31/01/2013 - Press release
Researchers from the group on stem cells and cancer at IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute) have deciphered one of the gene regulation circuits which would make it possible to generate hematopoietic blood cells, i.e. blood tissue stem cells. This finding is essential to generate these cells in a laboratory in the future, a therapy that could benefit patients with leukaemia or other diseases who need a transplant and who, in many cases, do not have a compatible donor. The study was developed over 4 years and consisted in performing a large number of experiments with the collaboration of groups from Japan, Holland and the USA. On the one hand, researchers identified the mechanism regulating the gene GATA2 in hematopoietic stem cells of a mouse embryo and, on the other hand, they identified DNA sequences regulating this gene; i.e. the sequences of gene GATA2 where the Notch protein and the repressor HES-1 bind.
24/01/2013 - Press release
Researchers participating in the REGICOR Study (Girona Heart Registry), with the participation of IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute) from Barcelona, the Josep Trueta Hospital, the Blanes Hospital and IDIAP Jordi Gol from Girona (Primary Healthcare Research Institute) have carried out a study to assess the impact of the partial smoke-free legislation passed in 2006 on the incidence of acute myocardial infarction in the province of Girona and observed it has dropped 11%. This decrease has been noticed especially among women, population aged between 65 and 74, and among non-smokers. Researchers analysed data from 3,703 infarctions occurred in Girona between the years 2002 and 2008 and studied whether the number of infarctions had dropped during the period 2006-2008 (after the implementation of the law) compared to the data from the period running from 2002 to 2004 (before the law was in place).
11/12/2012 - Press release
An international project with the participation of researchers from IMIM has, for the first time ever, deciphered the mechanism by which a substance called anophelin binds to an enzyme (thrombin) involved in the process of blood coagulation. This discovery opens the door to, on the one hand, designing a new generation of anticoagulant drugs with a totally different functioning to current ones and, on the other hand, fighting against the spreading of malaria by designing inhibitors for this substance.
Més informació "New anticoagulant discovered based on the same used by malaria vectors to feed on"
04/12/2012 - Press release
Bioinformaticians at IMIM and UPF have used molecular simulation techniques to explain a specific step in the maturation of the HIV virions, essential in understanding how the virus replicates. These results, which have been published in the latest edition of PNAS, could be crucial to the design of future antiretrovirals.The work has been carried out using GPUGRID.net, a voluntary distributed computing platform leveraging GPU accelerators to deliver “virtual supercomputing” performance.
Més informació "Crucial step in AIDS virus maturation simulated for first time"
20/11/2012 - Press release
Exposure to dioxins during pregnancy is associated with endocrine-disrupting effects in male infants. Genitalia distances that normally are longer in males than females, were reduced among male newborns whose mothers had higher exposure to dioxins. This is revealed in a study of 700 pregnant women and newborns from Greece and Spain.
23/10/2012 - Press release
Intake of foods high in acrylamide during pregnancy is associated with lower birth weight and smaller head circumference. This was revealed in an international study of the diet of 1,100 pregnant women and newborns from Denmark, England, Greece, Norway and Spain in which IMIM has participated.
9/10/2012 - Press release
Patients with breast cancer that undergo a selective sentinel lymph node biopsy have a better quality of life 12 months after surgery than those submitted to lymph node dissection. "Until now, there was a slight controversy as to the benefits in terms of the quality of life of patients undergoing a sentinel lymph node biopsy compared to a lymph node dissection.” says Roser Belmonte, a doctor at the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Hospital del Mar-Esperança and a researcher at IMIM.
04/10/2012 - Press release
Researchers from IMIM, have succeeded in determining the function of a new variant of enzyme IKKalpha (IKKα) to activate some of the genes taking part in the tumor progressions of colorectal cancer. In the future, this fact will make it possible to design new drugs that inhibit this enzyme specifically and are less toxic for the remaining body cells, hence improving the treatment for this disease.
Més informació "New function of a protein involved in colon cancer is identified"
25/07/2012 - Press release
Researchers from IMIM have deciphered the function executed by a protein called ?-catenin in generating blood tissue stem cells. These cells, also called haematopoietic, are used as a source for transplants that form part of the therapies to fight different types of leukaemia. The results obtained will open the doors to produce these stem cells in the laboratory and, thus, improve the quality and quantity of these surgical procedures. This will let patients with no compatible donors be able to benefit from this discovery in the future.
19/06/2012 - Press release
Researchers at the IMIM (Institut de Recerca Hospital del Mar) have proven that the absence of the 14-3-3 protein sigma in breast cancer cells is directly associated with these cells’ capacity to activate the signalling of a protein complex called NF-kB, which is related to tumour progression. The activation of NF-kB in tumours was also identified as the best indicator for relapse in breast cancer patients, compared to other parameters currently used, such as the presence of affected ganglions or the tumour’s size and degree.
Més informació "A new indicator for breast cancer relapse identified"
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