News archive

In multiple sclerosis (MS), antibodies to the common Epstein-Barr virus can accidentally attack a protein in the brain and spinal cord. New research shows that the combination of certain viral antibodies and genetic risk factors can be linked to a greatly increased risk of MS. The study has been published in the journal PNAS and led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, and Stanford University School of Medicine, USA.

An international research team, including researchers at Karolinska Institutet, has mapped the genes expressed in the brain cells of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The atlas, which is presented in the journal Neuron, is hoped to contribute to more personalised treatment of MS in the future.

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a rare autoimmune disease. A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine by the MITIGATE study team found that the drug inebilizumab reduced disease activity and was effective in preventing flares. The drug may therefore be a promising treatment option for the disease.

Some 40,000 Swedes live with severe asthma, a disease that causes considerable suffering. Thanks to grants from the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation, KI researcher Jenny Mjösberg has discovered a specific cell that is thought to play a major part in non-allergic asthma. Further examination of these cells can help to optimise the use of drugs and reduce suffering for people with severe asthma. She has now been awarded the Heart-Lung Foundation’s grand research grant to continue her research.

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.

Women with autoimmune disease are more likely to suffer from depression during pregnancy and after childbirth; conversely, women with a history of perinatal depression are at higher risk of developing autoimmune disease, a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry reports.

A new method, developed at Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and SciLifeLab, can identify unique immune cell receptors and their location in tissue, a study published in the journal Science reports. The researchers predict that the method will improve the ability to identify which immune cells contribute to disease processes and open up opportunities to develop novel therapies for numerous diseases.

We congratulate Daniel C Andersson, Johanna Lanner, Jon Lundberg, Carl Johan Sundberg, and Eddie Weitzberg, researchers at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology (FyFa), for securing grants from the Swedish Heart Lung Foundation in 2023. In total SEK 5,9 million has been awarded the researchers at FyFa.

Anti-rheumatic drugs used for rheumatoid arthritis might prevent the development of autoimmune thyroid disease, according to a new observational study by researchers from Karolinska Institutet published in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

In a new study from Karolinska Institutet, the researchers found that combining information from blood markers and genetics reveals distinct subgroups of patients with myositis, which may help to improve disease classification and treatment. The study was published in EBioMedicine.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have found further evidence for how the Epstein-Barr virus can trigger multiple sclerosis or drive disease progression. A study published in Science Advances shows that some individuals have antibodies against the virus that mistakenly attack a protein in the brain and spinal cord.

Breathing in common workplace dust and fumes may increase the risk of developing severe rheumatoid arthritis, especially in combination with smoking and genetic susceptibility to the disease, suggests a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in The Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Four research projects coordinated from Karolinska Institutet have been awarded project grants by Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW) in 2022. This means that, over SEK 135 million are allocated to KI research in the fields of immunology, neuroscience, and stem cell biology.

Early intervention with rituximab, a drug used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), can reduce the risk of deterioration in myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease that causes loss of muscle control. This is according to a randomised clinical study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and published in the journal JAMA Neurology.

Instead of searching for proteins that the immune system reacts against in a specific autoimmune disease, researchers have taken the opposite approach to find diseases linked to a certain protein. By searching among patients with various skin diseases, they identified a disease linked to autoimmunity against the skin protein TGM1. The strategy, which is presented in the journal PNAS, can facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune diseases.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and their British colleagues have identified a possible contributory cause of fibromyalgia, a difficult to treat pain condition. In a study on mice and human tissue, the researchers found that fibromyalgia patients’ antibodies played a key part in symptom development. The results, which are published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, pave the way for developing new treatment strategies.

Many diseases caused by a dysregulated immune system, such as allergies, asthma and autoimmunity, can be traced back to events in the first few months after birth. To date, the mechanisms behind the development of the immune system have not been fully understood. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet show a connection between breast milk, beneficial gut bacteria and the development of the immune system. The study is published in Cell.

Liver transplantation is currently the only treatment available for the severe liver disease PSC. Now, however, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Oslo University have discovered the first reported genetic mutation that causes PSC. The study, which is published in Science Translational Medicine, opens new paths to future treatments.

Variants of nine genes increase the risk of developing Addison’s disease, a rare disease in which the immune system attacks the adrenal glands. That is according to the largest genetic study to date on patients with Addison’s disease. The findings help increase knowledge about what causes the disease. The study was conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and University of Bergen, Norway, and is published in the journal Nature Communications.

Endogenous proteins that play a vital part in allergies and parasitic infection can prevent the immune system from wrongly attacking the body and causing inflamed joints, a study from Karolinska Institutet published in the scientific journal PNAS reports. The researchers hope that the results will give rise to new drugs for rheumatoid arthritis.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have taken part in the largest study to date on the genetic risk factors for multiple sclerosis (MS). The study, which is published today in the journal Science, corroborates earlier studies and provides new clues as to what causes this neurological disease. The resulting map will prove a vital resource for future researchers and could one day lead to new, more potent drugs.

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.

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).

A new registry study, dismiss the long-debated association between celiac disease – gluten intolerance – and increased risk of autism spectrum disorders. The study was led from Karolinska Institutet and is now published in JAMA Psychiatry.