New methodology at the University Hospital of Tübingen harnesses the function of platelets. At Tübingen University Hospital, a preclinical study led by Dr. Clemens Hinterleitner and Prof. Dr. Lars Zender, Medical Director of Medical Oncology and Pneumology, led to extremely promising results. The research group was able to develop a new methodology that makes it possible to better predict the likelihood of success of immunotherapies for lung cancer. The new study with the original title “Platelet PD-L1 reflects collective intratumoral…
The European project coordinated by the IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia will last for four years and has received €3 million in EU funding under the Horizon 2020 program. HyVIS, the European project coordinated by the IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Italian Institute of Technology), is about to start. By combining nanotechnology and optics, it will develop bionic synapses for retinal prostheses, designed to restore sight in people suffering from diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The project,…
Engineers at Rice lead study of how polystyrene contributes to crisis. The Styrofoam container that holds your takeout cheeseburger may contribute to the population’s growing resistance to antibiotics. According to scientists at Rice University’s George R. Brown School of Engineering, discarded polystyrene broken down into microplastics provides a cozy home not only for microbes and chemical contaminants but also for the free-floating genetic materials that deliver to bacteria the gift of resistance. A study in the Journal of Hazardous Materials describes how the ultraviolet aging…
An experimental compound reduced complications of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in mice – not by lowering blood sugar – but by countering its consequences: cell death, inflammation, and organ damage. Published online in Science Translational Medicine on November 24, the study reported that a new class of compounds blocked the ability of a protein called RAGE to pass on inflammatory signals that injure the heart and kidneys in diabetes, and that slow the healing of diabetic wounds. The…
Research offers new understanding of lung development, diseases that affect millions. Researchers have compiled the most comprehensive road map of the protein composition of human lungs, providing a clearer picture of the healthy development of this essential organ that made terrestrial life possible. The study, led by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, describes how thousands of molecules are modulated in a coordinated fashion during the formation of pulmonary tissue. The findings are expected to provide…
“Immortality protein” fires up the cell’s power plants. The aging researchers Prof. Judith Haendeler from the Medical Faculty and the molecular biologist Prof. Joachim Altschmied from the Department of Biology together with their teams have shown for the first time in the cardiovascular system that Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase (TERT) within the mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cells, has a protective function in myocardial infarction. This work, which was performed together with other groups from the University Hospital Düsseldorf and the…
Researchers at Heidelberg University Hospital currently describe in “Neuron” where heat-sensitive neurons in the brain obtain the necessary information / “Outsourced” sensor proteins allow adapted thermoregulation. The mechanisms by which the body measures temperature and regulates its own body heat are vital, but still poorly understood. The discovery of the first heat sensor on nerve cells in the skin, for which the U.S. molecular biologist David Julius received this year’s Nobel Prize for Medicine, was therefore pioneering. However, a very…
MHH research team finds biomarker for treatment success with donor lymphocyte infusion. When chemotherapy does not help a leukemia patient, stem cell transplantation is the last resort. In this case, the diseased bone marrow is usually replaced by healthy cells from a suitable donor with the help of a transfusion. After the transfusion, the donated stem cells migrate into the bone marrow and begin to form new, healthy blood cells there after some time. However, this is not always successful….
MHH study develops reference tool for blood tests. Lymphocytes belong to the white blood cells. They consist of several subgroups with different tasks in immune defence. Which and how many lymphocytes are in the blood provides information about our current state of health as well as congenital or acquired immune deficiencies. This composition in the blood can be determined precisely with the help of the most modern flow cytometry. What has been missing until now, however, were reference ranges to…
Polyreactive antibodies as markers for autoimmune hepatitis. Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic liver inflammation that is triggered by an immunological malfunction. In this case, the immune system falsely recognises the patient’s own liver cells as “foreign to the body”. The symptoms of this rare liver disease are unspecific, and the exact cause is not yet known. If left untreated, AIH can lead to abnormal scarring (fibrosis) of the liver, which can end in cirrhosis and require an organ transplant….
The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) – a joint undertaking of the European Union and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) – today announced the launch of OPTIMA (Optimal Treatment for Patients with Solid Tumours in Europe Through Artificial intelligence), a € 21.3 million public-private research programme that will seek to use artificial intelligence (AI) to improve care for patients with prostate, breast and lung cancer. OPTIMA’s goal is to design, develop and deliver the first interoperable, GDPR-compliant…
Findings suggest robot telepresence, more than a tablet, provides comfort to young patients. A new study from UCLA finds a visit from human-controlled robot encourages a positive outlook and improves medical interactions for hospitalized children. Robin is a social companion robot that stands at about 4 feet tall and has the capabilities to move, talk and play with others while being remotely controlled by humans. Specialists from UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital’s Chase Child Life Program conducted hour-long video visits with young patients using…
MHH junior scientist receives 60.000 euro prize for research on haemophilia A therapy. Haemophilia A is a hereditary blood clotting disorder. About 4.000 people in Germany are affected. The so-called clotting factor VIII (FVIII) is disturbed or missing completely. When injured, the blood then clots more slowly, which can lead to chronic joint damage or acutely life-threatening situations. An already available gene therapy only helps certain patients who do not form antibodies against the viral vector, which acts as a…
University of Delaware research yields new clues into potential impact of diet on Alzheimer’s. Worms don’t wiggle when they have Alzheimer’s disease. Yet something helped worms with the disease hold onto their wiggle in Professor Jessica Tanis’s lab at the University of Delaware. In solving the mystery, Tanis and her team have yielded new clues into the potential impact of diet on Alzheimer’s, the dreaded degenerative brain disease afflicting more than 6 million Americans. A few years ago, Tanis and…
MHH in charge of new hepatitis guideline Viral and non-viral liver diseases are often detected late or not at all. As the symptoms are mostly unspecific, the disease progresses in secret and is only diagnosed when the stage of liver cirrhosis or liver cell cancer is reached. In order to detect and treat infections with hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses as early as possible, the Federal Joint Committee (Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss, G-BA) has included screening for both viruses as a…
This cooperation is impaired in mutations that can cause Parkinson’s disease. To break down toxic proteins more quickly, immune cells in the brain can join together to form networks when needed. This is shown by a joint study of the University of Bonn, the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the Institut François Jacob in France. However, in certain mutations that can cause Parkinson’s disease, this cooperation is impaired. The findings are published in the renowned journal Cell. The…
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