news 2023

Autoimmune diseases are complex illnesses, the causes of which are diverse and have not yet been fully explained. A research team at MedUni Vienna has now discovered an immunoregulatory protein that could be linked to the development of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. The identified component of the immune system is called "Rinl", which could provide a new target for the development of immunomodulatory therapies.

Bone fractures due to osteoporosis are a major risk for the elderly. It is therefore all the more important to identify people at risk. An international team of authors with the participation of scientists from Med Uni Graz has analyzed how high the risk is of suffering a second bone fracture after the first: The risk is almost 90 percent higher.

Disruptions in lipid metabolism might affect platelet production. Scientists unveiled a deeper understanding of megakaryocyte differentiation and blood platelet production, a process crucial for maintaining healthy blood clotting and preventing excessive bleeding. The study featured in "Nature Cardiovascular Research," led by chemist Robert Ahrends from the University of Vienna and cardiologist Oliver Borst from the University of Tübingen, sheds light on the intricate role of lipids - the building blocks of cell membranes - in the formation of these vital blood components.

People who are treated with TNF-α inhibitors for their autoimmune disease such as Crohn's disease or rheumatoid arthritis lose their vaccination protection significantly earlier than average. The mechanism underlying the early decrease in antibody levels has now been eludicated by a scientific team from MedUni Vienna.

T cells are an essential component of the immune system - they fight foreign structures such as bacteria and viruses or cancer-related changes in cells. This defense reaction requires energy. Scientists led by the St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute, MedUni Vienna and the Marmara University Istanbul have now shown for the first time that a defect in the gene for the transcription factor NFATC1 leads to an immune defect with a disruption of metabolism in T lymphocytes.

Innsbruck researchers are making a major contribution to a new international concept for aging research. A new framework for so-called biomarkers makes it easier to define the biological process of aging. In this way, the researchers are also opening up new avenues for the prevention of age-related diseases.

In recent years, permanent glucose measurement from tissue fluid has become established, especially for type 1 diabetics who are constantly dependent on insulin to control their blood glucose. According to the latest study by an Austrian-British-Irish research team, such a system is also safe for professional pilots .

After a heart attack, the healing process can lead to increased storage of connective tissue and thus to excessive scarring of the damaged heart muscle. This so-called fibrosis in turn leads to the heart muscle gradually becoming stiff and unable to work properly, which ultimately results in heart failure.

Hair dyes can easily trigger contact allergies. In a large-scale project, the Information Network of Dermatological Clinics (IVDK) has investigated which substances are most frequently involved. The importance of hair dyes for allergies is thus evident. Safety at the workplace and product safety should be improved, the scientists involved now wrote in their study .

Patients with localised prostate cancer have a good chance of survival, but mortality rates among those with advanced, metastatic forms of the condition remain high. Until now, the precise mechanism behind the spread of the tumour has not been fully explained. But an international research team headed by MedUni Vienna has succeeded in decoding the underlying cellular signal pathway and has carried out research using a common diabetes medication that could provide a new treatment option.

Scientists at Medical University Vienna/St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute and the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen have shown that immunotherapy after stem cell transplantation effectively combats certain nerve tumors in children. Crucially, stem cells from a parent provide children with a new immune system that responds much better to immunotherapies.

A research group led by Giulio Superti-Furga of the Institute of Pharmacology at the Medical University and the CeMM Research Center has developed a new method that makes it possible to specifically inhibit important lactate transporters associated with cancer and numerous other diseases. This could provide a new starting point for the treatment of cancer in particular.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is already being used to diagnose skin cancer, but it cannot (yet) keep pace with the complex decision-making of doctors in practice. An international research team led by Harald Kittler of MedUni Vienna has now explored a learning method in which greater accuracy in AI results can be achieved by incorporating human decision-making criteria.

Scientists from the Giulio Superti-Furga Lab at CeMM, the Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, have developed a new method that allows the discovery of specific inhibitors of a lactate transporter associated with cancer and other disease areas. The compound identified in the assay system could provide a new starting point for cancer treatments.

Cancer is twice as likely to affect people experiencing homelessness (PEH) as members of the housed population. The disease is the second most common cause of death among PEH, a group that is underserved when it comes to medical care. At the same time, there is a lack of awareness and of structures for targeted cancer screening.

The new subtype has been characterised as part of an international collaboration with a research group from Luxembourg, opening up the prospect of a possible new therapeutic approach. Members of Helmut Dolznig's research group at MedUni Vienna's Center for Pathobiochemistry and Genetics played a key role in the research work, which was recently published in the renowned journal Nature Communications.

Many biomarkers can be read from human sweat - a new biosensor for monitoring human metabolism takes advantage of this . A new and improved technology has been developed by researchers at Johannes Kepler University Linz together with colleagues from the USA. The revolutionary sensor technology could be of great importance for both disease diagnostics and fitness monitoring.

During heat waves, people at risk can protect themselves by moving to medium altitudes. Between 1000 and 2500 m'there is a lower mortality rate in the Alps, which is probably also due to the lower temperatures. This is pointed out by sports scientist Martin Burtscher from the University of Innsbruck.

A research team from the Department of Medicine III at MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna has conducted a large-scale study showing the important value of repeated liver assessments by a novel method that can significantly improve risk assessment in patients with chronic liver disease. The dynamics of regular measurements of liver stiffness indicate a personalised patient risk profile which enables the initiation of individualized treatment strategies.

When a child is born before the completed 37th week of pregnancy, it is called a premature birth. Modern medicine makes it possible to care for premature babies, but depending on the baby's stage of development, some of them face major challenges. One of the biggest problems is the (un)maturity of the lungs, and thus the oxygen supply to children who are born prematurely.