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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.

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.

A recent study led by Judit Simon from the Department of Health Economics, Center for Public Health, at the Medical University of Vienna shows for the first time comprehensively the extent to which people with mental disorders suffer from physical illnesses - and the resulting hospital costs.

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.

A study led by Monash University in Melbourne, the University of Queensland in Brisbane and the Medical University of Vienna has tested the versatility and reliability of the newly developed AI system "PanDerm" in the diagnosis of skin diseases. The results of the study, which have been published in the leading journal Nature Medicine, show that the open source model delivers very good outcomes for a range of different issues and can be a valuable support tool for medical professionals thanks to its diagnostic accuracy and efficiency.

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.

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.

The human brain is not only larger and contains more nerve cells than the control center of other species, it is also networked in a very special way: Thick bundles of nerves connect brain regions like highways over long distances, such as the left and right hemispheres of the brain. A team of researchers at IMBA, in cooperation with MedUni Vienna, has now presented the first organoid model in which these information "highways" can be studied.

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.

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 to prevent or contain an infection. But how do our defence cells stay ready when no attacker is in sight? Scientists from Vienna have found a surprising explanation: They are constantly stimulated by healthy tissue. This keeps them active and ready to respond to pathogens.

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.

GABA A receptors play a central role in the development of epilepsy and developmental disorders, with nine out of 19 GABA A receptor genes already associated with genetic diseases. Now, as part of an international study led by Martin Krenn from MedUni Vienna's Department of Neurology, GABRA4 has been identified as a new disease gene in four cases.