Over 1 million live alone
Lund said that it should be considered whether to offer help to those who have separated or have lived alone for many years.
The study monitored nearly 5,000 middle-aged men and women using health data, questionnaires and blood tests over two decades.
More than a million people in Denmark live alone – a number that has risen steadily since the early 1990s.
KU increases spin-out capability
University of Copenhagen has launched a new joint stock company in an effort to improve the revenue generation of its research activities – also known as spin-outs. The company, UCPH Ventures, will co-invest in the university’s spin-outs and help see them through the early stages of entrepreneurship, where many spin-outs face their biggest challenges. This is the first time a Danish university has established a company for such a purpose.
First leaky valve operation
Aarhus University Hospital has become the first in Denmark to perform treatment on a patient with a leaky heart valve (tricuspidal insufficiency). The new treatment involves reducing a leak in the valve located between the middle right atrium and right ventricle using a band that was inserted into the heart via a vein in the groin. With the new treatment, more patients suffering from the disorder can get help. Tricuspid insufficiency can be disabling, lower our quality of life and cause both increased disease and mortality.
Genes associated with febrile seizures
A large international study involving researchers from the Statens Serum Institut and the Danish psychiatric project iPSYCH has identified seven new genes that increase the risk of febrile seizures, which generally hits under five years. Genes affect how children respond to fever and how brain cells function. In contrast to previous research, no association was found between genes associated with psychiatric disorders and genes associated with the increased risk of febrile seizures. Most children only experience febrile seizures once or twice, but about 7 percent later develop epilepsy. The researchers analyzed DNA from more than 7,600 children from Denmark and Australia who had had febrile seizures and over 83,000 children who had not. The research is published in the scientific journal Brain.
Opt out of resuscitation
The government is investigating gives citizens over 60 the option to opt out of being resuscitated in the event of a cardiac arrest. According to the Ministry of Health, people over 60 will be able to log in to Sundhed.dk with NemID and tick a box indicating that they have opted out of being brought to life if their heart stops. The proposal has been sent to the Folketing for approval, noting that “it is a civil right where the individual capable citizen himself decides whether he / she is so weak that he / she does not want to be revived after cardiac arrest”.
Grief in maternity wards
Special areas are set aside in Herlev and Hvidovre Hospitals help families who have lost a child during childbirth to mourn privately. The initiative, which is part of a plan of 20 million kroner to improve the maternity ward conditions at the two hospitals, will separate grieving families from maternity wards filled with happy new parents. The plan also proposes that three new maternity wards be established at Herlev and that the maternity reception be moved closer to the wards at Hvidovre.
AI to help treat deaf people
Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) are taking a closer look how AI can be used in image analysis to help physicians assess whether hearing implants are suitable in given situations. One in five hearing-impaired or deaf patients has malformations of the inner ear and may benefit from an advanced hearing aid (cochlear implant). However, interpreting CT scans can be very difficult and delay or even preclude processing.
Danish green energy competencies for Africa
A comprehensive Danish green energy collaboration between KU and DTU must help to develop technology for improve the use of geothermal energy in Kenya and other East African countries. Geothermal activity involves drilling down into underground water, which is warmer the closer it is to the Earth’s core. The hot water, typically around 300 degrees Celsius, is then pumped up and used to produce electricity. The project will try to optimize the technology so that it will be possible to use underground water, which is much cooler, around 100-150 degrees. The project, ‘Widespread use of geothermal energy in East Africa’, includes UNEP and several universities and energy companies in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia.
Prevention of blood clots in diabetics
In the 1990s, people with type 2 diabetes had twice the risk of developing blood clots and heart failure compared to the average population. However, through preventive treatment, the risk today is only marginally greater than average, according to research from Aarhus University. With data from nearly 210,000 patients with type 2 diabetes and nearly 1 million people without diabetes over a seven-year period, research showed that the risk of blood clots in the heart dropped from 6.8 to 2.8 percent from 1996-99 to 2008-11 – just 0.6 percent higher than the group without diabetes.
Banner year for kidney transplants
Last year, 108 people got a new kidney at Rigshospitalet – the highest number of transplants the city hospital has performed since it started in 1968. Four of the cases concerned patients who received a new kidney in combination with an additional new organ. Due to the pandemic, there have been fewer transplants with living donors in 2021 – only 17 compared to 91 from deceased donors. At the end of 2021, there were 187 people waiting for a kidney transplant at Rigshospitalet. The number peaked at 256 in 2016.
Source: The Nordic Page