At the IGTP TODAY
The Hereditary Cancer Research Group at the IGTP studies the genetic diseases that bring a high risk of developing cancer, one of which is neurofibromatosis (NF). The group has just started two new projects to study neurofibromatosis types 1 and 2 thanks to the support of the Neurofibromatosis Project Foundation.
Researchers at the Biomedical Research Institute of Lleida (IRBLleida), the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) and the Spanish Networked Group CIBER Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases (CIBERDEM) have shown that adult patients with diabetes type 1 (DT1) have healthier eating habits and stick closer to the Mediterranean diet than non-diabetic subjects.It has been published in the European Journal of Nutrition and is the first study that tracks the adherence to the Mediterranean diet in this type of patient.A study has also evaluated the positive benefits of exercise for people with diabetes type 1.
Researchers of the Cardiovascular Disease Group and the CIBERCV Group, led by Dr Antoni Bayés Genís, have advanced the study of prognostic markers for heart failure, a progressive disease and a public health problem of the first order. They have studied monocyte (a type of white blood cell) count and distribution in a cohort of 400 outpatients with heart failure with a view to showing their predictive value. The study has been published in PLoS One.
A novel study indicates promising avenues in an innovative approach for developing a vaccine against Plasmodium vivax, the most prevalent human malaria parasite outside sub-Saharan Africa. The study indicates the possibility of using small vesicles (or exosomes) secreted by immature red blood cells as a vaccine platform against malaria. The paper was published in the journal Scientific Reports.
A team of researchers from the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital and Institute on the Can Ruti Campus, have started a phase I trial to slow the progress of multiple sclerosis (MS) with a cell product that uses the patient's own cells and reprograms their immune system.
The Genomics and Transcriptomics of Synucleinopathies Group led by Dr Katrin Beyer has moved closer towards finding a definitive biomarker for dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Their most recent work has been patented and the latest results have been published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. This is the next step following on from work on new experimental models, biomarkers in blood samples and sleep disorders in dementia patients described earlier this year on this website.
A study led by the Neuromuscular and Neuropediatric Research Group at the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute shows for the first time that carriers of McArdle's disease can also show symptoms.
Researchers from University of Lleida-Agrotecnio, IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute and ICREA obtained for the first time three different anti-HIV proteins from a single transgenic rice plant and crude extracts from it averted HIV from entering in human cells in vitro. Rice components showed an enhancing effect, further helping to block HIV infectivity. Dr Julià Blanco, researcher from the Institut Germans Trias i Pujol at IrsiCaixa, where he leads the Cell Virology and Immunology group, participated in the study.
In June this year the new Comparative Medicine and Bioimage Centre of Catalonia (CMCiB) started its normal working activities. Located at the highest point of the campus, the CMCiB is a centre promoted by the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) and dedicated to biomedical research and training. The centre is an important addition to scientific infrastructures in southern Europe and is the only one in Spain, it has been set up to become a reference in comparative medicine, bioimaging and computational models with a clear remit to promote alternative research models and methods
A paper published by the IGTP Kidney-affecting Research Group (REMAR) is in the top 100 most read cellular biology papers in Scientific Reports in 2017. The journal published around one thousand articles on cellular biology last year, making the ranking especially remarkable for this paper on which Dr Francesc Borràs is co-corresponding author. The paper is ranked at 54.
