Kategorie: Allgemein

Simplified measurement method for determining immune age improves analysis of cardiorespiratory fitness

Nov 11, 2022

Both the functionality of the immune system and the so-called cardiorespiratory fitness, CRF in short, play an important role in a person’s health and work ability. Researchers at the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors in Dortmund (IfADo) have analysed the influence of immune age on cardiorespiratory fitness in more detail. The immunology team has succeeded in developing a simplified procedure for determining an index of immune age and thus improving the determination of CRF.

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Gender-specific differences in the progression of rheumatoid arthritis discovered

Oct 21, 2022

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterised by chronic joint inflammation that leads to functional impairment in many sufferers. There are gender-specific differences in the emergence and development of this disease. Researchers at the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors in Dortmund (IfADo) have therefore examined the role of the neurotransmitter dopamine in rheumatoid arthritis with particular reference to gender differences. The results point to gender-specific differences in the dopamine-regulated signalling pathway in B cells, whereby dopamine may even have a pro-inflammatory effect in women.

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Watzl Weekly honoured with BdKom Award

September 22, 2022

For their outstanding science communication, Carsten Watzl from the Leibniz Institute for Labour Research at TU Dortmund University (IfADo) and Stefan Schwark from the German Professional Association for Nursing Professions Nordwest e.V. won the BdKom Award in the category „Smart Budget“ from the German Association of Communicators with their format „Watzl Weekly“.

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Rudolf-Schoen-Award for Silvia Capellino

September 12, 2022

At this year’s German Rheumatology Congress, Silvia Capellino and her team were awarded the Rudolf Schoen Award of the Foundation of the German Society for Rheumatology for their research on the neurotransmitter dopamine and its role in rheumatoid arthritis. The Rudolf Schoen Award is awarded every year by the German Society for Rheumatology to young scientists in the field of rheumatism research.

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Watzl Weekly“ nominated for BdKom Award

September 1, 2022

Carsten Watzl from IfADo and Stefan Schwark from the German Professional Association for Nursing Professions DBfK Nordwest e. V. were nominated for the BdKom Award (award for outstanding communication) with the project „Watzl Weekly went viral – video updates on vaccinations @ social media“. They are among the three finalists in the category for the best smart budget communication. Today the projects were presented to the jury and at the end of September the winners will be announced at the Communication Congress.
We are keeping our fingers crossed for you!

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Dopamine can influence bone metabolism in arthritis

June 8, 2022

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common inflammatory disease of the joints. Nowadays, there are many therapies that can significantly reduce the symptoms However, bone loss and osteoporosis are still a problem. Most osteoporosis therapies aim to inhibit bone loss, while only a few therapies are able to actively promote the formation of new bone tissue to restore bone structure that has already been lost. Building on previous studies, researchers at the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors in Dortmund (IfADo) have taken a closer look at the role of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the bone metabolism of RA patients. They conclude that dopamine can be used for new therapeutic approaches to control bone loss in rheumatoid arthritis.

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Leonie Fleige wins GEBIN Early Career Research Award 2022

April 20, 2022

At this year’s conference of the German Endocrine-Brain-Immune-Network (GEBIN), Leonie Fleige, PhD student in the Department of Immunology, was awarded the GEBIN Early Career Research Award 2022. At the meeting, Leonie Fleige presented her work on sex-specific differences in the dopaminergic effect in B cells in rheumatism patients. The award honours outstanding research on the immune system, inflammatory mechanisms and related therapeutic approaches in the field of behavioural sciences or psychiatric diseases. We congratulate on this award.

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Booster for immune protection after Corona infection – Dortmund research initiative proves benefit of vaccination after recovery from COVID-19

March 16, 2022

When our immune system comes into contact with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, it fights back and produces antibodies. A similar immune response is triggered by Corona vaccines. However, there is still little data available on the strength and durability of immune protection. A team led by Prof. Carsten Watzl from the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology (MPI) and the Klinikum Dortmund, has now been able to detect high levels of neutralising antibodies in test persons even 300 days after a coronavirus infection with the original variant of the coronavirus. And what’s more: after complete vaccination, the recovered probands showed antibody levels about 5 times higher than those vaccinated without prior infection. This would provide much better protection against a severe course of the disease in the event of a new infection with other coronavirus variants.

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