2012

Pandemic flu vaccine in pregnancy did not cause pregnancy loss

There is no evidence of increased risk of fetal death following vaccination against the 2009 pandemic flu strain in pregnancy. This is the conclusion of a nationwide cohort study of more than 50,000 pregnant women in Denmark. The study was conducted by Danish researchers from the Department of Epidemiology Research, Statens Serum Institut, and published in the prestigious British Medical Journal.

Antihypertensive medication shows promise in the treatment of Parkinson's disease

A group of commonly used antihypertensives, the so-called calcium-channel blockers, shows promise in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease in a large Danish register-based study. The study is newly published in the well-respected American Journal of Epidemiology, and was conducted by researchers from the Department of Epidemiology Research located at Statens Serum Institut in Denmark.

Three genetic variants found for common digestive system disorder in newborns

Researchers at Statens Serum Institut have conducted a large genome-wide association study of infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, and report the association of three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with the disease. The SNPs are located close to genes otherwise known to play a role in muscular dystrophy and congenital heart defects. The results of the study have just been published online ahead of print in Nature Genetics.

Study confirms suspicion of different variants of Hodgkin lymphoma

An international scientific study including Danish scientists, published this week in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, confirms the long-held suspicion that different variants of Hodgkin lymphoma exist. This knowledge may be crucial to future studies of the causes and course of the disease. The study results have already prompted new collaboration across country borders.

Genetic differences helps to explain why Europeans experience higher malaria mortality than Africans

It has long been known that ethnic Europeans have a much higher risk of dying from serious malaria infection than ethnic Africans. New research from SSI shows that Europeans have up to 75% greater risk of developing cerebral malaria than Africans, and the reasons are genetic.

Intercell and Statens Serum Institut (SSI) progress vaccine clinical development to fight Tuberculosis

The combination of SSI’s novel tuberculosis subunit vaccine candidate and Intercell’s proprietary IC31® adjuvant enters Phase II clinical trial in HIV-positive individuals. First results expected in 2013, a second Phase II study is planned for 2012.