Latest news with #KarolinskaInstitute
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Ex-partner of disgraced surgeon reveals how his horrifying double life emerged
Writer and director Benita Alexander eventually went on to co-produce He Lied About Everything, a documentary based on her former lover's fall from grace. An ex-partner of former stem cell surgeon Paolo Macchiarini thought she was living a real-life fairytale until she uncovered his dark web of lies. Writer and director Benita Alexander eventually went on to co-produce He Lied About Everything, a documentary based on her former lover's fall from grace. In 2023, Macchiarini was sentenced to two and a half years in prison by a Swedish court for aggravated assault against patients he treated. The court found he had acted with criminal intent in his treatment of three patients who received trachea transplants while he was working at the Karolinska Institute. The Mirror reports that all three patients died after suffering complications from the procedure. The court ruled that Macchiarini knew the surgeries were unlikely to succeed but disregarded the risks to the patients. Macchiarini bypassed essential safety protocols: he conducted no animal testing, clinical trials, or safety reviews before implanting the synthetic tracheas into human patients. His team also allegedly failed to obtain government approvals for the artificial windpipes, chemicals, and stem cells used, and did not seek ethical clearance from Stockholm's review board. One surviving patient, Yesim Cetir, reportedly spent three years in intensive care at Karolinska University Hospital and underwent nearly 200 surgeries. Investigations by both the Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital later revealed that complications and patient deaths may have been intentionally concealed. Macchiarini also faced accusations of scientific misconduct from several colleagues. In 2011, Macchiarini created the world's first artificial windpipe using a plastic trachea scaffold infused with a patient's own stem cells, aiming to prevent rejection of the transplanted organ. As part of her job as a producer, Alexander arranged to meet Macchiarini at Boston's Mandarin Oriental hotel to discuss his work. She later told The New York Post: 'I'm not a believer in love at first sight. But the second our eyes locked, that's what it felt like.' Though their first meeting sparked romantic feelings, Alexander tried to keep their relationship professional at first. She was coping with her ex-husband's battle with an aggressive brain cancer, and Macchiarini was a steady support. She said: 'He was an amazing friend to me during that time, and a solid, reliable pillar of strength. 'He spent hours listening to me talk about it all and offering gentle advice.' By June 2013, the pair were in a relationship and on Christmas Day that year, Macchiarini proposed. Alexander happily accepted. Shortly after, he told her he had to leave for an 'emergency VIP surgery' and claimed he was part of a secret circle of elite doctors treating figures like Bill and Hillary Clinton, Emperor Akihito of Japan, and President Obama, according to Vanity Fair. Then, throughout 2014, Macchiarini teased extravagant nuptials, including a Catholic ceremony officiated by Pope Francis at the Vatican's summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, a four-day celebration, and performances by Andrea Bocelli and John Legend. Alexander welcomed Macchiarini's offer to surprise her with an Italian wedding. She said: 'All I had to do was buy the dress.' But in May 2015, the truth unravelled. Just as Alexander planned to move to Europe and quit her job, she received an email from a friend titled 'The Pope.' It linked to an article revealing Pope Francis would be in South America on their supposed wedding day. She said: 'I demanded an explanation from Paolo. He claimed Vatican politics had interfered with the plans.' But when she contacted the Italian castle where the wedding was allegedly booked, 'nobody there knew Paolo's name.' She cancelled the wedding and hired a private investigator, who revealed Macchiarini was still married to his wife of 29 years — and living in Barcelona with another mistress and their two children. 'I just didn't want to put two and two together,' Alexander said. 'I didn't want Paolo to not be the man I believed him to be. I didn't want the fairy tale to end.' The Vatican confirmed Pope Francis never knew Macchiarini or promised to officiate the wedding. Bocelli's wife also denied his involvement. On what would have been their wedding weekend, Alexander, disguised in a blonde wig, and two friends confronted Macchiarini at his Barcelona home. A woman with two children emerged, confirming his deception. 'He was like an embarrassed schoolboy who had been caught,' friend Leigh McKenzie told Vanity Fair. Alexander watched silently from the car, marking the definitive end of their relationship. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Surgeon assaults patients on operating table before horrifying double life emerges
Benita Alexander thought she was living a real-life fairytale when she met Dr Paolo Macchiarini - the world's first doctor to perform a synthetic organ transplant. But then the dark truth unravelled Charismatic surgeon Paolo Macchiarini gained international fame as the world's first doctor to perform a synthetic organ transplant. When not in the operating room, he whisked his girlfriend, Benita Alexander off on exotic vacations and promised her a lavish Italian wedding officiated by the Pope himself. But just months before their dream wedding, Alexander learned her fiancé was not the man she thought he was. As Macchiarini's surgical achievements came under scrutiny, Alexander discovered the famed Italian had won her heart with lies - and was secretly married to another woman. Alexander first met Macchiarini in February 2013 while working as a producer for NBC. She was researching a two-hour special titled A Leap of Faith about the "super-surgeon". READ MORE: Man, 30, put shoulder pain down to gym aches, then doctors asked where he'd like to die In 2011, Paolo created the world 's first artificial windpipe using a plastic trachea scaffold infused with a patient's own stem cells, aiming to prevent rejection of the transplanted organ. Collaborating with Stockholm's Karolinska Institute, Macchiarini quickly rose to prominence. However, multiple patients died following the procedures, and others suffered serious complications, according to a report by biomedical researcher Leonid Schneider. These surgeries were carried out across Sweden, Italy, Russia, Spain, and the United States. As part of her job as a producer, Alexander arranged to meet Macchiarini at Boston's Mandarin Oriental hotel to discuss his work transplanting synthetic organs. At the time, he was working to implant a synthetic trachea into a two-year-old child, Hannah Warren. "I'm not a believer in love at first sight. But the second our eyes locked, that's what it felt like," Alexander later told The New York Post. Though their first meeting sparked romantic feelings, Alexander tried to keep their relationship professional at first. She was coping with her ex-husband's battle with an aggressive brain cancer, and Macchiarini was a steady support. "He was an amazing friend to me during that time, and a solid, reliable pillar of strength," she told Vanity Fair."He spent hours listening to me talk about it all and offering gentle advice." By June 2013, the line between friendship and romance blurred. Alexander recalled an "incredibly romantic weekend" in Venice, followed by a trip to Stockholm two weeks later. After spending two months apart, Macchiarini flew to New York in September 2013 to be with Alexander during her surgery for uterine fibroids. Their relationship progressed, and on Christmas Day 2013, Paolo proposed. Alexander happily accepted. Shortly after, Paolo told her he had to leave for an "emergency V.I.P. surgery" and claimed he was part of a secret circle of elite doctors treating figures like Bill and Hillary Clinton, Emperor Akihito of Japan, and President Obama, according to Vanity Fair. Then, throughout 2014, Macchiarini teased extravagant nuptials, including a Catholic ceremony officiated by Pope Francis at the Vatican's summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, a four-day celebration, and performances by Andrea Bocelli and John Legend. Alexander welcomed Macchiarini's offer to surprise her with an Italian wedding. "All I had to do was buy the dress," she said. The woman had four dresses made and wedding invitations printed for high-profile names including Vladimir Putin and the Obamas. But in May 2015, the truth unravelled. Just as Alexander planned to move to Europe and quit NBC, she received an email from a friend titled "The Pope." It linked to an article revealing Pope Francis would be in South America on their supposed wedding day. "I demanded an explanation from Paolo," Alexander told The Post. He claimed Vatican politics had interfered with the plans. But when she contacted the Italian castle where the wedding was allegedly booked, "nobody there knew Paolo's name." She cancelled the wedding and hired a private investigator, who revealed Macchiarini was still married to his wife of 29 years — and living in Barcelona with another mistress and their two children. "I just didn't want to put two and two together," Alexander said. "I didn't want Paolo to not be the man I believed him to be. I didn't want the fairy tale to end." The Vatican confirmed Pope Francis never knew Macchiarini or promised to officiate the wedding. Bocelli's wife also denied his involvement. On what would have been their wedding weekend, Alexander, disguised in a blonde wig, and two friends confronted Macchiarini at his Barcelona home. A woman with two children emerged, confirming his deception. "He was like an embarrassed schoolboy who had been caught," friend Leigh McKenzie told Vanity Fair. Alexander watched silently from the car, marking the definitive end of their relationship. In 2018, she executive produced the documentary He Lied About Everything, chronicling the ill-fated romance. Meanwhile, a Swedish court found Macchiarini acted with criminal intent in his treatment of three patients who received trachea transplants while he was working at the Karolinska Institute. All three patients died after suffering complications from the procedure. The court ruled that Macchiarini knew the surgeries were unlikely to succeed but disregarded the risks to the patients. Macchiarini bypassed essential safety protocols: he conducted no animal testing, clinical trials, or safety reviews before implanting the synthetic tracheas into human patients. His team also allegedly failed to obtain government approvals for the artificial windpipes, chemicals, and stem cells used, and did not seek ethical clearance from Stockholm's review board. One surviving patient, Yesim Cetir, reportedly spent three years in intensive care at Karolinska University Hospital and underwent nearly 200 surgeries. Investigations by both the Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital later revealed that complications and patient deaths may have been intentionally concealed. Macchiarini also faced accusations of scientific misconduct from several colleagues. Macchiarini was sentenced in 2023 to two and a half years in prison after being found guilty of aggravated assault against patients he treated. Today, Alexander continues producing and leads Berraca Productions, a company dedicated to empowering women who have survived fraud.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Health
- Indian Express
COMBAT dengue: India-EU science alliance takes aim at dengue in global health push
Dengue fever affects nearly 400 million people annually, with India among the countries most severely impacted. Now, as part of the India-EU partnership under the Horizon Europe program, the COMBAT dengue initiative will soon be launched to tackle the world's most rapidly spreading viral infection. This project brings together top researchers, clinicians, and technologists across both continents. The Swedish Karolinska Institute in Stockholm coordinates the COMBAT research initiative. The acronym stands for 'Advancing Pandemic Preparedness Innovative Multidisciplinary Strategies for COMBATing Severe Dengue'. Dr Ujjwal Neogi, Project Coordinator, Karolinska Institute, told The Indian Express, 'Infectious diseases don't respect borders. The aim is to uncover the underlying mechanisms of severe dengue and reduce the disease burden. This can be done through innovation, precision medicine, and translational research, which will contribute to saving lives, protecting the brain, and strengthening preparedness for future outbreaks.' 'It is not just a response to dengue, but also a critical advancement in global health, integrating fundamental science with clinical and societal applications,' Dr Neogi further said. Scientists involved in the project said that while dengue fever has primarily occurred in tropical and subtropical regions, the risk of contracting the disease is also rising in Europe due to climate change. At present, India bears a significant share of the dengue burden, and as per data from the National Centre for Vector Borne Diseases Control, close to 12 lakh lab-confirmed dengue cases and over 1,650 deaths have been reported since 2019 till March this year. However, experts like Dr Swarup Sarkar of the World Health Organization, who is advising the COMBAT project, said that the dengue problem is compounded by underreporting in India and other South Asian countries. 'Pending vaccine trial results and good clinical protocols, there is a need for biomarkers to identify potential severe cases that would be helpful to reduce adverse outcomes due to dengue,' Dr Sarkar said. Led by Prof Arindam Maitra, National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kalyani, West Bengal, clinical samples will be collected from Artemis Hospital and Max Hospital in New Delhi, and Kasturba Medical College Hospital in Mangaluru. Scientists said that these sites, located in regions with high dengue prevalence, are central to generating critical scientific insights that will not only strengthen India's outbreak response capabilities but also contribute to global knowledge alongside cohorts in Guatemala. They also said that the data and findings will support the European Union's efforts to enhance pandemic preparedness against emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Scientists said what sets COMBAT apart is its integration of high-end, innovative, and affordable technologies seldom seen in virus research. The project employs brain organoids, miniature, lab-grown human brain-like tissues, to investigate how dengue invades the nervous system. Advanced super-resolution and photonic microscopy allow scientists to visualise the virus in action within living cells, while artificial intelligence sifts through complex patient data to discover biomarkers that could predict severe disease outcomes. The approach is a fusion of virology, physics, engineering, and data science, emblematic of the EU-India strategy to position science at the crossroads of innovation and accessibility, according to scientists. They also noted that COMBAT dengue also comes at a vital moment in India-EU relations, following the renewal of the Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement until 2030. Though dengue is the immediate target, the platform being developed has wider ambitions. The technologies and workflows created under COMBAT – from multi-modal imaging to AI-integrated biological pipelines – are designed to be rapidly adaptable to other pathogens. Anuradha Mascarenhas is a journalist with The Indian Express and is based in Pune. A senior editor, Anuradha writes on health, research developments in the field of science and environment and takes keen interest in covering women's issues. With a career spanning over 25 years, Anuradha has also led teams and often coordinated the edition. ... Read More
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Playing Video Games Has an Unexpected Effect on Kids' IQ, Study Discovers
Researchers have linked spending more time playing video games with a boost in intelligence in children, which goes some way to contradicting the narrative that gaming is bad for young minds. While the difference in cognitive abilities was a small one and isn't enough to show a causal relationship, it is enough to be notable – and the 2022 study was careful to factor in variables including differences in genetics and the child's socio-economic background. Meanwhile, watching TV and using social media didn't seem to have a positive or negative effect on intelligence. The research should prove useful in the debate over how much screen time is suitable for young minds. Related: Video Games Can Boost Your Mental Health – But There's a Catch "Digital media defines modern childhood, but its cognitive effects are unclear and hotly debated," the team from the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden writes in their published paper. "We believe that studies with genetic data could clarify causal claims and correct for the typically unaccounted role of genetic predispositions." The researchers looked at screen time records for 9,855 kids in the ABCD Study, all in the US and aged 9 or 10. On average, the youngsters reported spending 2.5 hours a day watching TV or online videos, 1 hour playing video games, and half an hour socializing over the internet. They then accessed data for more than 5,000 of those children two years later. Over the intervening period, those in the study who reported spending more time than the norm on video games saw an increase of 2.5 IQ points above the average rise. The IQ point increase was based on the kids' performance on tasks that included reading comprehension, visual-spatial processing, and a task focused on memory, flexible thinking, and self-control. It's important to note that while the study only looked at children in the US and did not differentiate between video game types (mobile versus console games), it's still a valuable insight into gaming and IQ – and backs up the idea that intelligence isn't a fixed constant that we're born with. "Our results support the claim that screen time generally doesn't impair children's cognitive abilities, and that playing video games can actually help boost intelligence," neuroscientist Torkel Klingberg from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden said in 2022 when the study was published. As the researchers note, this is not the first study to suggest that there could be a link between the time that kids spend gaming and the development of their cognitive abilities – and there seem to be other associated benefits from video games, too. The team behind the current research says that small sample sizes, the different designs of studies, and the lack of consideration for genetic and socio-economic influences have all led to the conflicting reports of the effects of screen time that we've seen to date. Those are limitations that this study aimed to minimize. All of this is to say that there are a lot of factors at play, both in terms of how intelligence might be developed and formed and in the different ways in which screen time might affect our bodies and our habits – so much more research is needed. "We didn't examine the effects of screen behavior on physical activity, sleep, wellbeing, or school performance, so we can't say anything about that," said Klingberg. "We'll now be studying the effects of other environmental factors and how the cognitive effects relate to childhood brain development." The research has been published in Scientific Reports. An earlier version of this article was published in May 2022. Related News This 17th-Century Aristocrat Had a Clever Secret For Keeping Her Teeth Stunning Tattoos Discovered on Siberian Mummy From 2,000 Years Ago Reading Hits Differently to Listening For Your Brain, Science Says Solve the daily Crossword
Time of India
30-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
It's true! Adults can grow new brain cells
A recent study from the Karolinska Institute reveals that the human brain continues to generate new neurons in the hippocampus, the brain's memory center, well into late adulthood. Researchers identified neural progenitor cells, confirming ongoing neurogenesis. These findings offer hope for developing regenerative treatments for neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders by understanding how the brain adapts throughout life. You may perhaps show an inhibition to adapt to change or grow, but your brain doesn't. In fact, an adult human brain continues to grow new neurons, even as they age. Yes, that's right. A new study has found compelling evidence that neurons in the brain's memory centre, the hippocampus, continue to form well into late adulthood. A study led by researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden has found answers to the long-debated and fundamental question about the brain's adaptability. The findings of the study are published in the journal Science . Neurons continue to form into late adulthood The hippocampus is the region in the brain responsible for learning and memory. It is also in charge of emotional regulation. In 2013, a group of researchers at the Karolinska Institute showed that new neurons can form in the hippocampus of adults. In order to confirm it, they measured the carbon-14 levels in DNA from brain tissue. However, it was still debated, due to the lack of clear evidence that the cells that precede new neurons, known as neural progenitor cells, actually exist and divide in adult humans. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Up to 70% off | Libas Purple Days Sale Libas Undo 'We have now been able to identify these cells of origin, which confirms that there is an ongoing formation of neurons in the hippocampus of the adult brain,' Jonas Frisén, Professor of Stem Cell Research at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, who led the research, said. The study The new study, however, sought the help of advanced methods to examine brain tissue from people aged 0 to 78 years from several international biobanks. Using single-nucleus RNA sequencing, they studied the cell properties. They combined it with machine learning and identified different stages of neuronal development. They also used RNAscope and Xenium to further understand the process. What they found was striking. These methods confirmed that the newly formed cells were located in a specific area of the hippocampus called the dentate gyrus. This area is important for memory formation, learning, and cognitive flexibility. How is this study significant? The findings of this study is a hope for new treatments. The results suggest that the progenitors of adult neurons are similar to those of mice, pigs, and monkeys. However, there are some differences in which genes are active. There were also large variations between individuals – some adult humans had many neural progenitor cells, others hardly any at all. 'This gives us an important piece of the puzzle in understanding how the human brain works and changes during life. Our research may also have implications for the development of regenerative treatments that stimulate neurogenesis in neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders,' Jonas Frisén explained.
