20/07/2016 - Press release
Lung cancer is the most deadly cancer in the world, causing more than one and a half million deaths a year. The most common subtype of lung cancer is adenocarcinoma. The presence of other underlying conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is also responsible for a high mortality rate in industrialised regions, increases the risk of developing it. Despite recent progress in therapeutic strategies for combatting this disease, the majority of patients who are diagnosed do not survive for more than five years. It is a cancer that can develop silently for many months and, in some cases, the symptoms can be confused with other diseases, such as the already-mentioned COPD. This is why it is usually diagnosed in very advanced stages. To all these impediments, it is necessary to add the difficulty of finding an appropriate treatment for each patient, since there is a high level of resistance to currently-used drugs.
Més informació "A combination of therapies improves lung cancer treatment"
15/07/2016 - General information
Recently, Dr. Jordi Mestres, coordinator of the Systems Pharmacology research group at the IMIM was elected to the Scientific Advisory Board of the Chemical Probes portal, a free internet-based tool that allows researchers to look for the most appropriate chemical probe for their project, before they start their research.Chemical probes are very small molecules that interact with multiple proteins and they have had a huge impact in biomedical research as, if they are low quality, they can generate erroneous results. Understanding the interactions of these small molecules is key in the development of safer, more efficient drugs.
06/07/2016 - Press release
ICS Girona primary healthcare is carrying out a cardiovascular risk self-screening study (ACRISC), in which a thousand people are participating, for the self-management of cardiovascular disease risk. Through software developed specifically for this project, the users take part in the collection and processing of their health data (e.g., blood pressure, lipid profile, weight, and eating habits) and the system, based on the principles of empowerment and interactivity, offers each person tailor-made recommendations, particularly with regard to their diet and physical activity. The study is a collaboration between the Mar Institute of Medical Research (IMIM), the Primary Healthcare Research Support Unit in Girona (IDIAP Jordi Gol) and the Institute of Biomedical Research in Girona (IdIBGi). The first patients, who have been taking part since March and who are aged between 35 and 74, are from the EAP Montilivi and it is expected that they will soon be joined by further participants from the EAP Celrà, to provide profiles of both urban and rural populations.
Més informació "System developed for self-management of cardiovascular risk"
20/06/2016 - Institutional news
The Research Programme into Epidemiology and Public Health now incorporates the "Healthy Cities and Environmental Justice" research group coordinated by Isabelle Anguelovski. This group at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), attached to the IMIM, focuses on the social determinants of healthy and fair cities and as well as the social and health impact of environmental inequality resulting from urban planning decisions and action. The group's coordinator joined the IMIM in early June and it is planned that the rest of the team will be incorporated in September. Isabelle Anguelovski is a senior researcher and principal investigator in the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) at the UAB. A social scientist specialising in urban and environmental planning (PhD, MIT, 2011), her research takes place at the meeting point between urban planning and politics, social inequality, and development studies.
Més informació ""Healthy Cities and Environmental Justice", a new research group at the IMIM"
16/06/2016 - Press release
An international study led by the Neurology Service at Hospital del Mar and the Neurovascular research group at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) has quantified the risk and developed predictors for ischemic stroke in patients with carotid artery stenosis. The results of the study, published in the journal Neurology, have confirmed that there is a high risk of recurrence in the first 14 days after the stroke, which is the recommended time for carotid revascularisation surgery. But since very urgent surgery entails a considerable surgical risk, it is necessary to determine the most appropriate time for undertaking this operation in the fourteen days following the stroke. The study provides a starting point and randomised trials are recommended to determine the benefits and safety of emergency revascularisation as opposed to subacute carotid revascularisation within 14 days after the onset of symptoms.
Més informació "When is the best time to have carotid stenosis surgery after a stroke?"
15/06/2016 - Press release
Bioinformatics Barcelona Association (BIB) launches its websitewww.bioinformaticsbarcelona.eu, which aims to be a reference in the bioinformatic sector at national and international level, and to become the platform for communication and interaction among BIB's partners. Through this website, the association has enhanced its digital presence to become a meeting-point facilitator of initiatives and a think tank for the bioinformatic community. The portal contains sections on the BIB partners and their research groups in the bioinformatic field, and on education and training, job offers and internships, news, activities and news clipping, as well as a section with specific information on the association itself. The website aims to boost the international visibility of our ready-and-available bioinformatic strength, which, through collaboration among partners and together with external agents, can extend current limits to achieve increasingly ambitious goals.
Més informació "BIB launches its website to boost visibility of catalan bioinformatic potential"
07/06/2016 - Press release
A team of scientists led by doctors Rafael de la Torre at Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) and Mara Dierssen at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) have shown that epigallocatechin gallate together with a cognitive stimulation protocol, might improve some cognitive domains in individuals with Down’s syndrome. The results of the phase 2 study will be published on 6th June in the prestigious journal The Lancet Neurology. The findings suggest that participants who had received the treatment had better scores in the visual memory recognition and inhibition tasks, and improvement in adaptive behaviour than those in the control group (placebo and cognitive training). Though not a cure, this is the first time that a treatment has shown some effectiveness in this syndrome, and it opens the door to new research geared towards treating what was believed to be orphan of treatment.
Més informació "Clinical trial opens new avenues for pharmacological therapy in Down’s syndrome"
26/05/2016 - Events
Researchers from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) have, for the first time, demonstrated that measurements of a tobacco-specific nitrosamine in the hair, NNK, correlate with the real risk of exposure to the carcinogens in tobacco smoke in passive smokers. This substance is a much better biomarker than any of the markers measured up to now for assessing this risk and it has been found in higher concentrations in the hair than any other tobacco-specific carcinogen. The study was conducted in collaboration with researchers at the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) and has been published in the journal Scientific Reports. The smoke passive smokers are exposed to differs from the smoke of smokers. Passive smokers are exposed to a lot of chemicals resulting from the combustion of the cigarette, but in addition, certain substances have gone through various activation reactions, making them carcinogenic.
Més informació "Biomarker discovered that measures the risk of cancer in non-smokers"
26/05/2016 - Press release
When bringing to market any new drug efficiency and safety are essential. R+D Departments in pharmaceutical companies spend lots of efforts to make sure the new compounds meet the highest standards. In the process, large amounts of useful information are produced, that traditionally end up buried in the archives of pharmaceutical companies. Committed to avoiding duplicating processes, wasting time and resources, 13 pharmaceutical industries, 7 academic institutions and 5 SMEs launched the eTOX project. The result of the project will be a comprehensive database with toxicity studies for thousands of drugs (or drug candidates) and a collection of original software applications for toxicity prediction.
25/05/2016 - Events
Two translational research studies by the University of Barcelona have described new immunologic mechanisms in psoriasis, a chronic cutaneous inflammatory disease which affects around the 2% of the population. The studies, published in the high impact scientific magazines Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and Journal of Investigative Dermatology , have analysed the molecular processes involved in the IL-17 cytokine –a protein family of the immune system- with samples of patients with psoriasis. These results are important to understand the origins of psoriasis and develop more specific pharmaceutical treatments, since the IL-17 blocking is a new therapeutic strategy which is very effective when controlling this illness. The studies have been led by Lluís Francesc Santamaria, Director of the group of Translationary Immunology of the University of Barcelona based at the Barcelona Science Park, together with researchers of the Hospital del Mar and the Municipal Institute for Medical Research, among others.
Més informació "New evidence on molecular mechanisms involved in psoriasis outset"
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