Other donations

INTERACTION BETWEEN DIABETES AND BRAIN TUMOUR

Beatrice Melin, Umeå University SEK 9 M / 3 YEARS

Malignant glioma, or malignant brain tumour, is one of the most serious tumours and has a high mortality rate. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy can slow the course of the disease, but the prognosis is often poor – despite attempts to personalise the treatment based on new genetic findings concerning the disease.

Beatrice Melin and her colleagues at Umeå University have observed that individuals with diabetes have a reduced risk of developing glioma. One hypothesis is that the diabetes drug metformin may be the protective factor. This hypothesis is supported by preliminary national registry analysis, which has confirmed that individuals who had been prescribed metformin have a lower risk of developing glioma. They now want to conduct thorough mapping of the protective effect and in which of the subgroups of glioma metformin is most effective. To do this they will use large biobanks in Västerbotten where there are blood samples taken before and after a person has developed glioma and diabetes respectively. They are investigating patterns in the metabolism of these individuals (because metformin affects the metabolism) and combining this with the results of earlier studies into genetic subgroups of glioma.

The group’s aim is to identify subgroups of glioma that could be treated with metformin and perhaps in certain cases prevent glioma. The link between metformin and cancer was known previously, and trials are in progress within other types of cancer.

PREVENTING LIVER CANCER BY TREATING INFLAMMATION

Margit Mahlapuu, University of Gothenburg SEK 1.96 M / 3 YEARS

Liver cancer is the second most common type of cancer in a global perspective and is exhibiting increasing incidence and mortality. A strong contributory factor is fat accumulation in the liver, which in turn is strongly linked to the increase in the incidence of obesity that is being seen in a large part of the world. Fatty liver disease can lead to chronic inflammation in the liver, which in a next step can become liver cancer. There is therefore a great need to find ways of reducing the risk of the occurrence of cancer when the liver has become inflamed.

In the project Margit Mahlapuu wants to develop drugs that can prevent the development of chronic inflammation in the liver as a result of obesity. Mahlapuu has previously carried out groundbreaking experimental studies in this area and has identified an enzyme that is linked to the depositing of fat in the liver and which appears to be a key factor in the development of severe inflammation. By targeting this enzyme it is hoped to produce a new type of drug and a treatment that can help millions of people around the world.

NANOTECHNOLOGY FOR RAPID DISCOVERY OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE

Fredrik Westerlund, Chalmers SEK 9 M / 3 YEARS

The number of infections caused by antibioticresistant bacteria is increasing around the world. To counter the development of resistance and reduce the overuse of antibiotics it is important that rapid, safe and cost-effective methods of diagnosing bacterial infections are produced. An interdisciplinary project led by Fredrik Westerlund at Chalmers University of Technology, which was supported by a previous donation from the Erling-Persson Foundation, established a completely new method of diagnosing bacterial infections.

The method is based on using nanofluids to identify the bacteria’s DNA, rather than traditional sequencing. In the next phase of the project the team will expand this method to a number of bacterial infections that are creating problems in clinical settings, such as infections of the lower airways or gastrointestinal infections, but also infections caused by gut bacteria such as EHEC.

The new method is expected to considerably shorten the time taken from sample to diagnosis, so that the right antibiotics can be administered earlier. This will reduce both the risk to the patient and the risk of more antibiotic-resistant bacteria developing.

SUGAR CHECKS IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

Lars Rydén, Karolinska Institutet SEK 1.5 M / 1 YEAR

Dysglycaemia (glucose metabolism disorder) is due to a reduced capacity to both recognise and produce insulin (reduced insulin sensitivity and deficient beta cell function). This can lead to impaired glucose tolerance and, if it worsens, to type 2 diabetes. Both impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes increase the risk of cardiovascular complications and both conditions are found early in the development of dysglycaemia. It is important to discover the signs of a dysglycaemic state, not least in individuals with established cardiovascular disease. The development of glucose-lowering drugs with cardiovascular protective properties has made this even more significant.

Nearly two thirds of patients with cardiovascular disease have impaired glucose tolerance or have developed type 2 diabetes without this having been found previously. Many of these patients would therefore benefit from glucose-lowering drugs, but despite this few patients have their ability to metabolise glucose analysed. One reason may be that traditional analysis is time-consuming for the patient.

In the project Lars Rydén and his colleague Giulia Ferrannini want to investigate whether a quick blood sample can be used to measure markers for insulin resistance along with a measure of insulin-producing capacity, thereby achieving simpler and more accurate screening. The project will investigate a large group of patients with established cardiovascular disease but without known dysglycaemia.

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