05/06/2020 - Research, Success Stories

Virtual lungs to understand the dynamics of tuberculosis lesions within the lungs

The study focusses on understanding the mechanisms that keep the infection latent without the infected person developing the disease. 90% of people infected never develop the active disease, understanding this mechanism so that we can identify them is key to eradicating tuberculosis. The research has been carried out in virtual lungs, developed by computational modelling techniques. These are the first results to be published by the 3Rs Programme at the Centre for Comparative Medicine and Bioimage (CMCiB) which aims to minimize the use of animals in pre-clinical research.

02/06/2020 - Research

Extracellular vesicles play an important role in the pathology of ‘Plasmodium vivax’ malaria

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a role in the pathogenesis of malaria vivax, according to a study led by researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by "la Caixa", and the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP). The study was carried out at the Can Ruti Campus with the participation of the Genomics Facility of the IGTP, the Nephrology Service of the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital and researchers from the AIDS Research Institute, IrsiCaixa. The findings, published in Nature Communications, indicate that EVs from P. vivax patients communicate with spleen fibroblasts promoting the adhesion of parasite-infected red blood cells. These data provide important insights into the pathology of vivax malaria. 

22/05/2020 - Research

Spain currently has 124,300 active cases of COVID-19 according to the mathematical model developed by the UPC and IGTP

Madrid, Catalonia, Castile and León and Castile la Mancha are the autonomous regions with the highest accumulated numbers of active cases, in contrast, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, La Rioja, Murcia and Asturias have the lowest numbers of active cases. The data forms part of the study of the evolution of the pandemic based on mathematical models being carried out by the multi-disciplinary team of researchers of the UPC and IGTP.

19/05/2020 - Research

The malaria parasite ‘P. vivax’ can remain in the spleen upon expression of certain proteins

The malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax can adhere to human spleen cells through the expression of so-called variant proteins. These are the conclusions of a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by "la Caixa" and the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP). The results, published in PNAS, suggest that this could represent an additional challenge to eliminating the disease.

18/05/2020 - Innovation, Research

The IGTP participates in an international project to validate serological tests for COVID-19

The Innovation in Respiratory Infection and Tuberculosis Diagnosis research group led by Dr José Dominguez and Dr Cristina Prat Aymerich have started a collaboration with the team led by Dr Lluis Cuevas at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to develop and validate new serological techniques for diagnosing COVID-19. The project is financed by the Wellcome Trust (UK).

13/05/2020 - Research

Artificial intelligence identifies a new drug for beta cell regeneration in type 1 diabetes

Researchers from IGTP have published an article on the identification of a drug for beta cell regeneration in type 1 diabetes. The drug is already licenced for use in people with type 2 diabetes. Using artificial intelligence researchers selected the drug from 6,605 candidates and tested it in mouse models. The drug improved hyperglycaemia and results indicate that beta cell replacement took place. More research is needed to explore its use as a new therapy for beta cell regeneration, which should be combined with an immunomodulatory strategy to reduce autoimmunity.

12/05/2020 - Research

The IGTP contributes to the European Society of Endocrinology statement on COVID-19 and endocrine diseases

Manel Puig, acting director of the IGTP, has been one of a distinguished team of three leading endocrinologists to publish a statement and general guidelines on behalf of the European Society of Endocrinology. The document includes advice for endocrinologists and also for patients with diabetes mellitus and other endocrine or metabolic diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement includes guidelines for patients on how to avoid infection and what to do when it is suspected.

07/05/2020 - Research

A new study shows that increasing the number of cycles with temozolomide for glioblastoma patients brings no additional benefits and increases the toxicity of the treatment

The trial, the results of which have been published in been published in the journal "Neuro Oncology", was led by the researcher and medical oncologist Carme Balaña and included a large group of professionals from the ICO.

06/05/2020 - Campus Can Ruti, Innovation, Research

The IGTP coordinates a clinical trial to reduce the number of infections by SARS-CoV-2

The clinical trial will test whether the food supplement Manremyc® protects against infection with SARS-CoV-2 and starts this May. The Pharmaceutical company Reig Jofre is the sponsor of the trial. It is coordinated from the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute together with the IDIAP Jordi Gol Foundation. The trial will last three months and results are expected in October 2020.

30/04/2020 - Campus Can Ruti, Research

Analysis of the first sample of replies to the citizens’ questionnaire on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic

The study has collected close to 62,000 replies to the questionnaire in only 15 days so far. The researchers have carried out the analysis of the results for this initial period. The questionnaire is still available in four languages (and soon in five) and will continue to collect information during the coming phases of the pandemic.