From Bench to Bedside - Translational Medicine at the GSF
You can order a copy of the "From Bench to Bedide - Translational Medicine at the GSF" at:
GSF - National Research Center for Environment and Health
Department of Public Relations
Ingolstädter Landstraße 1
85764 Neuherberg
Germany
Tel.: +49-(0)89-3187-2712
Fax: +49-(0)89-3187-3324
Email: oea@gsf.de
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Download of articles taken of "From Bench to Bedide - Translational Medicine at the GSF":
A Word of Introduction: Prof. Dr. Günther Wess, President and CEO of the GSF - National Research Center of Environment and Health: At the GSF we work on the foundations
of a medicine and health care
future as well as on ecosystems with
significant impact on human health. A better
understanding of environmental influences
on health and diseases helps us to derive effective
measures for prevention in terms of
causal therapies. Therefore, environmental
diseases are the focus of our research. We
are committed to ensure that patients benefit
quickly from the results. [More - pdf file, 39 KB]
Building Bridges for the Medicine of Tomorrow: The direct application of insights from basic biomedical research to the prevention, diagnosis and
treatment of diseases – this is the key process of translational research in medicine. Clinicians and
scientists working in basic research develop new methods for the clinic on the one hand and reflect
observations made on patients back to the laboratory on the other.
The GSF – Research Center for Environment and Health combines all essential cornerstones for successful
translational research in its approach: Excellent basic research, the close network with clinical
partners as well as research platforms used throughout the world offer a common foundation
for the exchange of knowledge. This is the GSF’s contribution to new approaches to individualized
diagnosis, prevention and causal therapy. [More - pdf file, 64 KB]
Bedside Research – The Clinical Cooperation Groups of the GSF:
The GSF uses a rather young instrument of translational research, the
concept of the “Clinical Cooperation Groups,” to create an ideal link
between its basic biomedical research and clinical research in its immediate
vicinity. Thus, clinically relevant questions form a fertile symbiosis
with experimental research guided by hypotheses. The long-term objective
is the translation of new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies into
clinical practice. [More - pdf file, 139 KB]
Hyperthermia – Heat Shock for Tumors:
Prof. Rolf Issels, head of the Clinical Cooperation Group “Hyperthermia”
at the GSF, started his work for the benefit of regional deep hyperthermia
(RHT) for cancer therapy back in the mid-eighties. Since 1993 RHT has
been applied as a therapy in a model project by the statutory health insurances.
In 1999 the KKG was founded with research ranging from clinical
research to deep hyperthermia and biological research in the field of
immunology and cell biology. [More - pdf file, 121 KB]
Inflammatory Lung Diseases:
Chronic bronchitis and other respiratory diseases may be caused by
inhaled particles. The Clinical Cooperation Group “Inflammatory Lung
Diseases” of the GSF analyzes the mechanisms of the pathogenesis in
cooperation with the Asklepios-Fachkliniken. With this work the Group
opens up new avenues for the diagnosis and therapy of inflammatory lung
diseases. [More - pdf file, 130 KB]
Pioneers of Bone Marrow Transplantation:
Particularly it is due to the close interaction of laboratory and clinic that
scientists in basic research and physicians of the GSF could become pioneers
of bone marrow transplantation: in 1975 Prof. Hans-Jochem Kolb,
now head of the Clinical Cooperation Group “Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation”,
together with a colleague from the Municipal Munich Schwabing
hospital saved the life of a youth with bone marrow failure by transferring
healthy bone marrow. It was the first successful transplantation of
this kind in Germany. [More - pdf file, 103 KB]
Pollen with Multiple Effects – Groundbreaking News for Allergology:
Pollen is more than just an allergen carrier – it can pave its way for the
development of an allergic reaction itself by releasing fatty acids. This
important discovery was made recently by the Clinical Cooperation Group
“Environmental Dermatology and Allergology” of the GSF, headed by Prof.
Dr. Heidrun Behrendt. [More - pdf file, 273 KB]
A Cough Is Not a Cough – First Discovery of Immunospecific Markers:
The Clinical Cooperation Group “Immunoregulation in Childhood” has set
out to look for immunospecific markers, which will help distinguish
between the diagnosis of an allergic cough and that of a cough with other
causes, so that more specific therapeutic approaches will be possible
than in the past. And some initial success has been seen. [More - pdf file, 118 KB]
Groundbreaking Strategy for the Development of
Cancer Vaccines:
In order to be able to develop specific vaccines for malignant diseases,
suitable target antigens must be identified. Thanks to a new method the
Clinical Cooperation Group “Pediatric Tumor Immunology” recently
achieved a strategic breakthrough in the search for T-helper cell antigens
of cancer cells. Some first antigens which were identified by this method
provided very promising input for the immunotherapy of virus-associated
tumors. The group expects this method to make a decisive contribution to
the immunotherapy of cancer in adults and children. [More - pdf file, 105 KB]
From Model to Patient – New Avenues in Depression Research:
The World Health Organization (WHO) assumes that by the year 2020
depressive illnesses – along with cardiovascular diseases – will represent
the largest group of diseases in industrialized countries. In the Clinical
Cooperation Group (KKG) “Molecular Neurogenetics” scientists from
the GSF and the Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry join forces to elucidate
the molecular mechanisms and causes of depression and anxietyrelated
disorders, and to find new approaches for suitable therapies. In a
clinical study the scientists showed that there is a clear disturbance of
the hormonal balance in patients with these psychiatric disorders, indicating
that pharmaceuticals acting on a hormonal level may be applied as
an alternative to classical antidepressants in the near future. [More - pdf file, 105 KB]
Together We Are Strong:
Clinical Research Platforms at the GSF:
The idea is by no means new: scientists from different disciplines run a
joint research unit in which they use the same resources and the same
communication system and design joint studies. What is, however, rather
new is the establishment of research platforms at the interface between
laboratory and bedside. The GSF already operates three of these – instruments
of translational research par excellence. [More - pdf file, 81 KB]
Technology and Know-How for All -
The Immune Monitoring Platform of the GSF:
Using the latest technologies immune responses of patients treated in
clinical studies can be monitored reliably today. In 2004 the GSF Institutes
of Molecular Immunology and of Molecular Virology together established
an Immune Monitoring Platform for this purpose, which is now open to all
Clinical Cooperation Groups of the GSF as well as external clinical partners. [More - pdf file, 119 KB]
Top-Level Service:
Monoclonal Antibodies Ready-to-Measure:
Established by the immune system for millions of years, antibodies have
long become an indispensable tool in research and therapy. Making good
antibodies, however, is a task reserved for specialists – and not all institutions
have the excellent possibilities of the GSF. With its Research Platform
Monoclonal Antibodies it is an important interface in the network of
health and environmental research. [More - pdf file,
141 KB]
Fighting Widespread Diseases:
The Health Platforms MONICA and KORA:
The GSF has been running a health research platform in the Augsburg
area for just over 20 years. Physicians, epidemiologists, statistics and
genetics experts take a close look at widespread diseases, such as diabetes,
cardiovascular diseases or allergies. In large study populations
selected to be representative for the population as a whole, the scientists
investigate not only the classical risk factors, but also dietary habits,
physical activity, psychosocial factors and the utilization of medical care. [More - pdf file, 150 KB]
Research News
Beating Them with Their Own Weapons:
New HIV Vaccines Undergoing Clinical Trials:
The development of a vaccine stimulating the immune system to fight HIV
is one of the greatest challenges in AIDS research. Vaccine research is
faced with the big task of developing a therapeutic vaccine against an
already existing infection. At the GSF Institute of Molecular Virology scientists
have now achieved some first success with a vaccine on the basis
of a genetically modified vaccinia virus, which is now going to be combined
with another vaccine to produce a powerful combination. Using
such combination vaccines, scientists hope to one day be able to protect
healthy people from infection. [More - pdf file, 211 KB]
Getting the Immune System Going:
Therapeutic Vaccination against Kidney Cancer:
Renal cell carcinoma is the most frequent malignant kidney tumor. There
are approx. 14,000 new cases per year in Germany, most of which are discovered
by coincidence. There has been hardly any therapy for patients
with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, since the tumor cells respond poorly
to radiation or chemotherapy. Scientists at the GSF Institute of Molecular
Immunology are developing new therapies to activate the patient’s
immune system to effectively fight tumor cells. [More - pdf file, 213 KB]
DNA Packaging – A New Approach to Cancer Therapy:
Treating cancer is one of the big challenges for modern science. The causes of tumor formation must be understood and methods must be developed allowing degenerate cells to reform to their healthy predecessors or to kill them selectively. In the last few years it has turned out that the packaging of the genetic material DNA in chromatin is of central significance to
processes involved in cancer. Scientists at the GSF Institute of Toxicology study a class of enzymes – histone deacetylases – which considerably influence the packaging of DNA and are, thus, a potential point of attack for a cancer therapy. [More - pdf file, 137 KB]
Better Computing of Images – Reducing Radiation in Computed Tomography: A broken leg, a painful tooth root, suspected breast cancer or pneumonia
– the doctor takes X-ray pictures. The high-energy radiation has become
indispensable in everyday medical practice. Nearly 40 per cent of medical
radiation exposure comes from computed tomography scans and the
number of CT scans will continue to rise in the future – and radiation
exposure with it. Scientists at the GSF Institute of Radiation Protection
have developed a new process which provides high-quality scans with a
clearly reduced radiation dose. [More - pdf file, 198 KB]
Glossary [More - pdf file, 39 KB]
Image sources [More - pdf file, 63 KB]
About the GSF [More - pdf file, 91 KB]