In the Press

The eyes are often referred to as the "windows to the soul." In fact, there is a grain of neurobiological truth to this. An international research team from the Universities of Göttingen and Tübingen, Germany, and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, are now able to provide answers as to why pupil size is influenced by not only sensory stimuli like light, but also by our internal state such as fear, excitement or attention.

Regular physical exercise has been highly recommended for the prevention and rehabilitation, but there is still controversy over the optimal dose to produce maximal cardiovascular and renal benefits.1 

Present guidelines recommend a life-long therapy with mepolizumab in patients suffering from severe eosinophilic asthma as several studies proved the disadvantages of treatment cessation. This study evaluated the possibility of extending the dosage intervals of mepolizumab in those patients with severe eosinophilic asthma after being well controlled.

Between 10 and 20 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis D virus (HDV). HDV infection is always associated with hepatitis B virus infection. So far there has been no satisfactory therapeutic option for this most severe form of chronic viral hepatitis. In a multicenter Phase II clinical trial, an international research team was now able to show that the 24-week application of the drug candidate bulevirtide, developed by DZIF virologist Prof.

Until recently, scientists have not fully understood why ticks are such dangerous disease vectors. A research team led by Johanna Strobl and Georg Stary from MedUni Vienna's Department of Dermatology shows that tick saliva inhibits the skin's defense function, thereby increasing the risk of diseases such as tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) or Lyme disease. The study was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Previous studies have explored the relationships of air pollution and metabolic profiles with lung function. However, the metabolites linking air pollution and lung function and the associated mechanisms have not been reviewed from a life-course perspective.

Objectives: We aimed to estimate the association between daily concentrations of fine and coarse particles with hospitalizations for cardiovascular and respiratory conditions in eight Southern European cities, within the MED-PARTICLES project.

More than 1100 wildfires burned in the US during the month of September, according to the Fire, Weather, and Avalanche Center1  — a situation that, according to research, causes more people with asthma, other respiratory issues, and heart conditions to show up at doctors’ offices, emergency departments, and hospitals.

Mount Sinai researchers have published one of the first studies to demonstrate the importance of reactive oxygen species in maintaining stem cell function and preventing inflammation during wound repair, which could provide greater insights into the prevention and treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), according to findings published in the journal Gut on October 3.

A Brazilian study published in the journal PNAS describes some of the effects infection by SARS-CoV-2 can have on the central nervous system. A preliminary version (not yet peer-reviewed) posted in 2020 was one of the first to show that the virus that causes COVID-19 can infect brain cells, especially astrocytes. It also broke new ground by describing alterations in the structure of the cortex, the most neuron-rich brain region, even in cases of mild COVID-19.