Significant progress in personalised medicine: MHH researchers combine comprehensive clinical data in an easy-to-use platform. Genetic changes are the driving force behind many types of cancer, including leukaemia. They have a strong influence on prognosis and treatment. A new AI-powered tool called clinALL is now set to revolutionise the way doctors diagnose and treat paediatric leukaemia. The tool combines genetic and clinical data in one easy-to-use platform. Professor Dr Anke K. Bergmann, Senior Consultant and Deputy Director of the Institute…
A focus on harm reduction has led to a world-first steroid-testing service being offered in Brisbane. Launched by Griffith University’s Dr Tim Piatkowski in partnership with the Queensland Injectors Health Network (QuIHN), Queensland Injectors Voice for Advocacy and Action (QuIVAA) and The Loop Australia, the confidential service aims to empower people to make more informed decisions. Users of performance and image enhancing drugs (IPEDs) are encouraged to drop off used vials at collections points, with samples then tested for purity…
Large multicenter study identifies 34 new genetic diseases. The majority of rare diseases have a genetic cause. The underlying genetic alteration can be found more and more easily, for example by means of exome sequencing (ES), leading to a molecular genetic diagnosis. ES is an examination of all sections of our genetic material (DNA) that code for proteins. As part of a Germany-wide multicenter study, ES data was collected from 1,577 patients and systematically evaluated. This made it possible to…
Globally, around 2.6 million children and adolescents are currently living with HIV, the majority of them in Africa. These young people are much more likely to experience treatment failure than adults. Experts long assumed that testing for viral drug resistance could improve treatment in cases where treatment has failed. However, a research team led by the University of Basel now shows that it is much more important to support the patients in taking their medication regularly. The fight against HIV…
Sounds paradoxical: varicella zoster virus spreads better in the body by enhancing an immune defence mechanism. Varicella zoster virus (VZV) can cause chickenpox, as well as shingles and severe complications. When one comes into contact with VZV for the first time, the virus enters the body through the airways, reaching the mucous membranes in the nasopharynx and adjacent lymphatic tissues, from where VZV infects T lymphocytes. In these immune cells, VZV spreads throughout the body, reaching skin cells – resulting…
Researchers from The University of Queensland have identified how a common bacterium is able to manipulate the human immune system during respiratory infections and cause persistent illness. The research, led by Professor Ulrike Kappler from UQ’s School of Chemical and Molecular Biosciences, studied the virulence mechanisms of Haemophilus influenzae, a bacterium that plays a significant role in worsening respiratory tract infections. “These bacteria are especially damaging to vulnerable groups, such as those with cystic fibrosis, asthma, the elderly, and Indigenous communities,” Professor Kappler said….
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common malignant tumour in women worldwide. In the early stages, surgery can be of benefit to most patients. In a comparative study including more than 1000 patients with more than 10 years of follow-up, the standard treatment for this cancer has now been compared with a new surgical method, total mesometrial resection (TMMR), developed and routinely performed at the University of Leipzig Medical Center. TMMR was associated with a significantly lower risk of disease…
Findings could enable new therapies and improved treatments: New research by the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) in cooperation with the University of Bonn has shown for the first time that certain early changes in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) can lead to a measurable local loss of vision. This discovery could help to improve the treatment and monitoring of this eye disease in older patients, which otherwise slowly leads to central blindness, and to test new therapies. AMD mainly…
What causes pulmonary hypertension. The blood pressure inside the lungs is typically much lower than in the rest of the body. Pulmonary hypertension occurs when the blood vessels within the lungs contract and the smooth muscle layer surrounding these vessels thickens. The disease puts constant stress on the right heart, as it needs considerably more strength to pump the blood through the lungs. As a result, the heart becomes enlarged and may eventually fail due to overload. “The causes of…
Interaction of monocytes and platelets decoded. Monocytes, a special type of white blood cell, secrete cytokines as inflammatory messengers that are crucial for an appropriate immune response. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn have now discovered that platelets, also known as thrombocytes, communicate with monocytes and increase their inflammatory capacity. By understanding the platelet-monocyte interaction, they hope to improve the treatment of immune disorders and associated diseases. The results of the study have now…
New compound supercharges naloxone… Every great superhero needs a sidekick. Now, scientists may have found a drug-busting partner for naloxone. Naloxone is an opioid antidote that has saved tens of thousands of lives by rapidly reversing opioid overdoses in more than 90% of cases in which it is used. But its powers are temporary, lasting only 30 to 90 minutes. The rise of potent, long-acting opioids such as fentanyl means that someone brought back from the brink can still overdose…
MHH research team identifies microscopic clusters of damaged lung vesicles as cause of massive loss of lung function. Artificial ventilation can save lives, but it also puts pressure on lung tissue. If the lungs are pre-damaged, pressurized ventilation can even have undesirable effects. This is especially true of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This is because when trying to keep the lungs open and allow further gas exchange, the pressure due to an overstretch of still intact lung…
Monoclonal antibody developed from blood of recovering patients. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is sponsoring a clinical trial to evaluate the safety of an investigational monoclonal antibody to treat enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), which can cause severe respiratory and neurological diseases such as acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) – similar to polio. Scientists are striving to better understand AFM, which has emerged in the United States with spikes in cases every other year, primarily in the late-summer months over the last…
MHH researchers find innovative approach to prolong the survival of motor nerve cells. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an incurable, severe disease of the nervous system. As the disease progresses, misfolded proteins accumulate in the motor nerve cells responsible for muscle movement in the brain and spinal cord, causing inflammation and permanently damaging these cells, known as motor neurons. The entire musculature becomes increasingly weak and death from respiratory paralysis usually occurs after a few years. There is no cure…
Overview article in Redox Biology. An international team comprising 90 authors presents the status of research on “ferroptosis”, a cell death mechanism caused by excess iron and oxygen radicals. Ferroptosis plays an important role in many types of cancer, neurological diseases, stroke, heart attack and other medically relevant situations. Four researchers from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU)/University Hospital Düsseldorf (UKD) have made key contributions to the comprehensive review of this cell death mechanism recently published in the scientific journal Redox…
Scientists identified beneficial bacteria that relieve eczema symptoms in adults and children. NIAID research has led to the availability of a new over-the-counter topical eczema probiotic. The probiotic is based on the discovery by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, that bacteria present on healthy skin called Roseomonas mucosa can safely relieve eczema symptoms in adults and children. R. mucosa-based topical interventions could simplify or complement current eczema…
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