News archive

Professor Malin Flodström-Tullberg at Karolinska Institutet has been awarded this year’s Johnny Ludvigsson Prize for Outstanding Nordic Researcher. The prize recognizes her groundbreaking research on the mechanisms behind type 1 diabetes.

A new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in Science Translational Medicine, shows that people with type 2 diabetes have lower levels of the protein that breaks down and converts creatine in the muscles. This leads to impaired function of the mitochondria, the 'powerhouses' of the cell.

The Swedish Society of Medicine (SLS) awards researchers John Pernow and Aida Collado Sánchez at Karolinska Institutet with the Alvarenga Prize 2024. The laureates are rewarded for a research article on a study that shows a new cause behind vascular complications in type 2 diabetes and possible future treatment to prevent this.

There has been concern that common diabetes drugs could increase the risk of suicide and self-harm. In a new study, led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and published in Jama Internal Medicine, no such risk increase was observed.

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.

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.

Older people with type 2 diabetes who are treated with GLP-1 agonists have a decreased risk of developing dementia, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the journal eClinicalMedicine.

Welcome to Jessica Edstorp's defence of her doctoral thesis "Infections, antibiotics, tobacco, genetic factors and risk of LADA - latent autoimmune diabetes in adults, and type 2 diabetes" at Karolinska Institutet on 17 May.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet may have found a new way to treat obesity and related disorders by targeting the cells’ powerhouses, the mitochondria. A study published in Nature Metabolism shows that a specific class of drugs that block mitochondrial function can reverse diet-induced obesity, fatty liver and diabetes in mice.

Drugs known as GLP-1 analogues have become increasingly popular to treat diabetes and obesity, but there have been concerns that they might increase the risk of thyroid cancer. Now an extensive Scandinavian study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet has found no evidence of such a link. The study is published in The BMJ.

People with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of stroke and a worsened outcome after suffering from it. Now, researchers at the Karolinska Institutet have shown that stroke outcome is significantly improved in mice with obesity and type 2 diabetes who have been treated with the commonly used diabetic drugs SGLT-2 inhibitors. The results are published in the scientific journal Cardiovascular Diabetology and may have clinical relevance for stroke rehabilitation in type 2 diabetes.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a method to study liver function and disease without requiring invasive procedures. After transplanting liver cells into the eye of mice, the cornea can be used as a window into the body to monitor liver health over time. The study is published in the journal Nature Communications.

Professor Per-Olof Berggren has been awarded a ERC Proof of Concept grant by the European Research Council (ERC). The funding will be used to advance a technology in which islets of Langerhans are transplanted into the anterior chamber of the eye and employed as a screening tool to identify novel pharmaceutical treatments for diabetes.

Newer diabetes medicines do not appear to increase the risk of birth defects. The largest comparative study to date found no increased risk compared to treatment with insulin, which is considered safe during pregnancy. The study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Professor Lisa Juntti-Berggren at Karolinska Institutet is awarded the Swedish Society of Medicine's Jubilee Prize 2023 for her studies on Apolipoprotein CIII and diabetes mellitus. The awardee is rewarded with SEK 150,000 and the SLS centenary medal in silver.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and KTH Royal Institute of Technology have developed a microscale device for implantation in the eye, which presents new opportunities for cell-based treatment of diabetes and other diseases. The study is published in the journal Advanced Materials.

We congratulate Virginia Stone, who has been awarded the 2023 Johnny Ludvigsson Prize for Younger Childhood Diabetes Researchers in Sweden.

A recently published study shows how nanoclusters of insulin can control insulin activity. The results can lead to new types of insulin drugs, senior author Ana Teixeira at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics (MBB) at Karolinska Institutet, says.

We wish to congratulate Professor Eckardt Treuter, at the Department of Biosciences and Nutriton, Karolinska Institutet, who has received the Novo Nordisk Foundation Project Grant in Endocrinology & Metabolism 2023, for a project on "Role of monocyte enhancers and silencers in inflammatory type 2 diabetes" (2 years, DKK 2 million).

Childhood-onset type 1 diabetes (onset <age 18) and neurodevelopmental disorders, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, and intellectual disability, globally represent substantial health challenges. The conditions also pose substantial challenges to the individuals, their families, and healthcare systems.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, often with onset during childhood, that requires lifelong insulin therapy due to the loss of pancreatic beta-cells.

The deficiency of functional insulin-producing cells is a common feature of type 1 and late-stage type 2 diabetes. Previous studies have suggested that mammals have very limited capacity for regeneration of insulin-producing cells, but researchers at Karolinska Institutet have found how zebrafish can form new cells and thereby provide clues to possible future possibilities in diabetes. The study is published in the scientific journal Science Advances.

This year marks one hundred years since Frederick Banting and John MacLeod were awarded the Nobel prize for the discovery of insulin. The discovery has saved the lives of millions of people with diabetes worldwide, but the price is also one of the most debated. In their photo documentary, Professors Lars Rydén and Jan Lindsten talk about the history of the discovery, the problems associated with the award, and the importance the findings have had for today's treatment of diabetes.

Child obesity is linked to increased risk of developing diabetes in adulthood, both autoimmune forms of diabetes and different forms of type 2 diabetes, a new study published in Diabetologia reports. The risk of developing the most insulin-resistant form of diabetes is, for example, three times as high in children with obesity.

Type 2 diabetes is a common disease, affecting 10 % of the adult world population, in which heredity and overweight are known risk factors. In a new study at Karolinska Institutet, researchers show that women and men with a predisposition to diabetes have different risk factors forecasting type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. The results were recently published in the journal Frontiers in Endocrinology.

There is currently no drug for treating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which affects many people with type 2 diabetes and which can result in other serious liver diseases. A study led by researchers from Karolinska Institutet has now identified a drug candidate for the treatment of fatty liver. The preclinical study, published in the Journal of Hepatology, indicates that an antibody that blocks the protein VEGF-B presents a possible therapeutic option for fatty liver disease.

Suad Efendic, Stockholm, internationally recognized leading clinical researcher in diabetes, has died at the age of 85 after a long illness. He is survived by wife Mensura, sons Nedim and Enes with their families.

Lower immunity and recurring infections are common in type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet now show that the immune system of people with diabetes has lower levels of the antimicrobial peptide psoriasin, which compromises the urinary bladder’s cell barrier, increasing the risk of urinary tract infection. The study is published in Nature Communications.

Regular exercise helps prevent and delay the development of type 2 diabetes and its complications. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have, together with a team of international scientists, discovered that activation of the immune system in skeletal muscle during exercise may underlie the difference in how individuals with type 2 diabetes perceive and respond to exercise. These findings are published in the journal Science Advances.

Honoring the renowned Swedish diabetes scientist Rolf Luft, SRP Diabetes wishes to support the most excellent younger Principal Investigators (consolidator level) in the field of diabetes and metabolism at Karolinska Institutet to obtain critical instrumentation for their research.
Deadline to apply: October 1

KI researchers Niklas Mejhert and Zhichao Zhou are among the 4 European grantees receiving 5 million DKK each for 5 years from the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD)/Novo Nordisk Future Leaders Award program in 2022.

A new study published in Cell Chemical Biology describes an alternative approach to treat diabetes by identifying drugs directly increasing the number of incretin-expressing cells. The work results from researchers at Karolinska Institutet.

Both children with type 1 diabetes and their closest family members are at increased risk of mental health problems compared with those without the disease, according to a large study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Diabetes Care. The findings underscore the need for psychological consulting for both children and their families in diabetes care.

People with at least two of the diseases type 2 diabetes, heart disease or stroke have double the risk of developing dementia. Prevention of diabetes and cardiovascular disease could therefore be a strategy for reducing dementia risk, a study from Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia suggests.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden show how a molecule that they have identified stimulates the formation of new insulin-producing cells in zebrafish and mammalian tissue, through a newly described mechanism for regulating protein synthesis. The results are published in Nature Chemical Biology.

Mechanisms associated with a particular diabetes drug can also help to protect against Alzheimer’s disease, a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and published in Neurology reports. The results indicate that the drug’s target protein can be an interesting candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

A team of scientists including at Karolinska Institutet has used mini-kidneys simulating those of diabetic patients to further our understanding of the link between diabetes and COVID-19. The researchers found that diabetic mini-kidneys have a higher susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection than non-diabetic mini-kidneys. The study, which is published in the journal Cell Metabolism, also identified genetic evidence for the essential role of the ACE2 receptor in COVID-19.

High blood glucose is responsible for several complications in type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified a new antidiabetic substance that preserves the activity of insulin-producing beta cells and prevents high blood glucose in mice. The study is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

A new study from Karolinska Institutet sheds new light on how diabetes causes tissue damage when oxygen levels drop, and point to the repression of a protein complex as a possible treatment target for diabetes complications. The findings are published in the journal eLife.

KI researcher Myriam Aouadi is awarded the Leif C. Groop award for her research about the mechanisms behind the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in obese individuals with type 2 diabetes.

People with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of stroke and slower recovery from it. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have shown that neurological recovery from stroke is significantly improved in mice with obesity and diabetes who achieve weight loss to the extent that glucose metabolism returns to normal levels. The results are published in the scientific journal Cardiovascular Diabetology and may have clinical relevance for stroke rehabilitation in type 2 diabetes.

Altered function of the red blood cells leads to vascular damage in type 2 diabetes. Results from a new study in cells from patients with type 2 diabetes and mice show that this effect is caused by low levels of an important molecule in the red blood cells. The study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has been published in the journal Diabetes.

Muscle cells in patients with type 2 diabetes have a disrupted biological clock discover researchers at the University of Copenhagen and Karolinska Institutet. The findings, published in the journal Science Advances, suggest that treatments for type 2 diabetes may be more or less effective depending on the time of day they are given.

Research on the role of diet in the development of type 1 diabetes is generally of low evidence, but there are some high-quality studies indicating that longer breastfeeding and later introduction to gluten may reduce the risk of disease. That is according to a systematic review and meta-analysis of available research on foods that may be linked to the risk of developing the type 1 diabetes in childhood. The study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet is published in the journal EBioMedicine.

It is mainly poorly controlled type 2 diabetes that carries an elevated risk of cognitive impairment and dementia, not the diabetes per se, a longitudinal study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows. The study comprises over 2,500 people and is published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.

It is well known that obesity affects the body's insulin production and over time risks leading to type 2 diabetes and several other metabolic diseases. Now researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found further explanation for why fat cells cause metabolic morbidity. The study, published in Nature Medicine, may have an impact on the treatment of comorbidity in obesity with already available drugs.

Professor Juleen R. Zierath receives the 2021 prestigious EASD Claude Bernard Award. This award recognizes an individual’s innovative leadership and lifetime achievements in diabetes research and is the EASD’s highest award.

Assistant Professor Rongrong Fan at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition is among the 4 grantees in Europe who have received 5 million DKK for 5 years from the EFSD / Novo Nordisk Future Leaders Award program in 2021. This highly competitive grant supports young and promising researchers of excellence who wish to further develop their career in Europe to investigate the mechanisms of diabetes.

Assistant Professors Nicolas Pillon at Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and Rongrong Fan at Department of Biosciences and Nutrition have both been awarded the 2021 Future Leaders Award by EFSD (European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes)/Novo Nordisk Foundation. This is a competitive 5-year grant to support PIs to become future leaders in diabetes research.

It is well known that fat cells can influence our sensitivity to insulin. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have discovered that there are three different subtypes of mature fat cells in white adipose tissue and that it is only one of these, called AdipoPLIN, that responds to insulin. The findings may be relevant for future treatments of metabolic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes.