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Press releases

Press release: Heat from skeletal muscle can protect not only against cold but also against obesity (27.2. 2023)

How much heat is generated in our bodies, but also how we generate heat, could be related to differences in susceptibility to obesity. Scientists at the Institute of Physiology of the CAS have investigated how two different strains of laboratory mice deal with cold. The results, published in Molecular Metabolism, also suggest a new possibility for obesity treatment by activating non-shivering thermogenesis in muscle.

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Press release: Take a pill in the morning or in the evening? Lithium affects the brain differently depending on the time of day. (10.2. 2023)

Lithium has been used for more than 70 years as an effective mood stabiliser for patients with bipolar disorder, for example. However, the mechanism of its therapeutic effect is still not well understood. Alena Sumova's team from the Institute of Physiology of the CAS has now shown that lithium affects the clock in a part of the brain called the choroid plexus, whose role is related to "cleaning" in the brain during sleep. The results, published in the prestigious journal Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, show the importance of timing lithium treatment correctly during the day.

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Heat, or cold? New insights of the functioning of temperature-sensitive ion channels may open the way for a new medicines development (31.1. 2023)

Two important mechanisms that explain exactly how information about pain or heat and cold is transmitted in the cell have been revealed in an international study by scientists from Lund University, with participation of experts from the Institute of Physiology of the CAS. Two studies were published in the journal Nature Communications.

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Effect of preterm and caesarean births on breast milk quality (23.8. 2022)

Breast milk contains an ideal cocktail of nutrients and biologically active substances that are essential for the rapid growth and development of the baby. In a new study, researchers from the Institute of Physiology of the CAS have described how the quality of the primary milk - colostrum - is negatively affected by premature birth or caesarean section. They also found that complex lipids are present in breast milk, which are broken down by one of the milk enzymes, releasing anti-inflammatory substances. Thus, breast milk is an irreplaceable way of nutrition for babies even in cases of substandard births.

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Czech institutions join together to fight the epidemic of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. They got a billion of EU money to do it. (30.6. 2022)

The National Institute for Metabolic and Cardiovascular Disease Research is established - the largest ever domestic project of this type, bringing together five centres of scientific, research and clinical excellence. The prestigious institutions will help patients with diseases of civilisation, which together account for many times more lives than cancer. Teams of experts from IKEM, the Institute of Physiology and the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS, Masaryk University in Brno and Charles University will work together to gain a deeper understanding of the causes of interconnected diseases, to develop new drugs and to increase the involvement of modern technologies in treatment.

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Maternal daily rhythmic behavior supports the development of the fetal biological clock (28.6. 2022)

Before the internal biological clock of the fetus starts ticking, the rhythmic behaviour of the mother influences the function and development of this structure. The team of Alena Sumová from the Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences found this and published it in a new study in the journal PLOS Biology. This discovery contributes significantly to the understanding of the development of the internal clock and may find application in the treatment of premature babies.

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Scientists have described the interaction of important proteins that are key to cell aging (27.4. 2022)

Stress causes a cascade of events in the body. At the cellular level, the transcription factor p53 also responds to stress, preventing normal cells from becoming cancer cells. Another transcription factor, FOXO4, also plays an important role. Under stress conditions, these proteins interact and together increase the production of the p21 protein, causing cells to enter a senescent or ageing state. The accumulation of such cells contributes to the aging of the organism. 

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8th February - International Epilepsy Day (5.2. 2021)

Almost 400,000 Czechs have experienced an epileptic seizure in their lifetime, 80,000 people in the Czech Republic live with active epilepsy. Due to fears of seizures, patients often limit themselves in their leisure activities, including sports. However, sport has been proven to improve the course of epilepsy, the most common chronic brain disease. This is also to be pointed out at the International Day of Epilepsy, which is being celebrated on 8th February.

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European research consortium LipiDiDiet finds long-lasting and broadly benefiting effects of nutritional intervention in early Alzheimer’s (18.11. 2020)

LipiDiDiet is the longest randomized clinical trial in prodromal Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with a positive outcome conducted so far. Prodromal AD patients are on the ultimate stage before progressing to dementia. These patients, and their close partners, already realize that the mind deteriorates and memory, especially short-term memory, slowly but progressively fades. Despite intensive research, there is still no cure or disease modifying treatment available for prodromal AD. However, this early Alzheimer’s disease stage is considered to represent the best option for intervention.

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Beetroot provide substantial protection from salt-induced increases in blood pressure (17.4. 2019)

Adding tiny amounts of beetroot or dietary nitrate to salty food products might help prevent high blood pressure, according to a preliminary study of rats.

Press release (in Czech)

Institute of Physiology of the CAS received HR Excellence in Research Award (15.3. 2019)

Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences has joined an exclusive group of workplaces that have been awarded the prestigious European HR Excellence in Research Award.

The European Commission awards those research and university workplaces that are committed to improving the strategy in human resources in accordance with the principles of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.

Press release (in Czech)

Logo HR Award

Correctly administered aid for epileptic seizure is easy and may save lives (7.2. 2019)

About 80,000 patients in the Czech Republic currently suffer from active epilepsy. This means that they have had at least one epileptic seizure over the past five years. About 5,000 new patients are diagnosed per year. Correctly administered first aid that can save a patient's life is the theme of the International Epilepsy Day, commemorated on Monday, February 11.

Press release (in Czech)

Illustrative picture Illustrative picture2

Scientists and engineers join the Motol Hospital to treat epilepsy in a newly established EPIREC research center (9.1. 2019)

A unique platform connecting epilepsy research with clinical practice has been in operation since January in the Motol University Hospital. Scientists from the Second Faculty of Medicine of Charles University and the Institute of Physiology CAS work here in multidisciplinary teams. Experts from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering also contribute to gaining innovative knowledge that will improve both quality and effectiveness of patient care.

Press release (in Czech)

Epileptic seizures do not come as a bolt from the blue (27.11. 2018)

An international team, led by Czech scientists, has shown that one of the elementary natural principles is also involved in the emergence of epileptic seizures. The discovery of the existence of the so-called critical deceleration principle in the epileptic brain presumes that the seizure is preceded by a gradual loss of stability and resistance of the brain, and little by little, the brain becomes much more susceptible to seizures.

Scientists from the Institute of Physiology CAS in collaboration with colleagues from the Institute of Computer Science CAS, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of Czech Technical University, the Second Faculty of Medicine of Charles University and other colleagues from foreign universities in Melbourne, Oxford and Birmingham have shown, both in experimental models of epilepsy and in patients, that seizures may be preceded by detectable changes in brain activity.

Press release (in Czech)

Photo (The human brain during a seizure)

The scientific evidence indicates that installing ‘wintertime’ is the best option for public health (30.10. 2018)

Chronobiology studies the influence of day-night rhythms and seasonal changes in living organisms (and received the Nobel Prize 2017 for these discoveries).  As experts in biological clocks and sleep, we have been following the initiative of the European Commission to abandon the annual clock-time changes in spring and autumn in the EU.  We would like to emphasize that the scientific evidence presently available indicates that installing permanent Standard Time (ST, or ‘wintertime’) is the best option for public health.

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DST statement

Ústav organické chemie a biochemie a Fyziologický ústav podepsaly licenční smlouvu s Novo Nordisk (4.9. 2017)

Ústav organické chemie a biochemie AV ČR (ÚOCHB) ve spolupráci s Fyziologickým ústavem AV ČR (FGÚ) vyvinul nové látky, které mají pozitivní účinky v experimentálních zvířecích modelech obezity či diabetu typu II. Tyto látky byly vyvinuty v laboratoři Dr. Lenky Maletínské (ÚOCHB), která se se svým týmem zaměřila na syntézu a zkoumání modifikovaných analogů přirozených neuropeptidů. Ústavy podepsaly licenční smlouvu s významnou farmaceutickou firmou Novo Nordisk, která tyto látky bude nadále vyvíjet a připravovat nejprve pro preklinické testy na zvířecích modelech, po nichž v případě úspěšnosti budou následovat testy klinické.

Tisková zpráva

Institute of Physiology is launching a new confocal microscope (9.6. 2015)

Institute of Physiology CAS is launching a confocal microscope Leica SP8 AOBS WLL MP who was purchased with the support of the European Regional Development Fund within the project OPPK "BrainView - Centre for the study of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases" (CZ.2.16/3.1.00/21544).

Chillies can reduce the pain (16.3. 2015)

9th February became The International day of epilepsy (17.2. 2015)

The unique challenges of a clinical trial focused on the impact of natural health products on cardiovascular disease (2.2. 2015)

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