San Raffaele SpA

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 25, 2026 -- COVID-19 vaccination, especially with a booster dose, is associated with reduced odds of preeclampsia (PE), according to a study published online Feb. 18 in eClinicalMedicine . Paolo Ivo Cavoretto, M.D., Ph.D., from IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, and colleagues analyzed individual-level data from pregnant women prospectively enrolled from 18 countries in two consecutive cohorts between 2020 and 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic to examine whether vaccination affects the risks for PE. Of 6,527 pregnant women, 2,166 (33.2 percent) and 3,753 (57.5 percent) were diagnosed with COVID-19 and were unvaccinated, respectively. Overall, 64.7 percent of the 2,774 vaccinated women received mRNA vaccines; 848 (30.6 percent) received a booster dose in addition to the initial regimen. The researchers observed an independent association between COVID-19 and PE (adjusted odds ratio, 1.45), especially in unvaccinated women (adjusted odds ratio, 1.78). Vaccination had a protective effect against PE during the index pregnancy, after adjustment for confounders (adjusted odds ratio, 0.85), which was stronger with a booster dose (adjusted odds ratio, 0.67). The odds were reduced among women with preexisting morbidities who received a booster dose (adjusted odds ratio, 0.42), which was mainly seen in women diagnosed with COVID-19. The magnitude of the effect was not altered with adjustment for study site and cohort year. "We now have evidence that maternal vaccination may influence pathways involved in preeclampsia development, suggesting a broader immunological or vascular benefit of vaccination," senior coauthor José Villar, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, said in a statement. Abstract/Full Text

We are pleased to invite you to the Dr. Falk Pharma satellite symposium on Thursday, 19 February 2026, during the 21st Congress of ECCO. Established therapies continue to play a key role in the management of IBD and related diseases. This symposium highlights practical, evidence-based approaches to optimize their use, particularly 2nd-generation corticosteroids, to improve patient outcomes. Our program features discussions led by renowned experts, including: Oral and rectal treatment: The power of established IBD drugs Prof. Geert D’Haens (Amsterdam UMC, the Netherlands) Ulcerative proctitis and left-sided colitis: A to Z of treatment Dr. Tommaso Parigi (IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy) Recognizing the overlooked: Mild-to-moderate CD and the microscopic colitis you didn’t expect Dr. Rupa Banerjee (AIG Hospitals, Hyderabad, India) Performance with precision: Meet the 2nd-generation steroid for EoE Prof. Luc Biedermann (University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland) Oral and rectal treatment: The power of established IBD drugs Prof. Geert D’Haens (Amsterdam UMC, the Netherlands) Ulcerative proctitis and left-sided colitis: A to Z of treatment Dr. Tommaso Parigi (IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy) Recognizing the overlooked: Mild-to-moderate CD and the microscopic colitis you didn’t expect Dr. Rupa Banerjee (AIG Hospitals, Hyderabad, India) Performance with precision: Meet the 2nd-generation steroid for EoE Prof. Luc Biedermann (University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland) Join us in Room A11 for an engaging and interactive discussion as we advance the plot with established therapies. We look forward to your participation and the opportunity to connect with you at ECCO 2026, as we advance the conversation on optimizing IBD treatment together. Our booth no. is 23!

FRIDAY, Oct. 24, 2025 — A family riven by divorce or separation could triple the risk of a child developing psoriasis later in life, a new study says. The severe stress caused by such family upheaval might tax a child’s immune system in ways that increase their chances of this autoimmune skin disease marked by rapid cell growth that causes scaly, itchy rashes, researchers said. “Our results show — to our knowledge — a previously unreported fact that very stressful life factors early in life influence the immune system and increase the risk for autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis ,” said lead researcher Johnny Ludvigsson , a professor at Linkoping University in Sweden. “There is no simple advice to avoid these factors, but everything that can be done should be done to protect young children from stressful life factors that threaten their security and emotional well-being,” Ludvigsson said in a news release. For the new study, researchers tracked data on more than 16,000 children participating in a Swedish health study, noting their stressful life factors at ages 1, 3, 5 and 8. Of the children, 121 were later diagnosed with psoriasis. Kids had a tripled risk of psoriasis if they’d experienced a significant change in family structure within their first year of life, researchers found. Divorce, separation or the death of a parent could cause insecurity and fear in a young child, which “seems to make the child extra vulnerable when it happens in the first year of life,” Ludvigsson said. “This fits with the knowledge that very young individuals seem to be more vulnerable to the immunomodulatory effects of stressful life factors than older children and adults,” he said. “The reason for the effects may be that these factors lead to a defense response that includes increased cortisol concentrations, which in turn influence the immune system.” Figuring out how early stress affects the immune system might help researchers figure out why psoriasis occurs, said Dr. Luigi Naldini , a professor of cell tissue and biology at the San Raffaele University School of Medicine in Milan. “The present study suggests that the story of psoriasis is not written solely in genes and immune circuits,” Naldi, who was not involved in the research, said in a news release. “It may also be shaped by lived experiences, beginning early in life.” The new study appears in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology . Sources Elsevier, news release, Oct. 21, 2025