At the IGTP TODAY
The seed-funding round for the IGTP Spin-off Time is Brain has reached its financing objective in record time almost as soon as it opened. The company opened the round on the platform Capital Cell and has not only reached the goal of 640,000, but has passed it and received 800,000, the figure the spin-off had set as a maximum.
Researchers from the IDIAP Jordi Gol Foundation, CEEISCAT and the IGTP have shown that a strategy to improve early detection of HIV by primary healthcare providers is effective. When a patient is diagnosed with an illness or group of symptoms which could be related to HIV, an alert appears on the screen of the doctor attending in the form of a pop-up, which recommends a blood test. The results of the project, which have been presented at the international conference HepHIV, show that primary healthcare centres with the system in place are detecting 50% more positive cases than those which don't.
Time is Brain SL, a spin-off of the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), has just announced a round of equity seed-funding of 640,000 euros. The company is developing a medical device to improve the diagnostics of acute ischaemic stroke (AIS).
The Innovation in Respiratory Infections and Tuberculosis Diagnosis Group have used powerful genomics and computational tools to look at the genomes and phenotypes of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from patients on mechanical ventilation, suffering from different types of infection. The study, published in Toxins, identifies differences that could help doctors better manage patients with S. aureus infections in the future
A study published in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology shows that clonal haematopoiesis is an important pathological process that accelerates and aggravates the clinical progression of heart failure, independently of the presence of atherosclerosis. The researchers of the Heart Disease Research Group the IGTP have participated in the study, led by the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) and the Hospital Universitario Virgen de Arrixaca in Murcia.
A research group led by the Sant Joan de Déu Research Institute, with the participation of the IGTP, has shown that reduced levels of betaine in maternal milk are associated with more rapid growth of the baby during the first months of life, this is a risk factor for childhood obesity. The researchers have studied the changes in the presence of this nutrient in animal models and have observed temporary changes in the intestinal microbiota and long-term changes in their metabolic health.
Scientists of the ICREC group at the Germans Trias i Pujol Research institute (IGTP) continue to refine their technology for repairing cardiac tissue after a heart attack. In a paper published in Bioactive Materials they present their latest work in which they use implanted scaffolds containing no cells, but extracellular vesicles that promote the repair of myocardium damaged in a heart attack.
In February the project started on-site in 7 of a total of 26 primary schools and high schools that are taking part in the Sentinel Schools Study. The project is being set up and coordinated by the CEEISCAT, a research group at the IGTP that aims to monitor and evaluate the covid-19 pandemic in schools in Catalonia in order to be able to design health and education policies for the immediate future.
11 March is World Kidney Day and this year it is focussing on quality of life for people living with kidney disease. Currently 10% of the world population is affected by chronic renal disease (CRD) and more than 2 million people receive dialysis or kidney transplants worldwide. At the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) the Kidney Disease Group and the Innovation in Vesicles and Cells for Application in Therapy Group (REMAR-IVECAT) led by Francesc Borràs is working on improving diagnosis and treatments for these diseases. The group studies biomarkers for non-invasive monitoring of the conditions in patients and they are also study the application of advanced therapies. In fact they are pioneers in the use of extracellular vesicles as a therapeutic tool for kidney disease.
The Experimental Tuberculosis Group at the IGTP has set up this trial, coordinated from Can Ruti, within the European project H2020 ‘SMA-TB’. The study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of adding acetylsalicylic acid or ibuprofen to the antibiotic treatments applied for tuberculosis. It is a phase II trial which will be carried out in South Africa and Georgia, two of the countries the WHO has in its sights to control this infectious disease. The trial has been prepared in the midst of the pandemic, with the added challenge of coordinating it with the restrictions and different stages of the epidemic in each of the countries involved.
