Rücklab – Psychiatry research at Karolinska Institutet

The latest publication from Rücklab is a new article first-authored by PhD student Olly Kravchenko, with Ralf Kuja-Halkola, Christian Rück, and John Wallert among the co-authors. The study was published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

The study investigated whether machine learning can help predict, before treatment begins, which patients are likely to experience clinically meaningful improvement from internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (ICBT) for depression, panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder. Using data from 1,790 patients, the researchers combined clinical and sociodemographic information with data from national registers and genetics to develop and validate several predictive models.

Models incorporating register data performed better than a simpler model based on screening data alone, while genetic polygenic scores did not provide additional predictive value. The findings are a promising step towards tools that could help identify patients who may need more tailored support from the outset. The next step is prospective validation in new patients.

Congratulations to Olly and all co-authors!

Read the full article: https://www.jmir.org/2026/1/e100162

Hej!
Arbetar du inom psykiatrisk heldygnsvård, bedriver forskning inom området, är beslutsfattare eller representerar du en brukarorganisation?

Välkommen till en 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 om svensk psykiatrisk heldygnsvård som anordnas den 𝟮𝟬 𝗼𝗸𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲. Detta är en save the date inför dagen, och vi hoppas att du vill delta och bidra med din kunskap och erfarenhet.

Vad? Nationell hearing om psykiatrisk heldygnsvård, arrangerad av CAPRI och Forte.

När? 20 oktober 2026, kl. 11.00–16.00.

Var? Stockholm (plats meddelas senare).

För vem? Kliniker av alla professioner, forskare, beslutsfattare och brukarorganisationer.

Arrangör: Dagen arrangeras av Centrum för tillämpad psykiatrisk forskning och innovation (CAPRI), tillsammans med Forskningsrådet för hälsa, arbetsliv och välfärd (Forte). CAPRI är ett forskningscentrum som arbetar för att stärka kunskapen om vård för personer med svåra psykiatriska tillstånd och utveckla insatser för högintensiva vårdmiljöer som heldygnsvård. Läs mer här: CAPRI. 

Beskrivning av hearingen

Syftet är att samla kliniker av alla professioner, forskare, beslutsfattare och brukarorganisationer för att identifiera de viktigaste utmaningarna i heldygnsvården, samt diskutera vilken ny kunskap som  kan förbättra vården.

Hearingen är en del av CAPRIs arbete med att stärka vården för personer med svåra psykiatriska tillstånd genom att utveckla kunskap om psykiatrisk heldygnsvård och skapa ett underlag för framtida forskningsprioriteringar. 

En formell inbjudan med program och praktisk information skickas ut i augusti. Vi hoppas att du har möjlighet att reservera dagen och ser fram emot att träffa dig i Stockholm den 20 oktober.

Här kan du lägga in din mail för att försäkra dig om att få inbjudan: Registrera din e-post för inbjudan här. Vid eventuella frågor, hör gärna av dig till Penny Taka på penny.taka@ki.se. 

Vänliga hälsningar,

Christian Rück

Today our research group meeting had the honor of welcoming Roland Paulsen as a guest speaker. He gave an interesting talk on the sociology of risk, which was attended and enjoyed by representatives from numerous research groups. If you would like to know more about Roland’s work, you can find his website here.

Thank you, Roland, for sharing the important work that you are doing!

The Rück Research Group is staying productive: this time it’s our very own Sim Jamil whose first-authored article on intense prolonged exposure therapy for PTSD was published in BMC Psychiatry!

Together with her co-authors, Christian Rück and Maria Bragesjö, Sim found such therapy to be a time-efficient alternative to weekly care. We look forward to seeing her continued work on this topic!

You can read the article, titled Feasibility of intensive prolonged exposure for PTSD: a pragmatic pilot study in Swedish public outpatient psychiatry, in full here! 🥳

We are happy to announce that yet another article is coming out of the Rück Research Group! This time, Christian Rück and colleagues are co-authors on a paper titled “Genome-wide association study of major anxiety disorders in 122,341 European-ancestry cases identifies 58 loci and highlights GABAergic signaling”.

In this large genome-wide study, the researchers identified 58 independent genome-wide significant risk variants for major anxiety disorders and found substantial genetic correlation between major anxiety disorders and depression, neuroticism and other internalizing phenotypes. The findings also highlight GABAergic signaling as a potential mechanism, advancing our understanding of the genetic basis of major anxiety disorders.

Congratulations to everyone involved! 🎉

Link to Article

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Below are two recent news items from the past weeks involving the research group leader and Professor of Psychiatry, Christian Rück.

A couple weeks ago, Christian Rück took part in a wide-ranging discussion on mental health on the talk show Skavlan & Sverige, hosted by Fredrik Skavlan. The panel also included Pernilla Wahlgren, Gabor Maté, Ebba Witt-Brattström, Nisse Hallberg, Elaine Eksvärd, and Ludmila Engquist. Link: Episode Skavlan

In a second news item, Christian Rück appeared as an expert in a TV4 report on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The report was based on Mikaela Eklund’s personal experience of living with OCD. Christian Rück explained how the disorder can manifest and stressed that effective treatments are available – primarily cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and medication. Link: Tv4

Last week, the entire CAPRI team gathered for a conference day meant to kick off the new research center. We discussed organization of the operations, how to proceed with the various tracks, and the state of psychiatric research in general. Jakob Forssmed, the Swedish Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health, joined the discussions in the afternoon, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing psychiatric care and its availability. Along with other guest speakers and delicious meals at Hantverket, this brought interesting discussions, effective team building, and great inspiration!