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Severe covid 19 disease is characterized by excessive immune and inflammatory processes in the body. Conversely, long covid syndrome is likely to have a strong anti-inflammatory immune status. Scientists have now found this out with extensive blood plasma analyses of vaccinated persons without subsequent disease, persons with completely survived covid 19 infection and long covid patients.

Using several million medical records, a research group from MedUni Vienna and the Complexity Science Hub (CSH) showed that there was a correlation between the dosage of statins and the diagnosis of osteoporosis as early as 2019. This finding has now been confirmed in a preclinical study, which was recently published in the journal Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy.

The diagnosis and treatment of long COVID syndrome (LCS) is still very difficult, and there is only little knowledge about the factors causing accompanying symptoms. Researchers at the Joint Metabolome Facility of the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna have now presented new evidence of triggers for fatigue following SARS-COV-2 infection.

Complete abstinence from alcohol is considered a cornerstone in the treatment of patients with alcohol-related liver disease. It has not yet been sufficiently researched whether this measure can still improve the prognosis even in the case of advanced liver cirrhosis. Scientists at the Department of Internal Medicine III at MedUni Vienna and AKH Vienna have now provided evidence of the positive effects of alcohol abstinence even at very advanced stages of the disease.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is almost always accompanied by fatigue, a massive tiredness that is described by the vast majority of patients as the most distressing symptom. In a recent scientific study, a research group led by Stefan Seidel from the Department of Neurology at MedUni Vienna and AKH Vienna identified light therapy as a promising non-drug treatment option: patients included in the study showed a measurable improvement after just 14 days of use.

Patients receiving emergency medical treatment for atrial fibrillation show a correlation between the intravenous administration of potassium and magnesium and a spontaneous return to a normal heart rhythm. This was discovered in a new study by the Department of Emergency Medicine at MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna, which analysed patient data between 2009 and 2020.

As the number of obese people suffering from related conditions such as liver disease increases, so does the need for research to develop interventions to improve patient care. The Christian Doppler Laboratory, which opened today at MedUni Vienna, is investigating the physiological basis of the consequences of obesity.

Currently, various classes of drugs are available for the treatment of mental illnesses - such as depression and anxiety disorders. However, although these drugs confer benefits, they are also associated with adverse side-effects. Conseqeuntly, medical researchers continuously thrive to improve the pharmacological properties of therapeutic agents to optimize the benefit-to-side-effect ratio.

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".

A research team at MedUni Vienna has discovered key mechanisms of allergy to pollen from the common weed mugwort, thereby also laying the foundation for the development of the world's first vaccine. Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) poses a serious problem for allergic individuals in our latitudes from July through to September.

A MedUni Vienna study team has identified the role of a specific subtype of macrophages (white blood cells) in progressive non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. As part of the immune system, these cells have a protective function against fibrosis and liver cirrhosis. At the same time, they are useful as biomarkers of liver disease progression as they can be measured by a blood test.

Patients with chronic liver disease may suffer hepatic complications as a result of severe Covid-19. A study conducted by a research team led by Lukas Hartl, Thomas Reiberger and Michael Trauner from the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology of MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna found that a rise in cholestasis parameters and subsequent damage to the bile ducts, so-called secondary sclerosing cholangitis (SSC), develops with striking frequency in patients with pre-existing liver disease.

In view of the constant emergence of new viral variants and the limited duration of immune protection through recovery or vaccination, it is becoming increasingly likely that an annual COVID-19 booster vaccination might be needed. Working with colleagues from the Transatlantic Research Lab on Complex Societal Challenges, Jakob Weitzer and Eva Schernhammer from the Department of Epidemiology at the Medical University of Vienna and Gerald Steiner from the University of Continuing Education Krems investigated the willingness of the population to be vaccinated annually against COVID-19.

Fluorescent dyes, such as those used in discotheques with black lights or from forensic crime-scene searches for blood traces, play an important role in pharmaceutical research in particular. They can be used to visualize biological structures in fluids, cells or tissues. A team led by neuropharmacologist Margot Ernst from the Medical University of Vienna and theoretical chemist Leticia González from the University of Vienna have conducted a study to investigate the mechanism of a fluorescent dye for neuroscience.

In a recent study, an interdisciplinary research team from MedUni Vienna showed that functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can be used as a non-invasive method for predicting complications in chronic liver disease. The scientists combined a simple risk stratification system developed at MedUni Vienna - the functional liver imaging score (FLIS) - with splenic diameter.

The various manifestations of head and neck carcinomas rank sixth in frequency worldwide and are fatal for about half a million people every year. In a quarter of cases, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) and, currently, is not always treatable. A research team led by Lorenz Kadletz-Wanke from MedUni Vienna's Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery has now discovered a new therapeutic option in the context of a study.

A MedUni Vienna study found evidence that people with cancer and non-O blood group such as A, B or AB are at increased risk of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE), blood clots in the veins. The study was recently published in the journal "Blood Advances". VTE includes deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a blood clot that typically forms in the deep veins of the leg, and pulmonary embolism (PE), a life-threatening condition that occurs when a blood clot breaks free and lodges in the pulmonary arteries of the lungs.

For cancer patients, Covid-19 poses a particular risk due to their often compromised immune systems, weakened by therapy or disease, which is why vaccination is very important for their protection. Now, a recent study led by MedUni Vienna shows that, due to Omicron, there is an increasing number of breakthrough infections in people with cancer, especially while they are undergoing cancer therapy.

The preclinical data for a vaccine developed at MedUni Vienna to protect against SARS-CoV-2 indicates that it is effective against all SARS-CoV-2 variants known to date, including omicron - even in those who have not yet built up any immunity as a result of vaccination (non-responders). The data from the study were recently published in the leading journal "Allergy".

Pollutant concentrations in rivers provide a chemical fingerprint of society Residues of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and lifestyle substances enter rivers via wastewater. A recent study shows that the concentration of such trace pollutants in the Vienna Danube is surprisingly high compared to other EU countries.