Two people with the same BMI may have entirely different risks of developing type 2 diabetes, depending on the biological mechanisms underlying their overweight. Some types of obesity increase a person’s risk of diabetes, while others do not influence the risk at all, or even appear to be protective. Now researcher's describe the different molecular processes that drive these differences.
A new type of hip replacement implant reduces the risk of joint dislocation after surgery by 70 per cent. This is the finding of a new study involving 1,600 patients across 44 hospitals in Sweden and the UK, as published in The Lancet. The new implant consists of a small ball encased in a much larger plastic ball, which gives better stability.
Men are over-represented when it comes to heart disease, but there are certain conditions that mainly affect women, such as ‘broken-heart syndrome’. Stress and anxiety are common in this group. A new study led by researchers at Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet shows that internet-based CBT can reduce symptoms and help patients manage their emotions better.
It has previously been shown that young, very fit people have an increased risk of atrial fibrillation. A new study of over one million young Swedish men shows that this risk is less than previous calculations showed, and that the benefits in terms of reduced risk for all other cardiovascular diseases outweigh the risk.
Biomarkers in the blood could be used for the early detection of colorectal cancer, lung cancer and ovarian cancer. A new study from Uppsala University shows that the performance of such biomarkers is comparable to or better than established tests and could be developed for clinical use.
Antibiotic treatments can affect the composition of the community of bacteria living in the gut, known as the gut microbiome, for a long time. A new study shows that certain types of antibiotics can be linked to changes in the gut microbiome as long as four to eight years after treatment. The findings have now been published in the scientific journal Nature Medicine.
Researchers have discovered that severe brain tumours in children that appear to be completely different actually arise from the same type of cell. This cell type can give rise to tumours in the pineal gland, the retina and the cerebellum. The discovery that these tumours are related may make it possible to treat them in similar ways.
People who work at night have a higher risk of coronary artery disease, a type of heart disease. A new study suggests that a higher fibre intake in the diet may help reduce this risk. The study included over 220,000 adults in the UK and is published in the European Journal of Epidemiology.
People affected by traumatic brain injury (TBI) have an increased risk of work disability that can recur even years after the injury, regardless of its severity. This has been shown in a new national registry study from Uppsala University in collaboration with Karolinska Institutet (KI) and is based on close to 100,000 people with a traumatic brain injury.
In two new studies on 28,000 individuals, researchers are able to show that genetic variants in 11 regions of the human genome have a clear influence on which bacteria are in the gut and what they do there. Only two genetic regions were previously known. Some of the new genetic variants can be linked to an increased risk of gluten intolerance, haemorrhoids and cardiovascular diseases.
The number of patients diagnosed with cardiomyopathy has increased substantially over the past two decades. This is the finding of a new study from Uppsala University that mapped all cases of cardiomyopathy in Sweden. Despite identifying this increase, it is still unclear whether this is due to more people developing cardiomyopathy or to healthcare becoming better at diagnosing it.
Individuals with a birth weight of less than one kilogram have an increased risk of cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities and attention deficit disorders. Nonetheless, they rate their quality of life as high as individuals with normal birth weight. This finding emerges from a new study of 201 adults who were born prematurely and followed from birth to the age of 26–29 in Sweden.
A brisk extra five-minute walk per day could potentially prevent many deaths. This is shown by new research based on data from more than 135,000 middle-aged and older adults. The study, conducted by researchers at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in collaboration with Uppsala University and others, has been published in The Lancet.
Patients who start their blood pressure treatment with ARB drugs continue with the same medicine to a greater extent than patients who start out with other drugs. Choosing the right drug from the outset can therefore improve both health and quality of life – as well as bringing down healthcare costs. This is shown in a new study based on data from 340,000 patients.
People who have been exposed to both PFAS and PCBs are more likely to be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). These new research findings are based on analyses of blood samples from more than 1,800 individuals in Sweden, one of the most comprehensive studies to date on the influence of chemical environmental exposure on the development of MS.
A healthy Nordic diet, high in dietary fibre from whole grains, fruits and vegetables but with a small percentage of saturated fat, can assist in the treatment of both type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This has been shown in a new clinical study in which the researchers compared three different types of diet.
Women who have been exposed to multiple traumatic experiences during childhood have more difficult births than others. They are much more likely to need emergency caesarean sections, suffer major haemorrhages or pre-eclampsia, and need more antibiotics. These findings come from a new study involving 1,253 women, who were monitored from before giving birth to one year afterwards.
The malignant pediatric brain tumor medulloblastoma is driven by proteins deep within the cancer cells, for which there are often no effective drugs available. Researchers at Uppsala University have identified a new genetic technique that enables targeting of tumour cells with elevated levels of such proteins. The technique could be used to eliminate cells responsible for tumour relapse.
Some common hormonal contraceptives are linked to a slightly higher risk of breast cancer than others. This is shown by a new Swedish study from Uppsala University, in which researchers followed more than two million women and teenage girls in Sweden to identify how different hormonal contraceptives affect the risk of breast cancer.
Pregnant women with vitamin D deficiency may develop osteomalacia – a form of bone softening. A new Swedish study shows that this condition increases the risk of needing vacuum-assisted delivery or emergency caesarean section fivefold. Muscle weakness due to vitamin D and calcium deficiency may be a possible explanation, in addition to the pelvic changes historically associated with osteomalacia.
