NEW STUDY. A new blood test called p-tau217 shows promise as an Alzheimer’s disease biomarker, and when used in a two-step workflow very high accuracy to either identify or exclude brain amyloidosis, the most important and earliest pathology. That is an innovation now presented by researchers at the University of Gothenburg, together with colleagues at University of Lund and in Montreal, Canada. In recent years, a lot of effort has…
Method for detecting ultrasound equipment errors in new doctoral thesis
DOCTORAL THESIS. Many ultrasound examinations are conducted using equipment with malfunctions, often without anyone’s knowledge. In his doctoral thesis, Robert Lorentsson reveals that these errors can impact diagnosis, especially when the defects are substantial. He has developed a novel method to detect faulty ultrasound probes through automated analysis of clinical images. What is the focus of your research? ”My research aims to evaluate how the technical condition of an ultrasound…
Striving towards treatments for steatotic liver disease
GRANT. Professor Stefano Romeo receives the equivalent of almost SEK 16 million from the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The project may lead to the first effective treatment of fatty liver, where the disease is not caused by alcohol intake. This is the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s Distinguish Investigator grant in Endocrinology, which will fund Stefano Romeo’s research for the next five years. A prolonged excess in sugar and fat intake will damage…
The Drafting Committee proposes that Jenny Nyström be elected Dean
DEAN ELECTION. The faculty-wide Drafting Committee has reached consensus on proposing Jenny Nyström, currently Head of the Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, as the next Dean of Sahlgrenska Academy. Employees will be provided the opportunity to attend an open hearing, and eligible voters will be able to cast their votes in the advisory dean election in mid-October. Below, the Drafting Committee describes the process behind its decision to recommend Jenny…
Reduced risk of bleeding with modern blood thinners
NEW STUDY. Modern blood-thinning drugs (known as NOACs) reduce the risk of serious bleeding by up to 45 percent compared to the traditional drug Waran in the treatment of blood clots in the legs and lungs. All according to a comprehensive and long-term study conducted at the University of Gothenburg. Blood thinners are among the most commonly prescribed drugs. The pharmaceutical substance warfarin has been used for over fifty years…
Contributing new knowledge to the long Covid puzzle
RESEARCH. At least 30,000 Swedes have been diagnosed with post-covid-19 condition during the first three years of the pandemic, according to Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare, but there is still a lack of knowledge about the condition, its causes, and how many people are affected. Maria Bygdell and Fredrik Nyberg, researchers at the Institute of Medicine, aim to find out more. We now have a good understanding of…
Preterm babies given certain fatty acids have better vision
NEW STUDY. Preterm babies given a supplement with a combination of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids have better visual function by the age of two and a half. This has been shown by a study at the University of Gothenburg. The study, published in The Lancet Regional Health Europe, covers 178 extremely preterm babies at the neonatal units of the university hospitals in Gothenburg, Lund, and Stockholm between 2016 and…
In memory of Eva Jakobsson Ung
She always lifted up those around her – colleagues and students alike Eva Jakobsson Ung, our dear friend and colleague at the Institute of Health and Care Sciences, died suddenly on 10 May 2023. Eva was a Professor of Nursing at our department for more than 20 years. Prior to that she worked as a nurse, mainly within emergency care, and as a member of teaching staff on the nursing program…
Agneta Holmäng: Welcome to a new term!
COLUMN. Agneta Holmäng looks forward to an eventful term, which will also be her last as Dean of Sahlgrenska Academy. I would like to begin by welcoming you back to work at Sahlgrenska Academy! I hope you were able to enjoy your summer, even if it ended with wet weather, and that you have recharged your batteries ready for the new term. The work has felt very meaningful This is…
Severe COVID-19 twice as common among bus drivers
NEW STUDY. Bus drivers were at double the risk of being hospitalised for severe COVID-19 in the later stages of the pandemic, and several occupations in education and healthcare were also at risk of serious illness. This has been shown by a study at the University of Gothenburg. The study is based on large amounts of data from several different registers, totalling 552,562 cases of confirmed COVID-19 infection and 5,985…
Tailor-made prostheses of the future
GRANT. Furqan A. Shah wants to improve the quality of life for patients with, for example, hip or knee prostheses. He and the research team he leads at the Institute of Clinical Sciences are seeking to develop a tool for predicting how an individual’s bone tissue is affected by the interface with metal. The aim is to tailor the design of every prosthesis so that the structure of the implant…
Good fitness levels in youth linked to lower cancer risk
NEW STUDY. Men who have higher aerobic fitness at age 18 have a lower risk of several forms of cancer later in life, especially cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. This has been shown by a study at the University of Gothenburg. It is already known that physical activity can prevent certain types of cancer. The new study has examined the link between aerobic fitness at the time of military conscription…
Many expensive cancer drugs have unclear patient benefit
NEW STUDY. New cancer drugs are being launched at a rapid pace, before their long-term effectiveness for patients can be evaluated. Several years later, most of them still lack scientific evidence for actually increasing life expectancy or improving quality of life. This has been shown by a study at the University of Gothenburg. Cancer drugs are a dominant area within the pharmaceutical industry, which is constantly developing and launching new…
Natrium opens – more science education and research at Medicinareberget
CAMPUS MEDICINAREBERGET. After more than four years of construction, Natrium is completed and the intense move-in period has started. Top priority is getting learning environments equipped before the start of the semester on August 28. “After many years of planning, we are on site in a fantastic building where we can come together and jointly develop our operations for many years to come,” says Göran Hilmersson, Dean at the Faculty…
Anna Martner receives the Eric K. Fernström Prize for young researchers
AWARD. Anna Martner, who leads a research team at the Sahlgrenska Center for Cancer Research, has been appointed this year’s recipient of the Eric K. Fernström Prize for young researchers. Her research could lead to more effective immunotherapy for several types of cancer. Anna Martner has been awarded SEK 100,000 as a personal prize from the Eric K. Fernström Foundation. The prize has been presented since 1979 to young researchers at…
Important step toward next-generation probiotics
NEW STUDY: One of the beneficial gut bacteria residing in the human gut, which normally cannot survive in an environment with oxygen, can now be made oxygen-tolerant. This is a key finding in the development of future probiotic treatment that is now being explored to improve glucose control in individuals with prediabetes. Our intestines are home to trillions of bacteria, the gut microbiota, which are important for functions such…
Three doses of Covid-19 vaccine leads to catch-up antibody responses among the particularly vulnerable
NEW STUDY: Even vulnerable people, who are at risk of severe Covid-19, achieved good antibody levels after three doses of mRNA vaccine. This is shown by a study from the University of Gothenburg on patients having undergone a bone marrow transplant or with liver disease, including cirrhosis. The aim of the study, which has been published in the journal Infectious Diseases, was to investigate the effects of repeated vaccinations…
Heightened medical monitoring of Sweden’s World Cup team
SPORTS MEDICINE. Heightened medical checks are being carried out on the Swedish squad during the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. There are now two doctors and three physiotherapists per match. One of the team’s doctors during the tournament is Mats Börjesson, a professor at the University of Gothenburg. “This is my eleventh major tournament – European Championship, World Cup or Olympics – with the women’s national team,” he…
A new treatment for osteoarthritis in horses and potentially humans
NEW STUDY. For the first time, an intervention has emerged that seems competent in slowing down osteoarthritis (OA) progression. In a clinical study from SLU and University of Gothenburg, wherein the OA horses treated with this drug became completely free from lameness with a simultaneous impediment of the joint tissue degradation. It could be worth exploring this drug for human OA intervention as well. OA is an inflammatory-whole joint disease…
Henrik Sjövall: What do we do with all our master’s theses?
COLUMN. In his latest column, Henrik Sjövall argues that more master’s theses should be published in GUPEA. As you will no doubt be aware, universities have three tasks: teaching, research, and outreach work – what we usually call ‘the third task.’ I have always been particularly interested in the latter. For example, I have been involved in a radio program (Alltinget) in which we answered listeners’ questions. I have also…