55437 final november 2013 webb eng
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Nerve! Staff Magazine for the faculty of Medicine at Lund UniversityTRANSCRIPT
lunds universitet
box 117221 00 lundtel 046-222 00 00www.lu.se
nErvE! staff magaZine for the faculty of medicine at lund university
issue 4 | 2013
vänd för svenska
theme: animals in research
Wacky Christmas, everyone!elisabeth daWson
columnist
If you’re wondering where to
spend the Christmas holidays
this year, here are a few won-
derful reasons to stay put in
Sweden:
1. experience adults dressed up in night gowns
to serve your morning fikaIf this isn’t your first holiday season in Sweden, you’ve
probably already heard of ‘Lucia Day’, which happens on 13
December and is, essentially, a celebration of light at an oth-
erwise dark time of year. There is little or no real connection
to the celebration’s namesake Saint Lucia, but that is largely
immaterial. The main attraction of Lucia Day is seeing Hanna-
Lotta from Accounting dressed in a white nightie with candles
on her head, serving gingerbread cookies and coffee. And if
you think men are spared, ask a Swedish colleague what a
‘stjärngosse’ is.
2. santa clause will visit your house – while you’re awake!
Whether it’s because Santa’s Swedish predecessor, the
Yule Goat (yes, that’s right – Yule Goat), had set the standard
for delivering gifts in person, or if Swedes just generally dislike
the idea of a bearded stranger sneaking into their houses in
the middle of the night, children here are treated to a visit
from Santa Clause every Christmas Eve. Children are usually
delighted (read: terrified) when Santa enters the house, and
they are told to give him a hug or sit on his lap. Based on ab-
solutely no evidence at all, this may provide an explanation as
to why Swedes have developed into a fairly reserved people.
3. donald duck trumps jesusIf celebrating the birth of Jesus isn’t something you feel
comfortable with, don’t worry. For most Swedes, the real
star of Christmas Eve is actually Walt Disney and his merry
gang of talking animals. The one-hour programme, ‘Donald
Duck’s Christmas’, is an absolute must for the average Swede
on Christmas Eve. In fact, a staggering 43% of the popula-
tion tuned in last year, making it the second highest rated tv
show of the year (after Sweden’s ‘Song for Eurovision’ final).
Amazed? Rightly so.
4. Dip in the pot – or not
Back in the days of yore, bread was a precious commodity,
and was often stored for long periods of time until it dried
out and became stale. In order to make stale bread more
palatable, Swedes would dip it in the ‘jus’ that was left in
the pot after boiling a ham. A clever trick to solve a specific
problem of a specific time. The mystery is why this still goes
on in Swedish homes at Christmas time, when access to fresh
and moist loaves of bread is no longer an issue. Ham sandwich
dipped in warm ham water, anyone? No, me neither..
15
a day in the life of an animal caretaker
13
Editor’s pick:
call for columnists If you would like to be a part of a rotating group of columnists for Nerve!, then we would love to hear from you. No previous experience required. Email [email protected] for more information.
theme: animals in research12
PHOTO: Kennet Ruona
neWs in briefNews in Brief – gives you short translated versions of some of the Swedish articles. If you want more information about any
of the articles on this page, please email [email protected]
14
day of researchThe Faculty of Medicine and Region Skåne recently hosted this year’s Day of Research: ‘Joints Move Us All’. Both Malmö and Lund events were well attended by members of the public wishing to hear about the latest research around joint disorders and treatment. There was also an opportunity for visitors to speak directly with several patient organisations and researchers, test their own risk factors for developing arthritis, find out more about cartilage and take part in a demonstration of simple exercises designed to help ease joint pain.
Phd students noW haPPier than before!The PhD programmes at Lund University were recently evaluated, and at the Faculty of Medicine the results showed that women are more satisfied with the programme than men, and that eight out of ten PhD students receive course evaluations after completing their courses. However, some improvements around individual study plans are necessary. Anna Arstam, Deputy Head of Education and responsible for research studies, says that it is important to get better at following up the individual study plans, as well as to better communicate its value to both PhD students and their supervisors. She adds that there is also
work being done to improve and increase the range of courses available to PhD students.
Waka Waka this time for africaDean Gunilla Westergren-Thorsson led a one day seminar in October focusing on the faculty’s collaboration in Africa. The seminar featured talks about
current projects within infectious diseases and training for midwives and obstetricians. Visits to several African universities are planned for autumn next year. The ongoing work in mapping our current collaboration projects, reviewing scholarship opportunities and joint/double PhD routines will continue in the mean time.
the sWedish research council’s grant for young researchers Could dementia be related to insulin resistance? Could statins that reduce fats in the blood become an accompanying treatment for cancer? How do you diversify blood forming stem cells, what role do glucose transporting GLUT proteins play, and what does micro RNA mean for the brain’s ability to resist strain? These are the questions being studied by the LU researchers who have received part of the Swedish Research Council’s grant for young researchers: Malin Wennström, Signe Borgquist, Kenichi Miharada, Karin Stenkula och Johan Jakobsson.
Our strategic plan emphasises
that we strive to improve our
world and human health. In or-
der for research to lead to better
health, we need to use models
to study the body’s normal fun-
ctions and how it reacts to illnes-
ses and other conditions. This
means that research is required in
both humans and animals when we develop new knowledge
and treatments.
There are high demands on us to carefully follow the
laws that regulate research in animals and humans, and it
is important that the ethical issues are thoroughly discussed
and evaluated as we consider new research projects. All re-
searchers who conduct animal trials need to have considered
the ethical aspects involved, as well as their own position in
relation to these. They must also have undergone specialist
training, during which the ethical issues are discussed in de-
tail, before an application for an animal study can be made.
All trials must be thoroughly planned and well carried out
for both ethical and legal reasons, but also in order for the
research results to be credible and reliable.
It is very important that we continue to develop our
methodologies within animal trials in accordance with the
principle of the “Three R’s”: Replace, Refine and Reduce. I
myself have spent many years researching alternative met-
hods within my field, with support from the Swedish Research
Council. Animal trials are an important tool in the quest for
knowledge, but it is one that we only use when absolutely
necessary to give us new, truly valuable, knowledge.
gunilla Westerberg-thorssondekanus
In striving for a better world
13
Malin (assumed name)
has worked as an animal
caretaker at the Faculty of
Medicine for the last three
years.
“My job is to make sure our
animals are well cared for, and
have food, water and a clean
environment to live in. I do a lot of
cleaning – not just the
cages, but also the floors and
the work spaces where we
handle the animals, as well
as things like the ventilation
system.” Malin says.
Malin explains that
everything is done with
as little disruption to the
animals as possible, and that
the animals’ welfare is her
number one priority.
“I have always loved
animals, and actually had a
pet rat when I was little. For
me it’s important to make
sure the animals are as happy
and comfortable as possible.
For example, mice and rats are
very sociable animals, and like
to live together in groups in
their cages. The mice like to
burrow down to sleep, so we
give them bedding material,
and we give the rats small
tubes as they like to crowd
together in small spaces.
They all get pieces of wood
to gnaw on as well”.
Malin studied animal care
in secondary school, and was
given job specific training
when she started in this role.
“I really enjoy working
here, and am learning so
much about taking care of
animals. I think it’s not only
possible, but also necessary,
to be an animal lover to work
here.” Malin says.
text: elisabeth Dawson
Early in his career, Lars B Dahlin, now Pro-Dean at the Faculty of Medi-cine and Professor of Hand Surgery, was involved in developing a new technique for repairing severed nerves.
With the help of animal experiments,
the technique has now been used in
humans for over ten years in order to
restore hand function in patients who
have injured their hands.
“What happens when you sever a
nerve is that the two ends slide apart
from each other. What my colleague
Göran Lundborg (Professor Emeritus at
the Faculty of Medicine) and our group
developed was an artificial tube that we
could use to link the two nerve ends
together, and that would provide a path
for the severed nerve to regenerate
through.” Lars B Dahlin explains.
Developing this technique would
not have been possible without being
able to observe in detail how it worked
in animals. The animal trials also led to
another, unexpected, discovery.
“Through the course of trialling
this technique in animals, we realised
that damaged and severed nerves have
a biological ‘best before date’. If too
much time passes after an injury the dif-
ferent cell types in the nerve, (i.e. nerve
cells and supporting cells), can die, so
the quicker we treat these patients, the
better our chances of success. ” Lars B
Dahlin continues.
What Lars B Dahlin and his fellow
researchers around the world who have
contributed to the development of this
technique over the last few decades,
have ultimately done is to give patients
back the use of their hands.
“You don’t realise just how much
you use your hands until you injure
one. Even injuries to the non-dominant
hand can cause major issues in coping
with everyday tasks, and patients often
admit to being surprised at how handi-
capped they become when they can’t
use it.”
Lars B Dahlin is currently working in
collaboration with 10 other European
research groups to improve the techni-
que.
“We are testing different ma-
terials for making these tubes that
can be broken down naturally in the
body, for example chitosan, which is
extracted from shrimp shells. We are also
looking at filling the tubes with different
substances, like gels, factors or cells,
that will further aid the process of the
nerve regeneration.” Lars B Dahlin says.
text: elisabeth daWson
Thanks to animals, we can repair severed nerves
A dAy in the life of An AnimAl cAretAker
“You don’t realise just how much you use your hands until you injure one”
FOTO: Most Photos
Cages are cleaned in an automated process with the help of conveyor belts, a large robot and industrial sized dishwashers.
theme: Animals in research
PHOTO: Charlotte Carlberg Bärg
12
As a specialist in brain diseases,
specifically Parkinson’s and Huntington’s,
Deniz Kirik has dedicated his research
career to developing non-traditional
treatments (such as viral vectors that
deliver genetic ma-
terial into cells) to
give patients a bet-
ter quality of life.
“Our research
wouldn’t be possible
without animal tes-
ting, as it is centred
around improving
complex behaviours.
We can’t see those
effects in a simple cell culture, so we
have to use live animals in order to
judge how well a new treatment met-
hod works. We are also obligated by
law to test new treatments on animals
before we can conduct clinical trials
with humans. We have to prove that
the treatment will improve the patient’s
condition.” says Deniz.
In the experiments that Deniz and
his team carry out, the animals (mice
and rats) have mild forms of symptoms
seen in Parkinson’s or Huntington’s
patients. Once they have received the
treatment, Deniz looks at how well they
can, for example, walk or grab food
pellets.
best treatment availableAnother reason why it’s important to
carry out tests in animals is to limit
potential side-effects in patients. Deniz
explains that as a doctor, he wants to
know that he is offering the patient
the best treatment available, with as
few risks as possible. He wouldn’t
recommend something to his patients
that he wouldn’t recommend to his own
family members.
He goes on to say: “I see no reason
why researchers who use animal testing
should hesitate to discuss their research
with the public. I don’t do this research
for the sake of building my career or
my reputation. I do it to help patients
who are suffering. Just as there are
people who are against animal testing,
there are many people waiting for new
drugs and treatments that can help
themselves or a family member lead a
better life.”
other exPerimental methodsHe also says that he thinks it is
a common misconception that
researchers are not interested in
developing other experimental
methods.
“There are already many areas in
which animal experiments have been
replaced by other methods, and it is
the research community that is driving
these changes. But we still have some
way to go, especially within the context
of human diseases.”
The results from the gene therapy
research that Deniz has been involved
in since the late 1990’s have, in the last
five years, been used to design clinical
trials with humans. Deniz hopes that
these trials will lead to a better quality
of life for Parkinson’s and Huntington’s
patients all over the world.
text & Photo: elisabeth daWson
Rats like small, cramped spaces, and there are often two or three of them crowded into one of these tubes.
theme: Animals in research
Deniz Kirik, MD and Professor of neuroscience at the Department of Experimental Medical Sciences, believes that animal experiments are an unavoidable part of advancing medical science. He explains why in an interview with nerve.
No need to hidePHOTO: Charlotte Carlberg Bärg
Deniz Kirik, MD and Professor.