Kategorie: Allgemein

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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Study analyses: How stressed are rescue workers?

In cooperation with the University of Lübeck, the University of Bremen, the Ruhr University Bochum, the MSH Medical School Hamburg and the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB – the Workers‘ Samaritan Federation) Dortmund, the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors in Dortmund (IfADo) has conducted a study to investigate how stressed rescue workers are. The focus was particularly on their own perception of stress and the physical examination of stress. The results of the study have now been published.

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Project start: IfADo, ISAS and UKE research new corona testing and immunity determinations

The Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften – ISAS – e.V. and the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) are working together on novel testing strategies for SARS-CoV-2 virus surveillance and determination of immunity. The project „Novel testing strategies for SARS-CoV-2 virus surveillance and determination of immunity“ is funded by the Volkswagen Foundation and will run for 18 months.

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„Best in Session Paper“ award for Peter Bröde

Peter Bröde, research associate in the Sientific Department Immunology, received the „Best in Session Paper“ award of the Health Protection and Occupational Safety Session at the Spring Congress of the Society for Occupational Science (Gesellschaft für Arbeitswissenschaft – GfA) in Bochum as co-author of the paper „Are one-hour measurements sufficient for assessing physiological heat stress?“ together with Prof. Bernhard Kampmann, Bergische Universität Wuppertal.

How psychological stress affects the immune system

Stress at work or at home can make us more susceptible to infections or cancer. Immunologists at the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo) are investigating how stress affects the immune system in detail. In a new research project, they are focusing the basics of how a group of neurotransmitters involved in stress reactions influences the function of certain immune cells. The project is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) for the next three years.

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