20/06/2025 - Press release
People with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) who suffer from sarcopenia, or loss of muscle capacity, have higher levels of a protein called myostatin, which, under normal conditions, helps regulate muscle growth. Elevated levels of this protein trigger a series of reactions in the muscle cells, preventing regeneration and growth after damage, leading to muscle mass loss in these patients. This was revealed by a study from the Hospital del Mar and the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, which opens the door to developing treatments targeted at this protein to reverse this situation.
Més informació "Researchers Discover the Cause of Muscle Loss in Some COPD Patients"
20/05/2025 - Press release
A study from the Hospital del Mar, the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, and the Reference Laboratory of Catalonia validates the effectiveness of combining a molecule, apotransferrin, with existing antibiotics to treat the antibiotic-resistant bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The research, published in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, opens the door to a new strategy for tackling the problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria by preventing them from accessing the iron they need to complete their life cycle. The new drug combination enhances the ability of antibiotics. Additionally, apotransferrin is a drug already used in other diseases, which could facilitate its use in bacterial infections.
13/03/2025 - Press release
A study led by the Hospital del Mar Research Institute has established the importance of immunoglobulin A, an antibody that is part of the immune system, in generating a response to pneumonia vaccines. Researchers have found that the absence of this antibody leads to an overgrowth of gut microbiota, triggering an excessive and sustained immune system response, which ultimately becomes exhausted and fails to respond effectively to vaccines. The study, published in Science Advances, opens the door to exploring the possibility of early immunoglobulin therapy administration to prevent this process and reduce the risk of potentially dangerous infections, even in at-risk individuals without a diagnosed immunodeficiency.
Més informació "The relationship between gut microbiota, immunoglobulin A, and vaccine efficacy"
02/10/2024 - Press release
· Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients who die had, years earlier, a higher presence of about thirty proteins in their blood related to inflammation and coagulation. · Detecting these proteins allows for a very accurate prediction of future mortality risk in patients with stable COPD, according to a multicenter pilot study led by Hospital del Mar, recently published in the journal Cells. · Researchers used various models to predict mortality risk through an AI-assisted program developed by the Biomedical Informatics Research Group at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, one of which reached a precision level of 95%.
Més informació "Blood markers identified to predict long-term mortality in stable COPD patients"
23/07/2024 - Press release
Chest ultrasound enables quick and easy identification of patients who may have a worse prognosis due to pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. The published work is a collaboration between Hospital del Mar and Doctors Without Borders, published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. This diagnostic tool, with proper training and access to portable ultrasound devices, is particularly useful in resource-limited countries due to its ease of bedside use.
15/02/2024 - Press release
A study by Hospital del Mar and Hospital General de Catalunya shows that this new type of device is three times more effective than previous models in completely closing the aneurysm. Moreover, in a safe way. It is published in the Journal of Neurointerventional Surgery. The new generation of stents for the treatment of cerebral aneurysms is more effective and safer, according to a study by Hospital del Mar and Hospital General de Catalunya that has just been published in the Journal of Neurointerventional Surgery. In fact, they are three times more effective, with practically no complications.
Més informació "Efficacy of the new generation of stents to treat cerebral aneurysm validated"
01/03/2023 - Press release
Low levels of a particular protein in squamous cell carcinoma cells indicate that they are preparing to start migrating to other organs, thereby causing the tumour to spread to other areas of the body. This is according to a study by the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, which has just been published in the journal Life Science Alliance. Tumour cells prepare to migrate by changing their metabolism so that they can consume lipids, in other words, cholesterol molecules. This raises the possibility of studying ways to block this process and prevent tumour metastasis.
Més informació "Marker discovered that shows when a type of skin cancer is preparing to metastasise"
20/01/2023 - Press release
A person's biological age, in other words, the real age of their body, which is independent of chronological age and which can be measured in specific blood tests, is conditioned by their lifestyle habits. A study by the Neurovascular Research Group at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, published in the journal Biology, has for the first time associated a higher biological age with the presence of an indicator of brain ageing, white matter hyperintensities, areas of the brain that blood has a harder time reaching. Lifestyle habits influence the DNA configuration and determine biological age. If these habits are modified, DNA ageing and, therefore, biological ageing can be slowed down, thereby decelerating the increase in white matter hyperintensities in brain tissue.
12/09/2022 - Press release
Patients admitted due to SARS-CoV-2 infection with imbalanced levels of two immune system cells, CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes, have a worse prognosis and a higher risk of death. Having more than twice the number of CD4 lymphocytes than CD8 lymphocytes increases the probability of dying from the infection by 4.6 times and the chances of experiencing respiratory distress by two times, according to a study by physicians and researchers from Hospital del Mar, the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, and CIBERINFEC, published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine. This finding leads the study's authors to recommend a more aggressive therapeutic approach for these patients from the moment of admission. Additionally, they believe that this situation may be repeated in other viral infections.
28/07/2023 - Press release
A study by cardiologists at Hospital del Mar and researchers at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute reveals that more than half of the people treated for the arrhythmia known as atrial flutter will suffer an episode of atrial fibrillation in less than a year. The risk of atrial fibrillation reaches 86% in those patients who score higher on a risk scale designed by the team, prompting the need for more accurate monitoring of these patients because of the likelihood that they could suffer other cardiovascular problems, such as a stroke. The study, published in the Journal of Cardiology, was funded by the 2014 La Marató de TV3, dedicated to heart disease.
Més informació "Patients with arrhythmia are at greater risk of suffering atrial fibrillation"
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