news 2022

A newly developed test detects early precancerous changes in the cervix. This procedure works better than currently available methods and detects the changes years before cancer develops. The test was developed under the direction of Martin Widschwendter, Professor of Cancer Prevention and Screening at the University of Innsbruck.

Organ damage occurs in up to 70 percent of patients in the first few months following stem cell transplant. The precise reasons for this potentially life-threatening reaction have long been the subject of scientific research. Researchers led by Georg Stary from the Department of Dermatology at MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital in collaboration with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases have recently identified bacterial proliferation on the skin as a factor associated with the occurrence of the complication.

A study group at MedUni Vienna has identified a regulatory loop controlled by leptin, by which this adipocyte-derived hormone regulates hepatic lipid metabolism via the autonomic nervous system. The study provides evidence that this adipose tissue-brain-liver axis, previously identified in animal models, also exists in humans and is opening up new approaches for treating metabolic diseases such as fatty liver disease.

It is now well known that viruses can cause infectious diseases ranging from COVID-19 to AIDS to Ebola. However, medical science also assumes that viruses play a role in about ten percent of cancers. An international research team led by MedUni Vienna and the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology in Vienna has now shown that human papillomavirus 42 (HPV42) drives the development of a particular type of skin cancer.

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a particularly aggressive tumour, which has so far been treated with standardised measures. A study led by MedUni Vienna has shown for the first time that different SCLC subtypes have specific molecular characteristics, which is why those affected respond in different ways to cancer treatment.

Fitness trackers, patches to measure body temperature, telemonitoring of cardiac parameters - the Internet of Things does not stop at medical technology, as Christian Baumgartner from TU Graz well knows. The skin patch that monitors body temperature, the implanted chip that monitors medication intake, or communicating pacemakers.

More than 5% of all Austrians suffer from depression. However, little is known about the biological basis of this disease. In a new study, scientists led by Alexander Karabatsiakis from the Institute of Psychology at the University of Innsbruck have now observed a strong correlation between the severity of depression and the level of the stress hormone cortisol in hair.

As early as 2018, a research team of the MedUni Vienna showed that strict avoidance of all types of fish is in fact only necessary for few fish-allergy sufferers. However, reliable tests to determine which types could be tolerated and eaten have not been available until now. In their current study, the researchers demonstrate that a new and effective diagnostic procedure.

Hitherto, scientists have not fully understood why ticks are such dangerous disease vectors. A research team led by Johanna Strobl and Georg Stary from MedUni Vienna's Department of Dermatology shows that tick saliva inhibits the skin's defence function, thereby increasing the risk of diseases such as tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) or Lyme disease.

Although SARS-CoV-2 infections mainly attack the lungs, in many cases they can also damage other organs, such as the colon: around 60% of patients experienced digestive tract impacts. Researchers at MedUni Vienna have analysed the manifestations of Covid-19 in the lungs and colon and pinpointed the differences at a molecular level.

Anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) is an aggressive blood cancer that mainly affects children and adolescents, but it can also affect adults. A recent international study led by scientists from the Medical University Vienna and the Veterinary Medicine Vienna has now identified a new biomarker and effective therapeutic approach with the protein PDGFRβ and its downstream signaling pathway STAT3/5.

A research team led by Matthias Preusser from MedUni Vienna's Division of Oncology had already demonstrated that cancer patients benefit from a third vaccination to protect them against COVID. A recent study now also supports fourth vaccination for this vulnerable group. However, passive immunisation by administering an antibody combination to cancer patients does not seem to provide adequate protection.

Early detection of Alzheimer's disease is critical if patients are to receive timely and appropriate care and potential treatments and preventive measures are to be used to the best possible effect. Scientists have so far identified several important risk factors that may trigger or accelerate dementia.

Researchers at MedUni Vienna, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna and Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Cancer Research demonstrate an anti-tumor effect of certain nature-derived cyclic peptides. The study, which has now been published internationally, not only demonstrates the inhibition of cell division by these peptides, but even their ability to cause cell death of cancer cells.

In its final Phase III clinical trial, a new drug for treating rheumatoid arthritis has proved to be at least as effective as the current "gold standard" treatment for this autoimmune disease. This opens up new treatment options for affected patients. The results of the international multicentre study led by MedUni Vienna were recently published in the prestigious "New England Journal of Medicine".

If liver tissue has to be removed due to cancer or another liver disease, the organ usually regenerates quickly, soon becoming fully functional once again. Medical science has not yet completely understood the complex processes that enable tissue recovery following resection. Now, for the first time, a MedUni Vienna research team has discovered the vital role of immune cells that boost the production of liver cells.

Evolution of longitudinal division and multicellularity in oral bacteria. To survive in the oral cavity, bacteria have evolved to divide along their longitudinal axis without separating from each other. This is what a research team led by cell biologist Silvia Bulgheresi of the University of Vienna and microbial geneticist Frédéric Veyrier of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) recently discovered.

Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency is a genetic disorder that often leads to serious damage to the lungs and liver. Although there are already therapeutic measures available for alleviating pulmonary emphysema caused by the missing enzyme, the precise background to the associated liver damage was hitherto unclear and there was no known treatment option.

A recent analysis shows that a combination of two antiplatelet drugs may be beneficial for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery but may also carry a risk. This new finding by an international research group with lead author Sigrid Sandner from MedUni Vienna's Department of Cardiac Surgery suggests that treating doctors should carefully consider the use of these drugs.

It is essential to assess the severity of multiple sclerosis (MS) in order to choose appropriate therapeutic measures, but this cannot be reliably done using existing methods. A MedUni Vienna study now shows for the first time that the retina can be used as a prognostic marker. Analyses revealed that retinal layer thinning as a result of an MS relapse predicts the severity of future relapses and, hence, the likelihood of disability.