Skip to content

Topics: Health, Health Care, Pharmaceuticals

New research model for predicting hip fractures could save lives

New research model for predicting hip fractures could save lives

Researchers at Uppsala University have developed a clinical model that can accurately predict the risk of hip fractures in the elderly. The model is based on analyses of data from the entire Swedish population and can identify patients at high risk, without the need to measure skeletal strength. This can speed up the process for doctors and allow patients to receive preventive 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.

Olof Rudbeck Day 2024 will focus on AI in care and health

Olof Rudbeck Day with focus on AI in care and health

What are the opportunities of using AI in healthcare? And what potential risks does it entail? These issues will be discussed during the Olof Rudbeck Day on 18 October. This year’s Rudbeck Prize winner, Ulf Gyllensten, will also give a lecture on his research into gynaecological cancer.

Dr Charlotte Blease, Associate Professor at Uppsala University.

One in five UK doctors use AI chatbots

A survey led by researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden reveals that a significant proportion of UK general practitioners (GPs) are integrating generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, into their clinical workflows. The results highlight the rapidly growing role of artificial intelligence in healthcare – a development that has the potential to revolutionise patient care but also raises concerns.

Researchers at Uppsala University have developed a gel inspired by cow slime for patients suffering from disc herniation.

Cow slime can help disc herniation patients after surgery

Researchers at Uppsala University have developed a gel inspired by cow slime for patients suffering from disc herniation. By adding the mucin gel immediately after surgery, it is possible to create a protective barrier around the discs to prevent the immune system from attacking their nucleus pulposus. This keeps the discs intact and reduces the risk of further damage.

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.

Greater attention needs to be paid to malnutrition in the sick and elderly

As many as half of all patients admitted to hospital, other healthcare facilities are malnourished. This has serious consequences for the individual in terms of poorer quality of life and mortality. Providing nutrients can alleviate these problems, but not enough attention is paid to this knowledge, writes researchers from Uppsala University and the University of Gothenburg published in the NEJM.

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.

Macrophages behave like mural cells to promote healing of ischemic muscle injury

Innate immune cells including macrophages and neutrophils have unique properties that allows them to quickly accumulate in large numbers at the site of infection or injury. A new study from researchers at Uppsala University establishes that macrophage in the adult ischemic muscle induce a phenotype switch into mural cells to support restoration of functional blood flow and thereby promote healing.

Zhibin Zhang, docent at the Department of Electrical Engineering at Uppsala University.

Robots' sense of touch could be as fast as humans

Research at Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet could pave the way for a prosthetic hand and robot to be able to feel touch like a human hand. Their study has been published in the journal Science. The technology could also be used to help restore lost functionality to patients after a stroke.

Bank voles in Skåne carry a virus that can cause hemorrhagic fever in humans. Photo: B. Niklasson

Vole fever spreading further south

Researchers have discovered that bank voles in Skåne, southern Sweden, carry a virus that can cause hemorrhagic fever in humans. This finding was made more than 500 km south of the previously known range. This is revealed in a new study from Uppsala University. The researchers were surprised that such a high proportion of the relatively few voles they caught were actually carrying a hantavirus.

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.

Camilla Sköld, Specialist Physician in Gynaecological Cancer at the Oncology Clinic, Uppsala University Hospital, researcher at Uppsala University. Photo: Anthoula Koliadi

Lower survival rates for women than men with germ cell tumours

Women with a type of ovarian cancer known as germ cell tumours have a worse prognosis than men with similar tumours, i.e. testicular cancer. After five years with the disease, 98 percent of men were alive while the survival rate for women was only 85 percent. This has been revealed by a new study from Uppsala University and Uppsala University Hospital published in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

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.

Show more

Uppsala University - quality, knowledge, and creativity since 1477

Founded in 1477, Uppsala University is the oldest university in Sweden. With more than 50,000 students and 7,500 employees in Uppsala and Visby, we are a broad university with research in social sciences, humanities, technology, natural sciences, medicine and pharmacology. Our mission is to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance to society on a long-term basis. Uppsala University is regularly ranked among the world’s top universities.

Uppsala University

Dag Hammarskjölds väg 7
BOX 256, 751 05 Uppsala
Sweden

Visit our other newsrooms