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Topics: Diseases

None of the participants had been diagnosed with gastrointestinal diseases. Samples were taken from both their small and large bowel. The researchers then studied different types of immune cells in the mucous membrane. Illustration: Maria Lampinen

Inflammation may explain stomach problems in psoriasis sufferers

People with the skin condition psoriasis often have invisible inflammation in the small intestine with an increased propensity for ‘leaky gut’, according to new research at Uppsala University. These changes in the gut could explain why psoriasis sufferers often have gastrointestinal problems and are more prone to developing Crohn’s disease.

Philip Leissner, doctoral student in cardiac psychology at the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala University.

Patients may become unnecessarily depressed by common heart medicine

All patients who have had a heart attack are typically treated using beta blockers. According to a Swedish study conducted earlier this year, this drug is unlikely to be needed for those heart patients who have a normal pumping ability. Now a sub-study at Uppsala University shows that there is also a risk that these patients will become depressed by the treatment.

Anna Bill-Axelson, Professor of Urology, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University. Photographer: Mikael Wallerstedt

Early prostate cancer surgery extended life

The survival rate of men with prostate cancer who had their entire prostate gland removed immediately after the tumour was detected increased by 17 percentage points compared with those who did not have treatment until the tumour began to cause symptoms. On average, they also lived more than two years longer. These are the final results of a 30-year Scandinavian study led from Uppsala University.

John Pettersson, Associate Professor of Medical Virology at the Zoonosis Science Centre (ZSC), Uppsala University.

Animals on fur farms can spread viruses to humans

Animals bred in the fur animal industry can both carry and spread viruses with the potential to infect humans. In a new study conducted by researchers at Uppsala University and others, researchers have identified 36 previously unknown viruses. The study has been published in the journal Nature.

Bengt Glimelius, Senior Professor of Oncology at Uppsala University and Senior Consultant at Uppsala University Hospital.

Promising treatment for rectal cancer confirmed in major study

A new treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer shows favourable results in that surgery can sometimes be avoided completely. It also reduces the risk of recurrence. The method has been confirmed as effective in a comprehensive study conducted at Uppsala University and published in eClinicalMedicine.

Össur Ingi Emilsson, Docent in Lung, Allergy and Sleep Research at the Department of Medical Sciences at Uppsala University.

Chronic cough may be hereditary

Chronic cough is among the most common reasons for seeking medical care, with middle-aged women the group most affected. New studies at Uppsala University also show that this condition appears to be a hereditary phenomenon. The studies have been published in ERJ Open Research and PLOS ONE.

Ingrid Glimelius, Professor and Senior Physician in Oncology at Uppsala University Hospital and Uppsala University. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.

Lymphoma patients at high risk of infections after diagnosis

Every year, around 100 people are affected by mantle cell lymphoma. A study at Uppsala University shows that these patients are more vulnerable to other diseases and that the risk of infection for this type of patient should therefore be carefully evaluated. The results of the study have been published in the journal Hemasphere.

Dan I. Andersson, Professor of Medical Bacteriology at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology.

New discovery concerning occurrence of antibiotic resistance

A new study shows how heteroresistance, a transient resistance common in many bacteria, can act as a precursor to the development of antibiotic resistance. According to researchers at Uppsala University, this is the first time this link has been demonstrated.

Christian Benedict, Associate Professor and sleep researcher at the Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences at Uppsala University and leading researcher behind the study.

Too little sleep raises risk of type 2 diabetes

Adults who sleep only three to five hours a day are at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This is demonstrated in a new study from Uppsala University, published in JAMA Network Open. It also shows that chronic sleep deprivation cannot be compensated by healthy eating alone.

From the book "Blå ugglan" by Lotta Geffenblad (2023) with permission. Image: Lotta Geffenblad

Death and grief in Swedish children’s books

Death is blue, or a flying animal. This is how death is most commonly illustrated in Swedish children’s literature, according to a new study from Uppsala University based on analyses of 62 books. Just six out of ten books use the word ‘dead’, which may be a problem.

Erika Vestin, First author of the study. Photo by Susanne Nyholm Vestin

Double risk of dementia after mouth ulcer virus

People who have had the herpes virus at some point in their lives are twice as likely to develop dementia compared to those who have never been infected. A new study from Uppsala University confirms previous research on whether herpes can be a possible risk factor for dementia.

Johan Sundström is a cardiologist and professor of epidemiology at Uppsala University. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt

A standard blood test can predict a heart attack

Using the results of a standard blood test and an online tool, you can find out if you are at increased risk of having a heart attack within six months. The tool has been developed by a research group at Uppsala University in the hope of increasing patients’ motivation to change their lifestyle.

The tick Ixodes ricinus can transmit the TBE-virus to humans. Photo. Tove Hoffman

Many more infected by TBE virus than previously known

The number of infections by the tick-borne TBE virus that are not detected by health services is far higher than previously assumed. This has been shown in a new study of Swedish blood donors from Uppsala University and the University Hospital in Uppsala. The results have been published in the journal Eurosurveillance, which is associated with the EU’s Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

How do probiotic bacteria benefit the intestine?

How do probiotic bacteria benefit the intestine?

Interaction between the gut microbiota and the immune system is important for host physiology and susceptibility to disease, but also for the efficacy of e.g., cancer immunotherapies. A multidisciplinary research team have now discovered that specific probiotic bacteria shape the intestinal microbiome by affecting B lymphocytes in the Peyer’s patches to induce, produce and release IgA following t

Jordi Carreras-Puigvert and Jonne Rietdijk studying cell images being acquired by a high-content microscope. Photo: Uppsala University

Method for discovery of antiviral drugs

The current COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for methods to identify new or repurposed drugs as antivirals. Researchers at Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet are now presenting a new screening approach that focuses on the identification of virus-specific morphological changes in virus-infected cells.

Structures discovered in brain cancer patients can help fight tumours

Researchers at Uppsala University have discovered lymph node-like structures close to the tumour in brain cancer patients, where immune cells can be activated to attack the tumour. They also found that immunotherapy enhanced the formation of these structures in a mouse model. This discovery suggests new opportunities to regulate the anti-tumour response of the immune system.

Decrease in prostate cancer diagnoses due to pandemic

During the first wave of the corona pandemic, 36 per cent fewer men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in Sweden than in previous years. On the other hand, the number of patients receiving curative treatment for prostate cancer was unaffected. This is shown by a new register study led by Uppsala University researchers, whose results are published in the Scandinavian Journal of Urology.

Propranolol treatment contributes to reduced number and size of cerebral cavernous malformations. The lesions are outlined in green. Photo: Joppe Oldenburg

Beta blockers can repair malformed blood vessels in the brain

Propranolol, a drug that is efficacious against infantile haemangiomas (“strawberry naevi”, resembling birthmarks), can also be used to treat cerebral cavernous malformations, a condition characterised by misshapen blood vessels in the brain and elsewhere. This has been shown by researchers at Uppsala University in a new study published in the scientific journal Stroke.

Innate immune system worsens the situation in severe COVID-19

In patients with severe COVID-19, the innate immune system overreacts. This overreaction may underlie the formation of blood clots (thrombi) and deterioration in oxygen saturation that affect the patients. This is shown in an Uppsala University study published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.

Metabolic response behind reduced cancer cell growth

Researchers from Uppsala University show in a new study that inhibition of the protein EZH2 can reduce the growth of cancer cells in the blood cancer multiple myeloma. The reduction is caused by changes in the cancer cells’ metabolism. These changes can be used as markers to discriminate whether a patient would respond to treatment by EZH2 inhibition.

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