From a Potentially Fatal Ballooning of a Cerebral Artery to a Valuable Research Sample

Approximately 300 people die annually in Finland from a ruptured brain aneurysm, or a bulge in a cerebral artery. Smoking and untreated hypertension are the leading risk factors for the development and ruptures of intracranial aneurysms, but it is not yet fully understood what causes the walls of the arteries to weaken and eventually rupture. Together with his team of researchers, Professor of Neurosurgery Mika Niemelä is investigating this mystery by examining inflammatory changes and cells in the walls of aneurysms. The team also collects aneurysm tissue samples isolated from blood circulation to be saved in a biobank for research purposes.

Inflammation Center – Home of Top-Notch Research in Various Specialties

Researchers of the HUS Inflammation Center conduct influential research across a wide spectrum of topics in the fields of skin and allergic diseases, infectious diseases, and rheumatology.

Using genetic data, a team working on skin diseases gained new and important information about diseases by investigating the mutations of filaggrin gene in atopic eczema. Based on data of 500 patients with atopic eczema and controls, the research showed that the mutation of the filaggrin gene does not occur as often as previously described in European publications, and that the mutation is not associated with the severity of the disease or response to treatment.

The Inflammation Center has also been involved in the development of fecal microbiota transplantation. Long-term monitoring has showed that treating Clostridium difficile infection with fecal microbiota transplantation is a safe procedure.

More Accurate Sepsis Prediction in Small Premature Babies

Together with Aalto University, HUS has been looking into algorithms that can predict sepsis using the enormous amount of data saved in an electronic system. The system contains data about over 2000 small premature babies born 1999–2013, including laboratory test results, heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation levels, and nurses’ recordings.

In spring 2017, the data and algorithms were put to a test using the IBM Watson computer system. The AI succeeded in predicting sepsis 24 hours before it would haven been detected in a blood test ordered by a physician. As it stands, AI will be used in the NICU routinely to predict sepsis starting in 2019.

Pediatric Research Center

The success of the Pediatric Research Center (PRC) is based on a large and unselected coverage of population of two million in southern Finland, including all severely ill children, as well as many diagnostic entities in the whole country. Pediatric research in Finland is supported by a system that combines complex diagnostic protocols, the identification and treatment of rare diseases, and a tradition of long-term follow-up throughout childhood by the same pediatric team. These factors has resulted in significant discoveries in nursing science, stem cell research and neurophysiology, as well as in various pediatric subspecialties.

Participation in Research Nurse Training Is a Major Investment for HUS and a Contribution to Science

The course is four ECTS credits and participants do their coursework alongside their day jobs. The course includes independent study, four days of contact teaching, and taking the Good Clinical Practice online test. Majority of research nurses work regular hours on wards and leave their roles for fixed periods at a time to work on their research. Research nurses are in charge of practical matters related to the trial, leaving more time for the researchers to focus on the trial itself.

The trained research nurses will be invited to join a new research nursing network which has been established to facilitate communication between research nurses, sharing of expertise, and organizing training such as systematic continuing training. HUS sees that having a strong research nursing network alongside other research support services offers HUS an advantage when competing for new recruits who are skilled and motivated to develop their expertise.

Top-Quality Treatment and Research Side by Side

Each year, the title of Professor is awarded to several academics on the Meilahti campus. Among those is Juha Sinisalo, who was appointed to a professorship in cardiology in 2017 and who studies, among other topics, coronary artery disease. Together with his team of researchers, Sinisalo, who works as the Chief Physician of HUS Heart and Lung Center, investigates the role of genetics in the development of inflammation in coronary arteries, among other aspects. In the future, physicians might be able to use a gene test to see if their patient is susceptible to blockages in coronary arteries.

In addition to his professorship, Sinisalo is also the Chief Physician of the Congenital Heart Diseases Clinic in Meilahti. The clinic treats adult patients who have been born with heart defects that require surgery. Many of the clinic’s patients are monitored throughout their lives to make sure they do not develop further complications. Sinisalo says that he spends a couple of days a week on teaching and research. After this, he continues his working day as a researcher.