From the Dresden protest to top research for better health

Directly from the window of the State Chancellery, Saxony's government had a special view in September 1993. 250 employees and students of the then Dresden Medical Academy had set up a protest camp directly on the Elbe meadows. They were demonstrating in favour of the continuation of dentistry studies in Dresden. When the new Faculty of Medicine was founded in October 1993, the protesters had achieved their goal. Dentistry remained in Dresden. Now the faculty is celebrating its 30th anniversary. But its foundation was also a thriller in other respects.

The bad news reached Saxony in September 1991. The Science Council of the Federal Republic of Germany had examined the locations of university medicine in the new federal states and in Berlin. Its assessment: the continuation of the previously independent Medical Academy in Dresden, known as Medak for short, was not recommended. Instead, the clinic should become an academic teaching hospital.

A development that the then Saxon Minister of Science, Hans Joachim Meyer, also had something against. Saxony's government convened an all-German founding commission. It drew up a concept on how medical education could be saved - with ideas for teaching, patient care and construction planning. One important point: the new faculty was to be integrated into the TU Dresden. Saxony wanted to invest a total of 200 million Deutschmarks annually in the two university medical centres in Dresden and Leipzig. This convinced the Science Council. In May 1993, it approved the foundation.

Today, Germany's youngest medical faculty can look back on three eventful decades. It is currently one of the top locations in the country. It is one of the leading centres for cancer medicine, diabetology and neurodegenerative diseases in particular. Almost 3,200 students are currently enrolled here and 1,800 people work in research and teaching.

Together with the University Hospital, the Faculty of Medicine employs a total of 8,500 people from 90 nations. Each year, it raises over 70 million euros in third-party funding for medical research, and the trend is rising. In 2022, almost 900 positions could be financed from third-party funds.

For comparison: in 1993 it was still 6.6 million Deutschmarks, or around 3.4 million euros. The number of research projects is also constantly increasing. „Our main goal is to understand cutting-edge research in such a way that our knowledge and new findings benefit all patients as quickly as possible“, says Esther Troost, Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. One example of this is personalised therapies for cancer patients.

Another reason for the successful acquisition of research funding is the Faculty's many collaborations, including with the Centre for Regenerative Therapies, the Biotechnology Centre, the Max Planck Institute and the Helmholtz Centre Dresden-Rossendorf.

It is also well networked internationally, for example with Harvard University in Cambridge and King's College in London. The Dresden team is collaborating with the latter in the Transcampus project. This gives medical students from Dresden and London the opportunity to complete part of their training at the other institution or to obtain a doctoral position via the network. Over the past 30 years, around 4,700 doctors and 1,300 dentists have been trained at the Faculty of Medicine.

Scientifically, the future of medicine will take centre stage over the next few years. With the Else Kröner Fresenius Centre (EKFZ) for Digital Health, there has been a new place for collaboration between medical professionals and technology experts at TU Dresden on campus since 2019.

Together, they are researching how artificial intelligence, innovative implants and sensors can revolutionise the treatment of patients. The aim is to make medicine more digital in order to enable better patient care.

But the faculty is also looking at the past. In spring 2023, a petition called for the name Carl Gustav Carus to be removed from the Faculty's title. He had played an inhumane role in the „racial doctrine“. University medicine respects Carus as an exemplary physician and universal scholar, explained those responsible. The Institute for the History of Medicine is now pursuing a project on Carus that supports university medicine.

How iron influences the bones

The trace element iron is extremely important for human health. The liver is the central organ of iron metabolism. It keeps the amount of iron in the body in an optimal range. If this is not the case, it can lead to problems in the bones. A research project at the Faculty of Medicine is investigating this topic.

Iron deficiency or even too high a concentration impairs bone stability. They favour fractures due to bone loss. The German Research Foundation is funding the FerrOs research group with four million euros. The coordinator is Martina Rauner, professor and one of the heads of the Bone Lab Dresden, which conducts research into bone health. The scientists want to clarify liver-bone communication in iron fine regulation in detail and decipher the role of various proteins. To this end, the Dresden team is co-operating with groups from Heidelberg, Münster, Ulm and Zurich. In addition to Martina Rauner, Ulrike Baschant and Lorenz Hofbauer are also involved as project leaders. The knowledge gained will be used to develop new therapies. They can help to optimise the iron metabolism in patients and thus prevent secondary diseases.

New cells for diabetes patients

In type 1 diabetes mellitus, the immune system mistakenly attacks the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas and destroys them. This leads to an insulin deficiency. Those affected have to inject insulin for the rest of their lives.

A cure would be possible via a transplant. To this end, patients receive pancreas or insulin-producing islets of Langerhans from deceased donors. However, such donor organs are rare. Together with the Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research in Dresden, Barbara Ludwig, Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, is looking for an alternative solution.

The focus is on islet cells derived from stem cells or cells of animal origin. The researchers are developing systems to encapsulate these cells. The capsules are made from biocompatible materials that enable the cells to produce and release insulin while being protected from the immune system. The cells are arranged in the capsules using a microstructure to optimise their functionality. The project is already undergoing preclinical testing in animal models and offers new hope for people with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Radiating the tumour more effectively

Since 2005, the Faculty of Medicine has been one of three supporting institutions of OncoRay, the National Centre for Radiation Research in Oncology. Other partners are the Dresden University Hospital and the Helmholtz Centre Dresden-Rossendorf. Together, the scientists are pursuing the vision of significantly improving the treatment of cancer.

This is to be made possible by biologically individualised and technically optimised radiotherapy. Proton beams have the great potential to treat cancer cells even more precisely and effectively while largely sparing healthy tissue. However, they are susceptible to changes in the anatomy of the patient or the tumour, organ movements and positioning inaccuracies during therapy. A project has been running at OncoRay since 2014 that aims to solve precisely these problems. The researchers are working on a method that measures the range of the protons in the body during radiotherapy. This allows them to reliably recognise deviations from the original plan and react accordingly. The patient only receives the dose that is really important for the treatment. Surrounding tissue is reliably protected.

Sensors transmit vital signs

High-tech specialists and doctors work closely together at the Else Kröner Fresenius Centre for Digital Health at TU Dresden. They are researching new technical possibilities for treatment. Together with electrical engineers, doctor Nora Herzog is developing a wireless standard for body sensors. The aim is to make things easier for patients and hospital staff.

In future, innovative wireless sensors on the skin will automatically transmit the vital parameters of patients to a receiver. All important values, such as blood pressure or temperature, are then visible on a monitor without the need for extra measurements by carers. Monitoring patients becomes easier, and potential problems can be recognised much more quickly. Because everything works wirelessly, patients are even more mobile.

Improving cancer diagnosis

The National Centre for Tumour Diseases (NCT/UCC) is one of the leading centres for cancer research in Germany. The Faculty of Medicine is one of the sponsors. The Dresden University Cancer Centre (UCC) was founded 20 years ago. Since then, more than 120,000 patients have been treated.

In their research projects, the scientists are focussing, among other things, on methods to improve cancer diagnosis. What is the biology of the tumour? What metabolism? And how can it be better visualised during an operation? Oliver Bruns also wants to image blood vessels and nerves, for example, in order to protect them during an operation. State-of-the-art cameras, short-wave infrared light and new fluorescent dyes are used for this purpose.

Article in the "Sächsische SZ" from 15 November 2023