news 2024

In a recent study published in the scientific journal "Blood", researchers from MedUni Vienna show that haemorrhages are more common in cancer patients than previously thought and are associated with a poor prognosis and an increased risk of death. The results emphasise the need to devote more attention to this serious complication in clinical practice and research in the future.

Theranostics integrates molecular imaging and targeted radionuclide therapy - a concept that is already in clinical use for the treatment of various types of cancer. A position paper from the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), written under the leadership of Matthias Preusser from MedUni Vienna, summarises the potential of this concept for the treatment of brain tumours.

A MedUni Vienna study has investigated gender-specific differences in the diagnosis of systolic heart failure in patients with type 2 diabetes. The results, recently published in the specialist journal "Cardiovascular Diabetology", show that the current methods are less reliable in women than in men.

Surgical removal of the tumour is considered the basis for curing gastric cancer. However, 40 per cent of patients who have undergone surgery suffer a relapse within two years. A research team led by MedUni Vienna has now investigated a prognostic marker that can be used to identify patients with a high risk of tumour recurrence.

A new combined cell therapy for kidney transplants can help to reduce the donor-specific reaction against the transplanted organ without the need for maintenance triple immunosuppression. The overall diversity of the T-cell receptor repertoire, which is important for immune defence, is preserved. This is shown by an international study led by MedUni Vienna, which was recently published in the journal eBioMedicine of the Lancet Discovery Science series.

Targeted therapies are a powerful weapon against skin cancer, but their side effects can severely impact a patient's quality of life. A new study shows that some targeted therapies manipulate signaling events in cells that line blood vessels and result in a weaker vascular barrier. This knowledge sheds some light on possible mechanisms leading to side effects and it can contribute to the development of better therapies for skin cancer.

In a study recently published in the renowned journal "Allergy", a MedUni Vienna research team shows that COVID-19 leads to considerable long-term changes in the immune system, even in mild cases. The findings could help to better understand the long-term consequences of an infection with SARS-CoV-2.

Despite the significant increase in sexually transmitted diseases in recent years, there is currently no vaccine available against common bacterial pathogens such as chlamydia. In the search for ways to prevent infection, a research team from MedUni Vienna and the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine has identified the active substance pentamidine as a promising candidate for the prophylaxis of chlamydial infections and possibly other bacterial sexually transmitted diseases.

Advanced liver disease is the second most common cause of lost working years, as it disproportionately affects young patients. A scientific team from MedUni Vienna has been able to determine a threshold value for a simple blood test that can be used to identify people with an increased risk of complications, even without special testing.

The use of the active ingredient 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as "ecstasy", to support psychotherapy for mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder is being discussed worldwide. While the therapeutic potential of the substance has already been investigated in clinical trials, only Australia and New Zealand have so far decided to approve and restrict its controlled use by experts due to possible risks and side effects.

A catheter-based tricuspid valve replacement with a newly approved heart valve was performed for the first time in Austria at University Hospital Vienna and MedUni Vienna. The new heart valve prosthesis now also makes it possible to treat patients who could previously only be treated with medication for anatomical reasons or due to the cause of the heart valve leak.

Immunosuppressive drugs protect transplanted organs from harmful immune reactions. Nevertheless, rejection reactions can still occur. A MedUni Vienna research team led by Thomas Wekerle has deciphered mechanisms that lead to rejection despite the use of the latest immunosuppressive drugs. These findings point to new therapeutic options for preventing such rejection reactions in the future.

Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) is one of the most common causes of kidney transplant failure. To date, however, no treatment has proven effective in combating this complication in the long term. As part of an international and multidisciplinary clinical study led by Georg Böhmig and Katharina Mayer, Clinical Division of Nephrology and Dialysis, Department of Medicine III at MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna, a new therapeutic principle in transplant medicine has been found to be both safe and highly effective.

Liposomal bupivacaine was launched on the market twelve years ago to provide long-lasting local control of pain. The medication is used as a local anaesthetic, particularly for orthopaedic operations. A research study by MedUni Vienna has now shown the limited effectiveness of the substance. The study has just been published in the journal "Anesthesiology", the peer-reviewed journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA).

Blocking "switches" of the immune system has revolutionized the treatment of patients with various metastatic cancers. In 2018, the discovery of this principle was recognized by the Nobel Prize in Medicine. An international research team has now shown that the simultaneous inhibition of two "immune switches", PD-1 and LAG-3, can lead to the killing of lung cancer cells after just a few weeks.

Cannabinoids are endogenous hormones or naturally occurring molecules found in various plants, most commonly known as THC (?9-tetrahydrocannabinol) in cannabis plants. The therapeutic potential of these compounds is the subject of intensive research, yet their psychoactive and addictive properties stimulate intensive debate.

As a malignant disease of the liver cells, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the main causes of cancer-related deaths. While the treatment options for this aggressive type of cancer remain limited, the incidence is increasing. A research team led by Latifa Bakiri and Erwin Wagner from MedUni Vienna's Clinical Institute for Laboratory Medicine has now described a molecular signalling pathway that plays a key role in the development of liver cancer, thereby identifying a potential new starting point for the development of therapeutic treatments.

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that is sometimes insufficiently controlled by immunosuppressive therapies with a subsequent need for surgical removal of affected bowel segments. By analysing draining mesenteric lymph nodes of affected small intestinal segments of patients who had required surgery, a research team led by Lukas Unger from MedUni Vienna identified immune responses that improve our understanding of the disease.

Since 1999, the standard treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer has consisted of external radiotherapy followed by chemotherapy and brachytherapy. As the prognosis for patients is still poor in many cases despite these measures, intensive research is being conducted into new options. In a large-scale clinical trial, an international team involving MedUni Vienna has shown that the immunotherapeutic agent pembrolizumab in combination with chemoradiotherapy leads to a statistically significant improvement compared to chemoradiotherapy alone.

Repeated or chronic liver injury, for example by viral hepatitis or alcohol consumption, triggers a complicated molecular process of scaring called liver fibrosis. Researchers at CeMM and MedUni Vienna have now succeeded in better understanding this process in a new study by examining gene activities at various stages of the liver disease.