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A mechanical valve prosthesis has a better survival record than a biological valve prosthesis, according to a large registry study from Karolinska Institutet. The finding, which is published in the European Heart Journal, can be highly significant, since the use of biological valve prostheses has increased in all age groups in recent years.

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have high levels of androgens in their blood, which has been assumed able to affect fetal development during pregnancy. An international team of researchers led from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has now identified a hormonal mechanism that might explain why women with PCOS run a higher risk of developing symptoms of mental ill-health, such as anxiety and depression, in adulthood.

New research from Karolinska Institutet shows that hypersexual disorder – known popularly as sex addiction – can be linked to hyperactive stress systems. In a stress regulation test using the cortisone drug dexamethasone, men with hypersexual disorder showed higher levels of stress hormones than controls, a finding that the researchers hope will contribute to improved therapy for this patient group. The results are published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.

Jiří Bártek, Professor of Cancer Biology at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics researches the checkpoint systems that monitor cell division in our bodies. These systems are there to ensure that division occurs at the correct pace and to check the quality of DNA replication. Flaws in these controls can lead to cancer and affect ageing and immunity.

Our sensitivity to harmful substances is determined by our genes. But such substances can also reprogram our DNA, so called epigenetic changes, in response to the environment. Karin Broberg, Professor of Environmental Medicine specialising in Genetics and Epigenetics at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, researches these links between heredity and environment.