Infection and Immunity nieuws
Infection and Immunity nieuws
Dec 8: UMC Utrecht leads research into treatment of Long COVID
Dutch researchers, led by Prof. Marc Bonten and Prof. Janneke van de Wijgert of UMC Utrecht, are collaborating with researchers in several European countries (including the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain) to set up a study in which several drugs for Long COVID can be investigated simultaneously. Funding from Stichting Long COVID will allow this research to get off to an accelerated start.
Read moreDec 1: Nanobodies identified that can modulate complement proteins
PhD research by Eva Struijf (UMC Utrecht) has identified multiple nanobodies directed towards the complement system. They prioritized four nanobodies for further characterization because of their potent binding and inhibitory activity or their unique capacity to discriminate activated complement proteins from their precursors. Nanobodies hold promise for further development as diagnostic tools and therapeutics against inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
Read moreFemke van Wijk wins NWO Athena Award for outstanding female role models in beta sciences
Femke van Wijk, professor of Tissues Immunology and affiliated with the Center for Translational Immunology (UMC Utrecht), has received this year's NWO Athena Award. The Athena Award is for outstanding female researchers. Each year, a maximum of two winners are designated for this prize. The laureates each receive an amount of 50k€, which is intended to be spent on the laureate's research.
Read moreNov 22: Exploring daily practice performance of dupilumab in atopic dermatitis
Treatment with the monoclonal antibody dupilumab shows long-term effectiveness and tolerability in a daily practice study in patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. In addition, many patients could reduce the dosis while maintaining controlled disease, as was concluded by Lotte Spekhorst (UMC Utrecht) who defended her PhD thesis on November 21 at Utrecht University.
Read moreNov 21: Function and regulation of ERAP2 in birdshot uveitis
In this PhD research, Wouter Venema (UMC Utrecht) and colleagues worked on understanding the role of endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 2 (ERAP2) in the context of autoimmune uveitis, a severe inflammation of the eye. On November 21, Wouter defended his PhD thesis at Utrecht University.
Read morePhD project unravels associations between eye disease, atopic dermatitis and antibody treatment
Up to 90 percent of patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) or eczema appear to have ocular surface disease (OSD), that is accompanied by fewer conjunctival goblet cells compared to healthy controls. During dupilumab treatment, for which dupilumab-associated ocular surface disease (DAOSD) is the most commonly reported side effect, the function of these goblet cells decreased. In her PhD thesis, Roselie Achten (UMC Utrecht) concludes that it is important to follow a multidisciplinary approach to such ocular abnormalities involving both dermatologists and ophthalmologists for an early diagnosis and treatment of (DA)OSD.
Read moreDisturbances in sensory neurons may alter transient pain into chronic pain
Researchers from the Center for Translational Immunology at University Medical Center Utrecht (the Netherlands) have identified that a transient inflammatory pain causes mitochondrial and redox changes in sensory neurons that persist beyond pain resolution.
Read moreNov 9: Automated surveillance of healthcare-associated infections gains traction
Receiving medical care sometimes leads to healthcare-associated infections (HAI). An important part of preventing HAI is surveillance, the systematic recording, follow-up and reporting of how often and in which patients a particular infection occurs as a result of treatment. The implementation of surveillance is still mostly done manually and therefore labor-intensive, expensive, error-prone and difficult to scale. Efforts have long been underway to automate surveillance, with the goal of reducing workload and increasing quality. To broaden and accelerate the implementation of automated surveillance of healthcare-associated infections in hospitals, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and UMC Utrecht have developed an e-learning. It is intended for healthcare professionals, IT specialists and managers who want to start implementing automated surveillance of HAI in their own hospital or healthcare facility.
Read moreNov 3: Omalizumab also highly effective in chronic urticaria in real world setting
Treatment of chronic urticaria (including angioedema) with omalizumab is effective and safe in a real world setting. As a result, in the majority of patients, omalizumab treatmentintervals can be extended or treatment can even be discontinued at all. The majority of patient with insufficient treatment response to standard doses of omalizumab benefitted from high dose treatment. These were the main conclusions of the PhD research of Mehran Alizadeh Aghdam (UMC Utrecht) who defended his thesis on October 31 at Utrecht University.
Read moreUMC Utrecht investigates best treatment of bloodstream infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus
UMC Utrecht is coordinating an innovative, international study within Europe to determine the best treatment of bloodstream infections caused by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. This research is urgently needed because also in the Netherlands - despite the best possible care – each day 2-3 patients die due to such an infection.
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