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nErvE! staff magaZine for the faculty of medicine at lund university

issue 4 | 2013

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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 elisabeth.dawson@med.lu.se 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 elisabeth.dawson@med.lu.se

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.