What makes MS research so complex?

As of April 2018 Fampyra, a medication taken to treat MS, is no longer covered under standard health insurance policies. (The Dutch television programme TROS Radar recently discussed this here. The news was a blow for MS patients, who use this expensive medication to combat symptoms of their affliction.

Breaking news from Apenheul Primate Park last week: A new gorilla leader has arrived at the zoo. As part of an international breeding programme for gorillas kept in captivity, 33-year-old Bao Bao will be introduced to the zoo's female gorillas over the next few weeks. You see, male gorillas cannot be introduced to females without thorough preparation. But why is that?

Using an eye-catching video, KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation recently raised awareness of the fact that tuberculosis (TB), a disease whose name is often used informally in Dutch swearwords, is unfortunately still very much an issue. Every day, nearly 5,000 patients all over the world die of the consequences of ‘Mycobacterium tuberculosis’ infection.

BPRC researchers have applied a fast and effective method to crack the code of so-called KIRs, which constitutes a major milestone in our exploration of the vital processes taking place in our bodies.

We hope this new knowledge will help us gain a better understanding of diseases affected by KIRs. (KIR is short for ‘killer-cell immunoglobin-like receptors’.) KIRs occur in both human and non-human primates, but are different in rodents.

Our country is currently in the grip of a major flu epidemic. Such epidemics occur every year. Like clockwork, a new flu epidemic will hit us every winter. It is hard to imagine a year passing without a flu outbreak. But why is it so hard to combat flu epidemics?

Thanks to a successful study involving rhesus macaques, the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience has got a step closer to achieving one of its primary objectives: allowing blind people to see without actually using their eyes. The Algemeen Dagblad newspaper reported on the story last week.

Damage to rhesus macaque's brain similar to damage observed in MS patients' brains

We have discovered that toxic oxygen may cause a great deal of damage to a rhesus macaque's brain. To some extent, the way in which these types of oxygen are released differs from the way in which they are released in humans and in marmosets. However, the damage they cause is equally severe.

Genetic properties of dormant form of malaria parasites understood at last

Thirty years after the discovery that certain types of malaria create so-called ‘dormant’ parasites, we have finally obtained a greater insight into their genetic properties. This constitutes a major breakthrough in our search for new medications, which are badly needed in our fight against this serious disease.

A mysterious bacterium's triple jump

One of the pathogens causing gastritis is the Helicobacter suis bacterium. This bacterium often causes stomach issues in pigs, but has also been known to infect humans. You would therefore expect this bacterium to have originated in a pig species living in the wild, such as the wild boar. Yet nothing is further from the truth.  

And why this matters to both monkeys and humans

Last week we learned something about the rhesus macaque's immune system that we did not know yet, which means we are a step closer to fighting certain viruses, such as primate HIV. This matters to humans, too, for reasons we will explain below.