Tag Archives: Karolinska Institutet

Karolinska Institute appoints investigators for “Macchiarini case”

STOCKHOLM, Feb. 10(Greenpost)–The Karolinska Institutet University Board (Konsistoriet) has appointed the lawyer who will be conducting the external investigation into KI’s handling of the “Macchiarini case”, according to a press release from KI.

The lawyer has appointed two others to assist him in his work.

The external investigator is the former president and justice of the Supreme Administrative Court of Sweden Sten Heckscher.

Heckscher is 73 years old, and has been president of the Administrative Court of Appeal in Stockholm, national police commissioner, general director of the Swedish Patent and Registration Office, under-secretary of state in the Ministry of Justice and minister of Industry and Employment. He also chaired the board of Stockholm University for nine years.

Sten Heckscher has appointed two people to assist him in the investigation. They are: Author Ingrid Carlberg and Professor Carl Gahmberg.

Carlberg is 54 years old and a former journalist of 20 years standing at Dagens Nyheter. She has published several books, including “Pillret” (an account of the pharmaceutical industry, 2008) and “Det står ett rum här och väntar på dig…” (a biography of Raoul Wallenberg, 2012). She has won the August Prize and the Guldspaden award, Sweden’s most respected journalism prize. She is an honorary doctor of medicine at Uppsala University, and has sat on the Broadcasting Commission.
Gahmberg is 73 years old and professor of biochemistry at Helsinki University. He is a trained doctor and one of Finland’s most cited researchers. He has worked in the USA and continues as emeritus professor to research at the Gahmberg Lab in Helsinki. He has held several international appointments and received many awards for scientific excellence. He is an overseas member of the Swedish Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

The investigative team will be furnished with whatever administrative resources are required, KI said.

According to Swedish TV series report, Paolo Macchiarini experimented on human being with his artificial plastic halspipe. He did  experiments but all of the patients died.

Macchiarini denied allegations claiming the patients died of other reasons.  But the report shows that he did human experiment first and then did it in animals.  This concerns ethics in research and also with whether he got permission to do what he did or not.

Karolinska institute’s Nobel Committee Secretary Lendal resigned two days ago after the case was set up.

KI also made a decision that Macchiarini’s contract will not be extended after it expires in November, 2016.

The SVT series documentary was broadcast on Jan. 28th and it is still online.

The investigative report caused an earthquake in KI, where the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine will be announced every year.

 

Artifical neuron mimicks function of human cells

Artifical neuron mimicks function of human cells

Stockholm, June 25(Greenpost)–Scientists at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet have managed to build a fully functional neuron by using organic bioelectronics. This artificial neuron contain no ‘living’ parts, but is capable of mimicking the function of a human nerve cell and communicate in the same way as our own neurons do.

Neurons are isolated from each other and communicate with the help of chemical signals, commonly called neurotransmitters or signal substances. Inside a neuron, these chemical signals are converted to an electrical action potential, which travels along the axon of  the neuron until it reaches the end. Here at the synapse, the electrical signal is converted to the release of chemical signals, which via diffusion can relay the signal to the next nerve cell.

To date, the primary technique for neuronal stimulation in human cells is based on electrical stimulation. However, scientists at theSwedish Medical Nanoscience Centre (SMNC) at Karolinska Institutet in collaboration with collegues at Linköping University, have now created an organic bioelectronic device that is capable of receiving chemical signals, which it can then relay to human cells.

“Our artificial neuron is made of conductive polymers and it functions like a human neuron”, says lead investigator Agneta Richter-Dahlfors, professor of cellular microbiology.  “The sensing component of the artificial neuron senses a change in chemical signals in one dish, and translates this into an electrical signal. This electrical signal is next translated into the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in a second dish, whose effect on living human cells can be monitored.“

The research team hope that their innovation, presented in the journal Biosensors & Bioelectronics, will improve treatments for neurologial disorders which currently rely on traditional electrical stimulation. The new technique makes it possible to stimulate neurons based on specific chemical signals received from different parts of the body. In the future, this may help physicians to bypass damaged nerve cells and restore neural function.

“Next, we would like to miniaturize this device to enable implantation into the human body”, says Agneta Richer-Dahlfors. “We foresee that in the future, by adding the concept of wireless communication, the biosensor could be placed in one part of the body, and trigger release of neurotransmitters at distant locations. Using such auto-regulated sensing and delivery, or possibly a remote control, new and exciting opportunities for future research and treatment of neurological disorders can be envisaged.”

This study was made possible by funding from Carl Bennet AB, VINNOVA, Karolinska Institutet, the Swedish Research Council, Swedish Brain Power, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and Önnesjö Foundation.