Sauna bathing may boost immune responses

University of Eastern Finland

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Sauna bathing releases white blood cells into the bloodstream, a new study from Finland shows. Circulating white blood cells play a key role in the body’s defence against various pathogens and diseases.

A 30-minute sauna session, with a brief cooling period under a cold shower midway through, increased the number of all circulating white blood cells. Neutrophils and lymphocytes, which are central to immune defence, returned to baseline within half an hour.

“This may indicate that sauna bathing mobilises additional white blood cells into the bloodstream from tissues, where they are then redeposited after the session. This kind of periodic release of white blood cells into the bloodstream is beneficial, as once they leave their storage sites, they are better able to patrol the body and respond to pathogens,” says Ilkka Heinonen, an Academy Research Fellow at the University of Turku.

The release of white blood cells into the bloodstream, which also occurs, for example, during physical exercise, is the body’s way of enhancing immune surveillance by white blood cells throughout the body, and boosting its immune defence.

In addition to immune cells, the researchers also measured the levels of numerous cytokines, which act as mediators in immune defence. On average, sauna bathing had little effect on circulating cytokine levels.

“Interestingly, however, the levels of several cytokines changed in relation to how much body temperature rose during sauna bathing. No similar association was observed between white blood cell counts and changes in body temperature,” says Professor Jari Laukkanen, who led the study at the University of Eastern Finland.

Regular sauna bathing has been associated with several beneficial health effects, and the new findings may, in part, help explain how these effects develop in the body. However, the researchers emphasise that the study was limited to a single sauna session and its immediate effects. Therefore, no definite conclusions can be drawn about the development of longer-term health effects.

The study involved 51 adults with a mean age of 50 years. The results were published in the scientific journal Temperature, which focuses on the medical physiology of body temperature regulation.

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Journal

Temperature

DOI

10.1080/23328940.2026.2645467 

Article Title

Acute Finnish sauna heat exposure induces stronger immune cell than cytokine responses

 

Seeing red: Dragonflies and humans share the same red-light detection mechanism

Dragonflies’ visual protein has intriguing similarities and differences to ours

Osaka Metropolitan University

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The way that light is reflected off the yellow parts helps dragonflies differentiate between males and females, making finding a mate more efficient.

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Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University

Sometimes different organisms can evolve the same ability independently, a process called parallel evolution. A new study from Osaka Metropolitan University (OMU) has found that dragonflies sense red light similarly to mammals, including us. As many medical devices also rely on red light, their findings could be important not just in zoology but also in medical fields that rely on red light-sensing.

Humans perceive the colors of light through a protein called opsin in the eye. In humans, three types of opsins—corresponding to blue, green, and red light—are responsible for color vision.

Among insects, dragonflies have unusually strong red vision. The team led by Professors Mitsumasa Koyanagi and Akihisa Terakita at OMU’s Graduate School of Science identified a dragonfly opsin that detects light at around 720 nm, which is outside of the deepest red end of our visible spectrum.

“This is one of the most red-sensitive visual pigments ever found,” Professor Terakita said. “Dragonflies can likely see deeper into red light than most insects.”

The researchers hypothesized that this would help dragonflies identify suitable mates. To test this idea, they measured reflectance. Reflectance is the amount of light a surface reflects, and in dragonflies this reflected light influences how they appear to each other. The researchers found significant differences between males and females in red to near-infrared reflectance, suggesting that detecting these wavelengths helps males quickly distinguish members of the opposite sex during flight.

“Surprisingly, the mechanism by which dragonfly red opsin detects red light is identical to that of red opsin in mammals, including humans. This is an unexpected result, suggesting that the same evolutionary process occurred independently in distantly related lineages,” first author Ryu Sato, a graduate student, said.

Their study also revealed an important insight that could help turn this discovery into real-world applications. They pinpointed a single key position in the protein that controls its sensitivity to light. When they tweaked this, it pushed this sensitivity even further, allowing the protein to respond to light close to the infrared range. They engineered a version of the protein that reacts to even longer wavelengths and showed that cells equipped with it can be activated by near-infrared light.

These findings could be useful in the field of optogenetics, which uses light-sensitive proteins that are activated with light to investigate medical conditions. As the dragonfly opsin responds to light with longer wavelengths, it could work better inside deeper tissues.

“In this study, we succeeded in shifting the sensitivity of a modified near-infrared opsin from Gomphidae dragonflies even further toward longer wavelengths and confirmed that the modified near-infrared opsin can induce cellular responses in response to near-infrared light,” Professor Koyanagi said. “These findings demonstrate this opsin as a promising optogenetic tool capable of detecting light even deep within living organisms.”

The findings were published in Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences.

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About OMU

Established in Osaka as one of the largest public universities in Japan, Osaka Metropolitan University is committed to shaping the future of society through “Convergence of Knowledge” and the promotion of world-class research. For more research news, visit https://www.omu.ac.jp/en/ and follow us on social media: X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.

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Journal

Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences

DOI

10.1007/s00018-025-06017-9 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Dragonfly red opsins share a common tuning mechanism with mammalian red opsins and further enhancement of near-infrared sensitivity

 

When the world becomes too loud: The sensory toll of trauma on young children

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

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New research reveals that for many young children, the trauma of war can fundamentally alter how their nervous systems process and respond to the physical world. The study found that nearly half of the young survivors of the October 7 attacks developed atypical sensory patterns, causing common stimulus such as sounds, movements and touches to be perceived as overwhelming threats. These findings emphasize the critical importance of addressing sensory needs to ensure that daily environments no longer feel like a source of distress for children during their most vulnerable stages of development.

As air-raid sirens in Israel have become a frequent feature of life, a new study offers a sobering look at how the physical senses of young children are being fundamentally altered by the trauma of war. The research, published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy, provides a window into the lives of children who survived the October 7, 2023, attacks and suggests that for many, the world has become a place of overwhelming sensory stimulus.

The research was led by Lihi Liberman, a postdoctoral fellow under the guidance of Prof. Yafit Gilboa from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s School of Occupational Therapy and in collaboration with Efrat Harel, an occupational therapist at Reichman University’s Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology. Together, they studied the sensory lives of 37 children from the Gaza envelope who were directly exposed to the violence and subsequently displaced from their homes.

For these children, the consequence of the trauma did not end when they reached safety. Ten months after the initial events, the researchers found that nearly half of the participants displayed atypical sensory processing patterns. This means their nervous systems were no longer interpreting everyday information like a soft touch or a distant lawnmower as neutral. Instead, these children were frequently in a state of sensory sensitivity or avoidance, where the ordinary world felt like an assault on their senses.

The researchers observed that this heightened state of alert is directly tied to emotional distress. The study found that the more a child’s sensory responses differed from the norm, the more likely they were to experience intense anxiety, fearfulness, and acting-out behaviors.

Against the backdrop of ongoing conflict, the study provides a map of the invisible toll taken on the young survivors of 2023. What might be a distant hum of activity for an adult can be an overwhelming sensory assault for a child with heightened sensitivity. These triggers do more than cause temporary fear. They create a persistent hurdle to the learning and social participation that are critical during this window of rapid brain growth.

The researchers emphasized that these findings are a call to action for the medical community. They argue that occupational therapists should be integrated into trauma care teams to help children navigate their environments. By identifying these sensory needs early, practitioners can provide families with the tools to help children feel safe in their own bodies again. As the region remains on edge, the study serves as a reminder that the scars of war are often invisible, hidden within the very way a child hears the world.

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Journal

American Journal of Occupational Therapy

DOI

10.5014/ajot.2026.051402 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Sensory Processing Disorders and Emotional Distress Among Young Children Exposed to Traumatic Events

Article Publication Date

11-Apr-2026

 

“Uncovered why autism is more common in men” DGIST professor Jaewon Ko’s team successfully identified the gender-specific pathogenesis of the MDGA1 gene

DGIST (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology)

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 The Center for Synapse Diversity and Specificity (Director: Professor Jaewon Ko), Department of Neuroscience, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology (DGIST; President Kunwoo Lee), has discovered that a mutation of the MDGA1 gene, a key factor modulating the connections and characteristics between nerve cells, serves as a new cause of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and suggested the possibility of a drug to treat the disorder. This study holds great significance, as it provides biological clues on why autism is more frequent among men than among women.

 

□ ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Characteristic traits include a lack of social interactions and repetitive behaviors. While the incidence and diagnosis rates of ASD are generally known to be about three to four times higher among men than among women, the clear biological cause of this gender bias has remained a mystery. This study has solved the mystery and provided molecular biological clues on why autism occurs more frequently among men.

 

□ With this joint study by an international research team from Spain, the research group discovered the MDGA1 missense mutation in patients with autism symptoms: a world first. According to the study’s findings, the MDGA1 protein acts as a modulator that inhibits brain neural circuits from becoming over-excited. The study, however, found that if this gene is mutated, the function (phosphorylation level) of the protein (Synapsin II), which helps to transmit signals between nerve cells, drops and subsequently breaks the balance of brain neural circuits.

 

□ Interestingly, the failure of these brain circuits manifests differently between males and females. In the MDGA1-mutated mouse model developed by the research group, male mice showed clear autism-like behaviors, such as impaired social communication skills, while female mice maintained normal behavioral patterns. The research group attributed this effect to the estrogen-signaling system in females that protects against abnormalities in neural circuits caused by gene deletions.

 

□ On the basis of this defense mechanism, the research group administered bazedoxifene, a selective estrogen receptor modulator already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to mutated male mice. The research group confirmed that this restored the function of the impaired neuroprotein (Synapsin II phosphorylation) and returned autism-like behaviors, such as abnormal ultrasonic vocalization and startle responses, to normal levels.

 

□ “This study holds huge significance as not only did it identify new genetic factors of ASD, whose exact cause was difficult to determine, but it also identified the molecular mechanism by which gender differences occur,” said Professor Jaewon Ko. “More specifically, we will continue follow-up research for future clinical applications, as it opens up the possibility that bazedoxifene, a drug whose safety is already proven, can be used as a new treatment option for autism.”

 

□ Meanwhile, regarding this outcome of the study, former Postdoctoral Researcher Seungjun Kim (currently: Postdoctoral Researcher at Rutgers University, USA) and Postdoctoral Researcher Hyunho Kim at the Center for Synapse Diversity and Specificity (Director: Professor Jaewon Ko), Department of Neuroscience, DGIST, participated as co-first authors. In addition, not only the research team by Dr. Alberto Fernández-Jaén at Hospital Universitario Quironsalud, Spain, but also Professor Jiwon Um and Professor Wookyung Yu at DGIST, Dr. Jinyoung Kim at the Korea Basic Science Institute, Dr. Seokkyu Kwon at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Professor Junyong Ahn at Korea University, Professor Homin Kim at KAIST from Korea, and Professor Wonchan Oh at the University of Colorado, USA, participated in this study.

 

□ The results of this study were published online on March 20, 2026, in EMBO Molecular Medicine, one of the top international journals in the field. This study was funded by the Leader Research Program, the Mid-Career Researcher Support Program, and Sejong Science Fellowship by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea.

 

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Journal

EMBO Molecular Medicine

DOI

10.1038/s44321-026-00402-y 

Article Title

Bazedoxifene reverses sexually dimorphic autistic-like abnormalities in biallelic MDGA1-mutant mice

 

Older immigrants in Finland face everyday problems that impede the realization of their rights

University of Eastern Finland

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A new study conducted at the University of Eastern Finland highlights the challenges faced by older immigrants in Finland when seeking social and healthcare services, employment and citizenship. The empirical socio-legal research was published in Retfaerd (Nordic Journal of Law and Justice). The study outlines the regulations stipulated in Finnish laws and examines older immigrants’ realisation of their rights in practice based on interviews with 26 older immigrants living in Finland.

The findings show that in healthcare, the use of non-specialised interpreters may lead to an incorrect diagnosis, and the lack of previous health records for older immigrants who have recently arrived may delay their access to healthcare services. Some decisions on access to services were based on state employees’ discretion rather than on what the law stipulates, leading to unequal access to services for individuals with similar needs. Inconsistencies in the dissemination of information about rights and available services also constituted barriers to accessing services, as only a few older immigrants reported receiving such information from the Finnish authorities.

Limited recognition of foreign education and skills hindered older immigrants’ access to employment opportunities. Foreign names and belonging to ethnic minority groups also negatively affected access to employment, indicating instances of structural discrimination during the recruitment process. Nonetheless, deteriorating health has a detrimental effect on older immigrants’ ability to learn Finnish, thus restricting their access to employment and citizenship.   

“I would stress the importance of booking only trained and specialised interpreters. Moreover, Finnish well-being services counties can also improve access to services by offering each resident a personal orientation session to inform them about their rights and the services offered in the country. Structural changes in Finland that encourage the employment of immigrants are also crucial, as employment was described by the participants as a ‘medicine’ that improves their lives and well-being. Anonymous recruitment processes can also mitigate the impact of the negative assumptions associated with older age and ethnic minority backgrounds,” says Alex Berg, a Doctoral Researcher at the University of Eastern Finland.

According to the study, the assessment of immigrants' health status should be improved in the citizenship application and potential problems created by lack of language skills should be taken into account. For the study participants, Finnish citizenship was experienced as an important reinforcer of well-being, employment, freedom of movement and reunion with family and friends abroad.

This study was conducted within the Neuro-Innovation PhD programme, which is funded by the University of Eastern Finland and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement no. 101034307.

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DOI

10.18261/ret.49.1.2 

Article Title

Access to Justice: An Empirical Study on the Lived Experiences of Older Immigrants in Finland

 

One in ten experience facial pain – New method can reveal the cost

Umea University

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Anna Lövgren, Associate Professor, Department of Odontology, Umeå University

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Credit: Photo: Hamdija Comic

Facial pain is one of the most common forms of chronic pain. Despite this, there has previously been no standardized burden measurements, such as impact on the individual and healthcare costs across countries and in relation to other diseases. A new international research collaboration, led by researchers at Umeå University, has now developed lay descriptions that make it possible to visualize the global burden of disease caused by facial pain.

“We can now, for the first time, compare the burden of living with facial pain to conditions such as diabetes—that is, how much a person is affected over the course of their life by having this condition,” says Anna Lövgren, Associate Professor at the Department of Odontology at Umeå University and one of the researchers leading the study.

Facial pain is often caused by overloading of the muscles or joints in the jaw, which then become painful. The condition affects everyday activities such as eating and speaking and is often long-lasting. Many individuals also experience concurrent problems, including headaches and disturbed sleep. Data from Sweden further show that people with facial pain are more likely to have long periods of sick leave. However, the total costs of this condition have so far been difficult to quantify.

“Now that we can estimate the disease burden of facial pain, we can also link it to health data and evaluate, for example, how many people are affected and what consequences this has for society. We can also estimate the cost of management in terms of healthcare visits, examinations, and treatment,” says Anna Lövgren.

Anna Lövgren is currently working to develop an initial estimate of the global disease burden of facial pain. Her hope is that care for patients with facial pain will become better and more accessible when it can be more easily compared to other diseases.

“We argue that this facial pain and related symptoms should be included in healthcare fee systems so that patients can afford the treatment they would benefit from. This is an undertreated condition,” says Anna Lövgren.

About the Study

Lövgren, A., Liv, P., Allison, J. R., et al. (2026). Lay descriptions of painful temporomandibular disorders—an international consensus proposal for Global Burden of Disease estimates. BMC Medicine, 24, 165. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-026-04790-3

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Journal

BMC Medicine

DOI

10.1186/s12916-026-04790-3 

Method of Research

Systematic review

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Lay descriptions of painful temporomandibular disorders—an international consensus proposal for Global Burden of Disease estimates