovery may eventually result in a test that contributes to a more personalised treatment of the disease.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed a stem cell based model in order to study the resilience and vulnerability of neurons in the neurodegenerative disease ALS. The results are published in the journal Stem Cell Reports and can aid in the identification of new genetic targets for treatments protecting sensitive neurons.

You are one of the first to visit Karolinska Institutet's redesigned website. Welcome!
Now we have launched ki.se with a new look and a lot of improved features. We hope you like what you see.

A drug used in the treatment of overactive bladder can accelerate atheroclerosis in mice, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden report in a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). According to the researchers, the results suggest that in some cases the drug might potentially increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke in humans.

On May 20 KI's research environment ANA Futura in Flemingsberg was inaugurated. The remodelled house inhabits researchers and staff from four departments sharing infrastructure and joining forces for translational research and education. Meet Professor Mats Trulsson, Head of Department of the Department for Dental Medicine and chair of the steering committee at ANA Futura in a film from the inauguration.

Professor Miia Kivipelto and her team - the Nordic Brain Network - provided a major contribution to the development and definition of the guidelines, given the expertise and experience in the field of risk and protective factors for dementia and AD.

Hi Kuan-Yu Pan, PhD-student at the Division of Aging Research Center. On 5 June you will defend your thesis ”Impact of psychosocial working conditions on health in older age”, what's the main focus of the thesis?

Hi Martha Gustavsson, PhD-student at the Division of Occupational Therapy. On 29 May you will defend your thesis ”Participation in everyday life after stroke: Development and evaluation of F@ce – a team-based, person-centred rehabilitation intervention supported by Information and Communication Technology”, what's the main focus of the thesis?

Hi Davide Vetrano, PhD-student at the Division of Aging Research Center. On 13 May you will defend your thesis ”Impact of cardiovascular and neuropsychiatric multimorbidity on older adult's health”, what's the main focus of the thesis?

Radiation therapy against cancer can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease much later in life, as the radiation causes chronic inflammation of the exposed blood vessels. In a new study published in the European Heart Journal, researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have shown that these inflammations can be treated with IL-1 inhibitors.

Today, Katarina Bjelke has her first day of work at Karolinska Institutet as the University Director. She studied and earned her PhD at KI and also held various management positions at KI.
“I think that Karolinska Institutet is a very important university for Sweden. It will be very enjoyable to begin working here again,” says Katarina Bjelke.

Johan Erlandsson from the group Colorectal Surgery will defend his thesis "Preoperative radiotherapy in rectal cancer : aspects on fractionation and timing of surgery" on May 24, 2019. Main Supervisor is Anna Martling.

Björn Meister presented 2018's "Teachers of the Year" during the departmental coffee information meeting held on 21 May.

Cagla Sahin has received a Postdoctoral Fellowship for research abroad in bioscience and basic biomedicine from the Novo Nordisk Foundation

Researchers at Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have studied the heritability of dog ownership using information from more than 35,000 twin pairs from the Swedish Twin Registry. The results, which are published in the journal Scientific Reports, indicate that an individual’s genetic make-up has a great influence on whether they choose to acquire a dog.

Currently, all donor documentation only exist in a Swedish and therefore the text is only written in Swedish. When the documentation has been updated we will happily welcome English-speaking bone marrow donors as well.

The Medical Management Centre (MMC) has been asked by The Public Health Agency of Sweden to evaluate a school-based first line-model.

By the time type 1 diabetes is diagnosed, most of the insulin-producing beta cells have already been destroyed. Now, using an innovative transplantation technique, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have been able to intervene to save the beta cells in mice by discovering early signs of the disease. The study is published in Diabetologia, the scientific journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD).

Approximately one out of every ten people with hepatitis B are coinfected with hepatitis D, which is among the most serious liver conditions. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and their German colleagues have described the impact of chronic hepatitis D on parts of the immune system. The study was published in the Journal of Hepatology.

This spring’s conferment ceremony at Karolinska Institutet was something of a record-breaker. As many as 157 new doctors of medical science received their hat and diploma in Stockholm City Hall before being given a cannon salute in celebration of their having earned the highest academic degree.

A research and innovation conference is currently in progress in Stellenbosch, South Africa, bringing together representatives of Swedish and South Africa universities. The main topic of the week-long conference, which opened on 6 May under the STINT-financed South Africa–Sweden University Forum (SASUF) project, is Agenda 2030.

On Friday May 24 Elisabeth Dahlqwist will defend her thesis "Method developments for the attributable fraction in causal inference". Her opponent will be Professor Xavier de Luna from Handelshögskolan, Umeå universitet. Elisabeth's supervisors are Arvid Sjölander and Yudi Pawitan.

Number-of-days-at-home within 30 days after surgery (DAH30) is a patient-centred outcome metrics that integrates length of hospital stay and any readmission or death within 30 days after a surgical procedure.

Nearly ninety per cent of all cancer patient deaths are due to metastasis. A study from Karolinska Institutet shows that a process that allows the cells to metastasise is aided by the synthesis of new ribosomes, the cell components in which proteins are produced. The results open the possibility for new treatment strategies for advanced cancers. The study is published in Nature Communications.

Is it okay to constantly be interrupted at work? Of course not, was Lena Berg’s answer, until she met her polar opposite.

Carina Strell and colleagues in the Arne Östman research group has published an article in Journal of the National Cancer Institute investigating mechanisms controlling fibroblast functions in ductal breast carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

In the present study Elin Sjöberg and colleagues in the Arne Östman research group have identified that cancer associated fibroblast (CAF)-produced CXCL14 re-activates a developmental program that promote migration and invasion of cancer cells, leading to increased formation of lung metastasis in mice. They also identified a novel CXCL14-signaling component, ACKR2, which is important for the tumor-promoting effects of CXCL14.

Subtle changes in protein composition by a process called ‘citrullination’ are thought to be involved in causing several diseases, including multiple sclerosis. Researchers from Karolinska Institutet now show in the journal Cell Reports that the enzyme PAD2, the main protein responsible for this process in the brain, also plays an important role in the normal development of a subset of brain cells, known as oligodendrocytes, and in their function in stimulating neuronal communication.

Pregnant women with type 1 diabetes are at increased risk of delivering their baby prematurely. The risk increases as blood sugar levels rise, however women who maintain the recommended levels also risk giving birth prematurely. These are the findings from researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the Sahlgrenska Academy in Sweden, published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

The picture above shows a tuberculosis (TB) infection in a mouse lung, in which immune cells form a granuloma around the bacteria. The different symbols represent working copies of active genes, called messenger RNA, which are different in the granuloma centre in comparison to the surrounding cells.