02/02/2021 - Covid-19
The effects of the lockdown decreed to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of elderly people in pre-dementia stages were protracted during the de-escalation phase. This is highlighted by a study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, led by researchers from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) and doctors from Hospital del Mar, as well as researchers from the CIBER on the Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN) and the CIBER on Fragility and Healthy Ageing (CIBERFES). The work was carried out in collaboration with the Barcelona βeta Brain Research Center (BBRC). The study involved monitoring sixteen people, between 60 and 80 years old, who are participants in the PIENSA study on the prevention of cognitive deterioration in the stages prior to the onset of dementia. None of them suffered COVID-19. Their activity was exhaustively monitored on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis for two months, which made it possible to compare their progression before, during and after lockdown.
20/01/2021 - General information
The Journal of Clinical Investigation has published a review authored by Michelle von Locquenghien, Catalina Rozalén, and Toni Celià-Terrassa, all members of the Cancer Stem Cells & Metastasis Dynamics Lab at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM). In the article, they analyse current knowledge on the role of interferons -cytokines (proteins) involved in regulating the function of immune system cells- in the mechanisms that allow tumour cells to develop treatment resistance. The authors explain how the relationship between tumour cells and the immune system evolves as the cancer progresses, causing these cells to acquire systems that enable them to resist attack. They point out that the principal mechanisms used to achieve this are related to interferon signalling. In this respect, they highlight new evidence supporting immunotherapy-mediated immunoediting and show how interferons can impact either treatment response or resistance. All these factors lead the authors to support its potential as a therapeutic strategy in cancer.
Més informació "The role of interferons in tumour cell resistance to immunotherapy"
12/01/2021 - Covid-19
Almost half of Spain's healthcare professionals have a high risk of suffering a mental disorder after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, 3.5% are experiencing suicidal thoughts (presence of a death wish and persistent thoughts of wanting to die). This is the conclusion of two studies (MINDCOVID project) that surveyed staff in eighteen hospitals across six autonomous regions of Spain (Andalusia, the Basque Country, Castile and Leon, Catalonia, Madrid and the Community of Valencia), led by researchers from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), the CIBER in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), and the CIBER in Mental Health (CIBERSAM), in addition to doctors from the Hospital del Mar. The data has been published by the Revista de Psiquiatría y Salud Mental and the journal Depression & Anxiety.
29/12/2020 - Press release
A study that has just been published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology shows that high levels of triglycerides (the most common type of fat in the body), as well as those of remnant cholesterol (in triglyceride-rich lipoproteins), increase the risk of suffering cardiovascular disease in high-risk patients, even if they take the usual treatment to control blood cholesterol levels. The work is authored by researchers from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM-Hospital del Mar), Hospital Clínic de Barcelona-IDIBAPS, and the CIBER on the Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERObn).
21/12/2020 - General information
The Codi Risc research project, coordinated by the IMIM Health Services research group and the Neuroscience research group from the Parc Taulí de Sabadell Hospital Consortium, is launching its new website and intranet. Codi Risc is a research project on the prevention of suicidal behaviour based on the Codi Risc Suïcidi (CRS) programme, which was created and implemented in Catalonia in 2014 by the Catalan Government's Department of Health. The purpose of the Codi Risc project is to study the frequency, as well as the epidemiological, clinical, neuropsychological, and biological risk factors involved in suicide attempts and repeated suicide attempts. It also covers the implementation, effectiveness, and costs of the Catalan Government's Codi Risc Suïcidi programme, as well as the development of personalised suicide risk prediction algorithms aimed at preventing suicidal behaviour.
Més informació "Codi RISC research project launches web and intranet"
17/12/2020 - Covid-19
The lockdown declared on 13th March to halt the spread of COVID-19 had a particular impact on people with cognitive impairment, as revealed by a study published in the journal Frontiers in Neurology, carried out by doctors from the Neurology Service at Hospital del Mar and researchers from the Neurofunctionality and Language Research Group in the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM-Hospital del Mar). Six out of every ten patients analysed suffered a worsening of their pre-pandemic condition, according to their caregivers. The study followed 60 patients from the Neurology Service, with an average age of 75, together with their caregivers. A telephone survey was used to assess the functional and neuropsychiatric changes suffered by the patients, in addition to the extra workload put on the caregivers due to the restrictions caused by the pandemic. Their adaptation to lockdown and the safety measures implemented, possible changes in their place of residence, the medical support they received, falls, interruption of cognitive stimulation programmes, and the loss of daily routines were analysed.
16/12/2020 - Press release
T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL) is a cancer of the blood that affects mainly children, but also less frequently adults. In adults, although the response to treatment might be initially positive, relapses are common and have a poor prognosis. A collaborative project between IRB Barcelona's Biomedical Genomics lab, headed by ICREA researcher Núria López-Bigas, Anna Bigas' group at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM-Hospital del Mar), and Josep Maria Ribera's lab at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC) has discovered that the cells responsible for resistance to T-ALL treatment in adults are already present in the tumours before diagnosis.
15/12/2020 - Press release
DNA damage levels and the activity of the polymerase enzyme responsible for cell repair (PARP) increase in lung tumours in patients suffering chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but not in people who do not have this pathology. This is reflected in work by researchers from the CIBER of Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES) and doctors and researchers from the Hospital del Mar Pneumology Service and the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute research group on muscle wasting and cachexia in chronic respiratory diseases and lung cancer (IMIM-Hospital del Mar), published in the journal Cancers This research is of enormous importance given that treating lung cancer with PARP enzyme inhibitors (already in clinical use for other tumours, such as breast and ovarian cancers) is preferentially indicated for patients with an underlying respiratory disease, while the response in people with no COPD is highly controversial.
Més informació "The presence of COPD, a determining factor in lung cancer treatment"
18/12/2020 - Press release
The journal Neurology has just published the most complete and exhaustive study to date on the survival rate and sequelae of patients who suffer a ruptured brain aneurysm, a disease known as subarachnoid haemorrhage. The work was carried out by doctors at Hospital del Mar (from the Neurology, Neurosurgery, Intensive Medicine, Interventional Neuroradiology, Radiology and Anaesthesia and Resuscitation services) and researchers from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM). The results show that the strategy implemented in Catalonia to cover emergency care for this condition produces results comparable to those of the most advanced centres in the world. The data analysed corresponds to 311 patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage treated at Hospital del Mar over the last 12 years. The short-term mortality rate is between 8.7% (one week after treatment, during the hospitalisation period), and 18.4% (after three months). One year after the vascular event, this figure reaches 22.9% and, five years later, 29%. Only 7% of the patients who survived after five years presented disabling sequelae. According to several studies, deaths from this pathology around the world are between 11% and 27.5% in hospital and over 30% after three months.
Més informació "Only 7% of patients treated for a brain aneurysm suffer long-term sequelae"
25/11/2020 - Institutional news
The Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) and the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC) have signed a collaboration agreement with the aim of jointly promoting scientific research, teaching and training personnel in the healthcare field, as well as pooling their efforts to efficiently manage public and/or private resources available for biomedical research activities in the field of haematology-oncology.
Més informació "Strategic alliance with the Josep Carreras Foundation for research into haematology"
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