News & Events

In Europe, about 4.5 million people suffer from renal disease. The elderly are disproportionately affected, as the disease frequently develops as a consequence of hypertension and diabetes. However, renal disease...

In osteoporosis, excessive bone resorption occurs. The bones lose their density and are therefore prone to breakage. Even minor falls can lead to serious bone fractures. The interplay between two...

A high salt intake has been implicated in cardiovascular disease risk for 5000 years. But salt-sensitive hypertension still remains an enigma.

Transposable elements are molecular parasites that propagate themselves in genomes. But at the same time they provide plasticity to the genome that clearly contributed to the evolution of gene function...

The researchers studied the gene that encodes the enzyme catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT). Certain variants of the COMT gene have long been suspected to play a role in shock and kidney failure...

Many bacteria inject toxins into human cells using a secretion system that resembles a molecular syringe. Within the host cell, some of these toxins are activated in such a way...

In a large genome-wide association study the researchers scanned the genomes of more than 9600 participants from Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. “Our findings cast new light on the pathogenesis of the disease,” said Professor Young-Ae Lee (Charité / MDC). The pediatrician-researcher and her collaborators hope the study will lead to a new approach to targeted therapy for this chronic skin disorder. (Nature Genetics doi: 10.1038/ng.347)*.

Life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia can be a consequence of myocarditis – an inflammation of the cardiac muscle that can be caused by the Coxsackievirus.