Two studies show the way ahead for better non-invasive monitoring of kidney transplants

Members of the Kidney-affecting Diseases Research Group and the Innovation in Vesicles and Cells for Application in Therapy (REMAR-IVECAT) have recently published two studies led by Dr Francesc E. Borràs, which identify possible biomarkers of irreversible damage to transplanted kidneys; a pathology that eventually causes them to stop working. The papers have been published in the International Journal of Molecular Science and the Journal of Nephrology.

The IGTP Participates in 3 Projects funded by the 2019 Edition of La Marató

The Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) has received a total of 305,680 euros for three projects on rare diseases in which it participates or coordinates. In total the three projects have received financing of more than a million euros, to be divided between the several institutions participating. This edition of the fundraising marathon will fund a total of 41 biomedical research projects of excellence on rare diseases. The projects aim to provide better diagnosis at birth and provide more efficient and safer treatments to improve quality of life and extend the lifespans of people affected.

Protein or mRNA? Which will be the future for TB diagnosis?

In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology members of the Innovation in Respiratory Infections and Tuberculosis Diagnosis Group tested a new diagnostic technique developed in Denmark. The technique performed to similar standards as the tests currently in use. Researchers are aiming to develop a better tool to detect latent cases of tuberculosis (TB).

Mireia Ramos Rodríguez is awarded the prize for the Best Research Paper by a Predoctoral Student by the Catalan Institute of Health

Mireia Ramos Rodríguez is a bioinformatics post-doctoral researcher; she focusses on defining the changes in cis-regulatory elements that can lead to the development of disease and programming to provide tools for other researchers to carry out their analyses. She has been awarded the Prize for Best Research Paper in Health by a Predoctoral Researcher for her article published in Nature Genetics.

A multi-disciplinary team identifies new ways to classify glioblastoma patients and points to new therapies

A consortium led by Dr Carmen Balaña of the Badalona Applied Research Group in Oncology (B-ARGO Group) of the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) Badalona at the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) has published two papers that indicate better ways to stratify glioblastoma patients, which could allow doctors to make predictions about prognosis and make better decisions about which treatments to apply.

Two therapies together are better than one in an experimental model of Type 1 Diabetes

The Immunology of Diabetes Group, led by Dr. Marta Vives-Pi, have published a paper in Scientific Reports on a successful combination therapy for a type 1 diabetes (T1D) model in Scientific Reports. In this study they continue their work on a drug that re-programmes pancreatic cells in mice with T1D), by combining it with an immunotherapy they have also developed.

The first projects on SARS-CoV-2 in lab-designed mini human organs gets underway

The Centre for Comparative Medicine and Bioimage of Catalonia (CMCiB), of the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), will be the second centre in Catalonia to work on the SARS-CoV-2 virus obtained directly from patients. Until now most work has taken place with artificial viruses that can only infect once. Research staff of IrsiCaixa and the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE) have started to work on the virus in the CMCiB to study the infection of organoids; mini organs designed in the laboratory to simulate human lungs and brains. Organoids are already being used in research and their use in studies into COVID-19 will provide better understanding of infection by SARS-CoV-2 and the capacity of different drugs to eliminate it from these tissues.

Researchers discover a mechanism that can increase survival in patients with advanced prostate cancer

Researchers from the IGTP, ICO and IDIBELL have observed that advanced prostate cancer cells that have become resistant to standard treatment have an Achilles heel that can be attacked with a combination of chemotherapies .

Validation of  this cellular mechanism would permit identification  of patients who have developed resistance to standard treatments and the implementation of more personalized medicine for prostate cancer.

A new IGTP spin-off to develop a medical device for improving the diagnostics and prognostics of acute ischaemic stroke

Researchers from the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) together with doctors from the hospital have developed a medical device to improve the diagnostics and prognostics of acute ischaemic stroke. The objective of the technology is to optimize the current clinical algorithm for this type of ictus so that medical staff can take the correct decisions for each patient, before and after admission to hospital. To develop the medical device the spin-off company Time is Brain, led by Dr Alicia Martínez-Piñeiro has been created by the IGTP.

Germans Trias joins the International study on using the BCG vaccine against COVID-19 in healthcare workers

The Can Ruti Campus joins an ambitious international study to test the possible protective effects of the anti-tuberculosis (BCG) vaccine against COVID-19. In Spain the provision is for 1,000 healthcare workers to take part. The Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital and Research Institute is taking part with Dr Antoni Rosell, Clinical Director of the Thorax Department at the hospital leading the project and the participation of the Pulmonology, Preventive Medicine and Pharmacy together with two research groups working on tuberculosis at the IGTP led by Dr Pere-Joan Cardona and Dr José Domínguez.