news

Climate change is accompanied by increasing temperatures, which are leading to ever greater challenges in urban areas, both at work and in the home office.

A study conducted by researchers from the Department of Neurology at MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna has demonstrated for the first time that diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) can be significantly improved by additionally measuring the thickness of retinal layers in the eye. Use of the procedure, which is already available at the Departments of MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna, helps to detect the condition at an earlier stage and predict its progression more accurately.

Inflammations of the peritoneum (peritonitis) are as frequent as they are feared complications in peritoneal dialysis, a form of kidney replacement therapy for independent use at home. The bacteria responsible for the life-threatening infections are becoming increasingly resistant to many antibiotics.

For a long time, osteoarthritis was considered to be the result of wear and tear in advanced age. In the meantime, more and more studies are linking the degradation of articular cartilage to inflammatory and metabolic processes in the joint. In researching these processes, a scientific team led by MedUni Vienna has made significant progress in understanding the disease, which could provide a new starting point for diagnosis and therapy.

Small-cell lung cancer is a particularly aggressive type of tumor with a consistently high mortality rate. In recent years, the research of scientists at MedUni Vienna's Department of Thoracic Surgery has significantly contributed to a better understanding and new therapeutic approaches in this malignant disease.

In the quest to find the origin of the puzzling symptoms in four children, researchers from St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute, the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), and the Medical University of Vienna have discovered a completely new disease, linking disorders of blood formation, the immune system, and inflammation.

Since its introduction in 2015, a prediction tool developed by the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) has been providing support worldwide in the assessment of the clinical benefits of new cancer therapies. However, previously available versions proved unsuitable for use with malignant diseases of the blood, such as different types of leukaemias or lymphomas.

The amount of electric lighting at night has been increasing at a rate of almost ten percent annually over the past ten years. And this primarily has an impact on the 4.4 billion people across the world who live in cities. Excessive exposure to light at night not only has the potential to trigger sleep disorders, but has also been found to increase the risk of disease such as obesity, depression, diabetes and cancer.

Temporarily lowering the body temperature is considered a way to prevent or limit brain damage after resuscitation in the event of cardiac arrest. Researchers at MedUni Vienna's Department of Emergency Medicine have now analysed the results of several studies in a Cochrane Review and shown to what extent cooling methods can reduce the risk of brain damage and improve neurological outcomes after successful resuscitation.

A research team led by the Medical University of Vienna and the Complexity Science Hub Vienna has analysed the actual prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in Austria for the first time as part of a study. In addition to identifying clear regional differences, an alarming and previously unknown figure came to light: one in three people suddenly stop treatment and go without medication and/or medical check-ups for at least a year.

People suffering from obesity are at a significantly greater risk of also developing mental disorders. This applies to all age groups, whereby women are more at risk than men for most diseases, as a recent study by the Medical University of Vienna and the Complexity Science Hub Vienna shows. The results were published in the specialist journal "Translational Psychiatry".

Ants- brains are amazingly sophisticated organs that enable them to coordinate complex behaviour patterns such as the organisation of colonies. Now, a group of researchers led by Christian Gruber of MedUni Vienna's Institute of Pharmacology have developed a method that allows them to study ants- brain chemistry and gain insights into the insects- neurobiological processes.

A recent study involving MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna has identified a significant advance in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). The results of the randomised Phase III CLL13 (GAIA) study show that a time-limited and targeted therapy with venetoclax and obinutuzumab is more effective than chemoimmunotherapy in patients without comorbidities.

Tests for gestational diabetes are currently routinely offered in the 24th to 28th week of pregnancy according to the specifications of the mother-child passport examinations, so that therapy can only be initiated then if necessary. An international study with the participation of the Medical University of Vienna has now shown for the first time that treatment of gestational diabetes at an even earlier stage of pregnancy offers additional protection for babies and mothers against complications.

Brain tumours are among the most common malignant diseases in children and make up the most frequent cause of cancer-related death in this age group due to their often highly aggressive progression. In their search for better treatment options, the research team headed by Johannes Gojo from MedUni Vienna's Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine has now succeeded in establishing two promising new methods that will make it much easier to diagnose, choose a therapy and monitor the response to treatment in future.

Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most common symptomatic primary immunodeficiency in humans. Patients suffer from recurrent infections of the upper and lower respiratory tract but many of them also develop more severe symptoms such as granulomas, lymphomas and autoimmune diseases. An international team of researchers led by MedUni Vienna has now discovered why some CVID patients develop an autoimmune disease and others do not.

Until the mid-1990s, epidemiological studies showed that, on average, male lung cancer patients in Austria died earlier than female patients. A recently published analysis by MedUni Vienna shows that the tide has turned: While the average age at death for men is continuously increasing, there has been no statistically significant improvement for women in recent decades.

A global study led by Gerald Prager of the Department of Medicine I and the Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) Vienna, a joint MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna facility, and co-workers has demonstrated that the prognosis for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer can be significantly improved.

Faecal incontinence is a major taboo subject and, if left untreated, usually restricts the quality of life of those severely affected. Under the leadership of surgeon Stefan Riss from the Department of General Surgery at MedUni Vienna and the University Hospital Vienna, a study has been launched into a new surgical treatment method.

Metabolic disorders play a central role in many common conditions, including Alzheimer's, depression, diabetes and cancer, which call for reliable as well as non-invasive diagnostic procedures. Until now, radioactive substances have been administered as part of the process of mapping glucose metabolism in the brain.