21/01/2020 - Press release
Cytomegalovirus infection is a highly prevalent pathology among patients who have undergone a kidney transplant. Studies carried out at the Hospital del Mar and the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute indicate that it affects up to 30% of patients in the 6-month period following the operation. That is why finding elements that can act as infection risk markers for this virus is so important. A team of doctors from the hospital and researchers from the IMIM have demonstrated the role that one type of immune system cell, NK (Natural Killer) cells expressing a specific receptor (NKG2C), plays in predicting the risk of developing infection, complementing the existing conventional marker based on T-cell analysis.
29/10/2019 - Institutional news
The high levels of environmental noise we are subjected to in large cities can increase both the severity and consequences of an ischaemic stroke. More precisely, researchers from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) and doctors from Hospital del Mar, together with researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), CIBER in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), and Brown University, in the United States, put the increased risk at 30% for people living in noisier areas. In contrast, living close to green areas brings down this risk by up to 25%. This is the first time that these factors have been analysed in relation to stroke severity. The study has been published in the journal Environmental Research.
Més informació "Living in a noisy area increases the risk of suffering a more serious stroke"
28/06/2019 - Press release
The ageing of NK lymphocytes circulating in the blood of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer is a marker that can predict the success or failure of monoclonal antibody therapies, which act on a specific factor in tumour cells. This is the conclusion of a study led by researchers from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) and the Pompeu Fabra University, and doctors from the Hospital del Mar, published in the journal Cancer Immunology Research. The study also involved staff from the Medical Oncology Service at Hospital Clínic in Valencia, the Pathological Anatomy Services at Hospital del Mar, Fundación Jiménez Díaz in Madrid, and the Immunogenetics Service at Puerta de Hierro University Institute, also in Madrid. It involved analysing blood samples from 66 patients, immunogenetic and functional studies of the NK lymphocytes of these patients, as well as analysing tumour biopsies. The ageing of these cells was measured by quantifying the NK lymphocytes in the blood that express the CD57 molecule. The results show that patients with high blood counts at the time of diagnosis are more likely to be resistant to chemotherapy and anti-HER2 antibody treatment.
Més informació "Possible marker of treatment resistance in HER2 breast cancer identified"
04/04/2019 - Press release
Doctors and researchers at Hospital del Mar and the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) have shown, for the first time, that osteoporosis and bone fractures in HIV sufferers is caused by the body's response to the presence of the virus, in the form of inflammatory processes, and not only the antiretroviral treatment, as was previously believed. The study, published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, used a bone-quality measuring technique designed in the United States in collaboration with staff from Hospital del Mar, together with a protocol developed by the same people, which shows that the risk of fractures is related to the inflammation caused by the chronic infection. This represents a change in how this problem is conceived, as well as how it is approached. The study involved staff from the Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine services at Hospital del Mar, as well as members of the IMIM's Musculoskeletal Research Group. Dr. Todd T. Brown, from Johns Hopkins University, in the United States, also participated.
Més informació "Paradigm shift in how bone fractures are avoided in HIV patients"
19/11/2018 - Press release
Having certain specific variants of the PATJ gene predisposes to worse recovery from ischemic stroke. 7 out of 10 patients with these variants suffer severe sequelae three months after having a stroke, in other words, they are in a situation of dependence, compared to less than half of patients who do not present these variants. This is data from an international, multicentre study coordinated by researchers at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) and doctors from the Hospital del Mar, published in the journal Circulation Research. This is the most important research carried out so far in the field of genetics and stroke prognosis, and the first published: it uses data from more than 2,000 patients and involves 12 centres from around the world. The study was carried out thanks to the help of the 2010 edition of La Marató de TV3.
Més informació "Gene vital for post-stroke recovery identified for the first time"
11/07/2017 - Press release
Researchers at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) have shown for the first time that immunoglobulin M, secreted by the human intestine, plays a key role in maintaining the diversity of intestinal flora by including and maintaining microorganisms that are beneficial to our health. These results have been published in the prestigious scientific journal Immunity. "We have discovered that, in addition to immunoglobulin A, (IgA), immunoglobulin M (IgM), secreted by the human intestine, interacts with the intestinal microbiota and actively participates in maintaining its diversity. In addition, we have demonstrated that this immunoglobulin is part of an immunological memory system through which our organism is able to recognise and adapt to its microbial environment", explain Giuliana Magri and Laura Comerma, researchers from the B Cell Biology research group at the IMIM and first authors of the article.
Més informació "Key immunological mechanism for regulating intestinal flora discovered"
04/05/2017 - Events
Researchers at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) and the University of Barcelona have uncovered a mutation that makes bone vulnerable to bisphosphonates, drugs used to combat osteoporosis. Instead of strengthening bone and preventing fractures, these medicines induce a critical problem that makes the femur more prone to breaks. This discovery, enormously significant clinically, was published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, the most important biomedical journal in terms of potential impact. Osteoporosis causes fractures that affect up to 40% of people over the age of 50. Bisphosphonates are efficient and cheap, making them the first line of treatment for this condition. Nevertheless, they have been associated with atypical fracturing of the femur. "Despite the rarity of this complication and the fact that many more fractures are prevented than induced, fear of this complication has led to the prescription of these drugs being criticised, especially for long-term treatment", explains study leader Dr. Adolf Díez, emeritus head of internal medicine at Hospital del Mar and a researcher in the musculoskeletal research group at the IMIM.
28/07/2016 - Press release
Cardiologists at the Hospital del Mar and researchers from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) have developed a new tool that enables them to estimate atrial fibrillation risk using electrocardiogram indicators, basic clinical data, and parameters obtained through Holter monitors (small electronic devices that record and store a patient's electrocardiogram for 24 hours). The results of the project have just been published in the International Journal of Cardiology. Atrial fibrillation is a disease characterised by uncoordinated and disorganised atrial beats that produce a rapid and irregular heart rate. It is estimated that it affects between 1.5 and 2% of people in the developed world and the percentage increases with age.
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"
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?"
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