News archive

Hi there Stefan Fors, researcher at the Aging Research Center (ARC) at Karolinska Institutet. Along with two other researchers from KI, you have shown that there are inequalities in life expectancy among older people in Sweden and that these differences have increased during the period 2006–2015. Could you tell us a little more?

Postural hypotension, a drastic drop in blood pressure when standing up, is linked to an increased risk of dementia and accelerated progression from cognitive impairment to dementia, even in the absence of symptoms, for instance when feeling dizzy or faint. In a study published in the journal Hypertension, researchers from Karolinska Institutet show that postural hypotension could anticipate worse cognition in old age.

The Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old – SWEOLD – was conducted for the first time in 1992. The aim was, and still is, to investigate what the living conditions of the population over 75 years of age look like in today's Sweden and what changes have taken place in recent years. The researchers behind the study can now describe developments over the past 30 years, a period during which there have been clear changes in welfare.

The Stockholm Writers Group (SWG) published an anthology entitled "Raft of Leaves: On Aging, Death and Foreignness" on 29 May 2021, in remembrance of Marti Parker (1951–2017), researcher, teacher, novelist, poet, and one of the founders of SWG.

Hi there Harpa Sif Eyjólfsdóttir, PhD student at the Aging Research Center (ARC). You will be defending your thesis entitled “Unequal tracks? Studies on work, retirement and health” on 24 May 2021. Could you tell us a little more about it?

Francesca Castoldi, at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition (BioNut), KI, has been awarded a research grant of 300 000 SEK from the Alex and Eva Wallström Foundation for scientific research and education.

As the pandemic lingers on, more and more emphasis is being placed on the indirect, negative effects (i.e. collateral damage) of the pandemic and related restrictions. Sweden took a relatively lenient approach towards mitigating the pandemic during the spring of 2020, relying on voluntary adherence to recommendations and encouraging elderly to stay at home, avoid social gatherings and public transportation, and to remain physically active outdoors in a safe manner.

Hi there Ying Shang, PhD student at the Aging Research Center (ARC). You will be defending your thesis entitled “How can older adults combat diabetes to achieve a longer and healthier life?” on 16 April 2021. Could you tell us a little more about it?

How have social distancing and quarantine measures affected older individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic? Recent research lead by Professor Miia Kivipelto’s team provides some important insights – there were several negative effects but at the same time many lifestyles and behaviors did not substantially change during the first wave of the pandemic, and some even improved.

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet and Gothenburg University have investigated a potential new drug target for the rare genetic disorder Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome that causes accelerated aging in children. The findings in mice are published in the scientific journal eLife and may aid in the development of more effective treatments for this fatal condition.

New professors Eric Westman and Dorota Religa, both Division of Clinical Geriatrics, head and deputy head of division respectively, gave their lectures as new professors at NVS on Wednesday January 20.

Carin Lennartsson has been granted funding to collect data and research materials linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project is entitled “The Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old – SWEOLD COVID-19”.

Hi there Giulia Grande, PhD student at the Aging Research Center (ARC). You will be defending your thesis entitled “Development of dementia in older adults: the body-mind connection” on 11 December 2020. Could you give us a brief summary?

Hi Xin Li, PhD student at the Aging Research Center (NVS). On October 28 you will defend your thesis “The relation between aging, dopamine-regulating genes, and neurocognition”. What’s the main focus of the thesis?

The coronavirus pandemic highlighted the increased need for knowledge and skills within the field of geriatric care. KI is offering a specialist nursing programme with a focus on care for the elderly.

People with dementia disease receiving home care feel that they are not treated with the same degree of respect and dignity as people who do not have dementia and receive the same service. That is according to a study by researchers at Mälardalen University (MDH), Karolinska Institutet and Dalarna University, published in The Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (JAMDA).

New research from Karolinska Institutet shows that the degree of frailty, a measure of a person’s functional level before contracting the disease, can better predict COVID-19 survival than the patient’s age. The analysis of 250 multimorbid older adults who received care for COVID-19 at the Aging Theme at Karolinska University Hospital in Huddinge, Sweden also shows that three out of four of these patients survived. The study has been published in the scientific journal JAMDA.

Researchers at Aging Research Center, KI, and collaborators in Italy and Spain, studied how multimorbidity, the occurrence of multiple chronic diseases in the same individual, changed over time in old individuals during a 12-year period using data from the Swedish National study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen (SNAC-K). The study is published today in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

Christina Dintica, PhD-student at the Division of Aging Research Center. On May 8, 2020 you will defend your thesis: "Oral health & olfactory function : what can they tell us about cognitive ageing?", what's the main focus of the thesis?

People age in different ways. Biological age is a metric that scientists use to predict health risks, the relevance of which can be enhanced by combining different markers. Particularly important markers are frailty and the epigenetic clock, write researchers from Karolinska Institutet in a study published in eLife.

The transcription factor DAF-16/FOXO mediates a wide variety of aging-preventive responses by driving the expression of stress-resistance and longevity promoting genes. Ilke Sen and other members of the Riedel lab could show that transcriptional initiation at many DAF-16/FOXO target genes depends on dephosphorylation of SPT-5 by Protein Phosphatase 4.

On Friday January 31, Yunzhang Wang will defend his thesis "DNA methylation and aging : a longitudinal study of old Swedish twins".

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and from the Netherlands have developed a simple tool that shows the survival probability of a person with dementia disease over three years. This, they hope, will facilitate dialogue with the most seriously affected and help doctors and others plan the necessary care. The study is published today in the scientific journal Neurology.

Hi Mozhu Ding, PhD-student at the Division of Aging Research Center. On December 12 you will defend your thesis ”The role of atrial fibrillation in cognitive aging: A population-based study”, what's the main focus of the thesis?

Progeria is a very rare disease that affects about one in 18 million children and results in premature aging and death in adolescence from complications of cardiovascular disease. In a study on mice and human cells, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and IFOM, the FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology in Italy, have identified how antisense oligonucleotide therapies could be used as a new possible treatment option for the disease. The results are published in Nature Communications.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a new research tool for studying how mitochondrial protein synthesis is affected by disease, pharmaceuticals, ageing and different physiological situations such as exercise and diet. The study is presented in the scientific journal Cell Reports.

People with multiple sclerosis who can walk at a relatively normal speed and effectively process information are more likely to continue to participate in social activities, according to a new study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the Multiple Sclerosis Journal. The findings highlight the importance of integrating motor and cognitive rehabilitation in the care of patients with MS.

People with low scores on intelligence tests in adolescence run a higher risk of suicide and suicide attempt later in life. That is according to a study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden that followed almost 50,000 Swedish men from the 1970s until recently. The study is published in the journal Psychological Medicine.

Title: Socioeconomic influences on late-life health and mortality : exploring genetic and environmental interplay 

Many people struggle to keep their weight in check as they get older. Now new research at Karolinska Institutet has uncovered why that is: Lipid turnover in the fat tissue decreases during ageing and makes it easier to gain weight, even if we don’t eat more or exercise less than before. The study is published in the journal Nature Medicine.

Hi Lieke de Boer, PhD-student at the Division of Aging Research Center. On October 3rd you will defend your thesis ”Dopamine, decision-making, and aging : neural and behavioural correlates”, what's the main focus of the thesis?

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?

Four out of eight grants awarded to Karolinska Institutet from the Swedish Research Council within the area of Humanities and Social sciences was given to researchers at the Division of Aging Research Center (ARC) at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society (NVS).

Multiple neuropsychiatric diseases are major predisposing factors for functional decline in older people and may play a greater role in this age-related phenomenon than cardiovascular diseases, according to a new study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet published in PLOS Medicine.

As we grow older, our muscular function declines. A new study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet shows how an unexpectedly high number of mutations in the stem cells of muscles impair cell regeneration. This discovery may result in new medication to build stronger muscles even when in old age. The study is published in Nature Communications.

Forte, the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, has announced the granted applications in the call ”Research in ageing and health”. Three researchers from Karolinska Institutet (KI), all active at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society (NVS), were granted in total SEK 14 920 000.

On Tuesday 21 February Karolinska Institutet was visited by the Governor General of Canada David Johnston, his wife Sharon Johnston and the King and Queen of Sweden. The visit took place in conjunction with the state visit by the Governor General and his wife to Sweden at the invitation of the King.

In a newly published study, researchers at Karolinska Institutet show that the shortening of the telomeres – the caps at each end of the chromosomes in our cells – can be linked statistically to the active mechanism responsible for Alzheimer’s disease.