Globally, 3 out of 5 persons lose their lives to chronic inflammatory conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, skin diseases, renal diseases and obesity. Inflammatory diseases are the most prevailing cause of death worldwide and the numbers keep rising.
The network focuses on reducing the burden of infectious and inflammatory diseases caused by pathogens, damaged cells, toxic compounds or radiation in order to develop new diagnostic and treatment technologies.
As a society, we need more knowledge about the correlation between e.g. inflammation and development of cancer, about biomarkers and about molecular mechanisms of autoimmunity in e.g. rheumatological conditions - not to mention chronic mucosal inflammation. In the inflammation network we collaborate interdisciplinearily in order to find answers.
We comprise a wide range of researchers with interest in diagnostic methods, epidemiological data, inflammatory markers and intracellular pathways, understanding of cell population and tissue structures, among others.
Subject-specific programmes for PhD students
The subject-specific PhD programme in inflammation at Aarhus University, Health, offers an in-depth, multidisciplinary study of inflammation's role in diseases and prevention, addressing its significant role in both non-communicable diseases (NCD) and infections.
For more information about the subject-specific programmes: Subject-specific programmes, Graduate School of Health (au.dk).
Focus groups
National Academies
Paper of the Month
Yuelian Sun, Department Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University
Myeloproliferative Neoplasms and Dementia Risk: A Population-Based Cohort Study
Read the paper here.
Why is this paper important (i.e. your motivation of choosing the paper)?
This is the first population-based study estimating the association between myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) and dementia. The findings highlight the significant role of chronic inflammation in the development of dementia. Thus, strategies aimed at targeting and reducing chronic inflammation may aid in delaying or preventing dementia.
How does this paper challenge previous concepts and/or advance the inflammation & infection field?
Various hypotheses have been proposed to explain development of dementia, including the chronic inflammation hypothesis. In this study, we use a human neuroinflammation model, specifically MPNs, to provide population-based evidence.
The main findings of the paper
We identified 9.895 individuals in Denmark newly diagnosed with MPNs from 1995 to 2017 and matched them 10:1 by age and sex with a general population cohort of 95,770 individuals. The persons were followed until dementia diagnosis, death, emigration or December 31 2018. MPNs were associated with an increased risk of dementia, with a stronger association observed in men than in women. Notably, the inclusion of a control disease in this study highlights the significant relation between MPNs and dementia risk.
