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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.

In a study recently published in the "British Journal of Cancer", a research team led by Mario Mikula from MedUni Vienna has shown that human skin organoids can be used to study the growth of malignant melanoma. The investigations using this instrument, which is extremely valuable for basic research, revealed that the loss of the neuronal protein NLGN4X in melanoma is associated with the progression of the disease, and that the loss of the neuronal protein NLGN4X is associated with the progression of the disease.

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.

Patients with gestational diabetes show different disease progressions and therefore require personalised treatment measures. An international research team led by MedUni Vienna has now identified three subgroups of the disease with different treatment needs. The results of the study, recently published in the prestigious journal "Diabetologia", could improve our understanding of gestational diabetes and significantly advance the development of personalised treatment concepts.

Chronic lung diseases are often accelerated and exacerbated by polymicrobial infections. An international study team led by MedUni Vienna has identified two types of these so-called dysbioses in cystic fibrosis. They display distinct ecology and are also likely to respond differently to treatment. The study was published in the renowned journal Nature Communications.

Immunotherapy is one of the pillars in the fight against cancer and aims to enable the body's own immune system to fight a tumor. A recent study now shows that removing certain enzymes that regulate epigenetic processes from the so-called dentritic cells of the immune system influences their development and thus improves anti-tumor immunity.

As prostate cancer progresses, it becomes increasingly aggressive and can metastasise. In this form, the tumour is difficult to treat, which is reflected in high mortality rates: Worldwide, the malignant disease of the prostate is the second most common cause of cancer death in men. An international study led by Lukas Kenner (MedUni Vienna) and Sabine Lagger (Vetmeduni Vienna) has now identified a protein that could slow tumour growth.

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.

Slow electrons are used in cancer therapy as well as in microelectronics. It is very hard to observe how they behave in solids. But scientists at TU Wien have made this possible. Electrons can behave very differently depending on how much energy they have. Whether you shoot an electron with high or low energy into a solid body determines which effects can be triggered.

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).

In Asian countries, where high-salt foods are popular, the link between high salt consumption and stomach cancer has already been proven. A long-term study by MedUni Vienna has now shown for the first time that this risk is also reflected in the cancer statistics in Europe. As the analysis recently published in the specialist journal "Gastric Cancer" shows, people who frequently add salt to their food are around 40 per cent more likely to develop stomach cancer than those who do not use the salt shaker at the table.

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.

PLS (Passenger Lymphocyte Syndrome) is a potentially life-threatening risk in lung transplants that has hardly been researched and is often underestimated in clinical practice. However, the complication occurs more frequently than previously thought, as shown by a recent study at the Department of Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapy in collaboration with the Department of Thoracic Surgery at MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna.

Aloe vera, chia, ginger, blueberries, avocado and the like: the title "superfood" has already been awarded to many foods. It stands for fruits, seeds, vegetables and more that are said to have a particularly health-promoting effect in one or more areas due to their ingredients. One of these superfoods was researched as part of a study at the Medical University of Graz by Sandra Holasek from the Department of Immunology at the Otto Loewi Research Center: the local aronia berry and its juice.

New assistant professor at ISTA investigates how cells keep track of time The human body has adapted to Earth's day and night cycle.

Clonal haematopoiesis is a phenomenon caused by mutations in haematopoietic stem cells and can lead to blood cancer. We now know that it occurs also in people with normal blood counts, where it is associated with an increased risk of life-threatening atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. A research team at the Medical University of Vienna has now developed a genetic testing procedure to detect clonal haematopoiesis, which, when used in combination with an ultrasound examination of the carotid artery, allows to identify patients at high cardiovascular risk.

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.

When pathogens invade the body, the immune system must react immediately and prevent or contain an infection. But how do our immune cells stay ready when there is no attacker in sight? Scientists from Vienna and Salzburg have come up with an intriguing explanation: They are stimulated by healthy tissue.