At the IGTP TODAY
The IGTP is participating in this recently launched EU-funded project to explore the biological pathways that may link the alterations observed in the retina with those present in the brain in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). In this way, the RECOGNISED project hopes to use the eye as if it was a window into the brain.
The European Union has granted 10 projects in all of Europe in the area "prevention, treatment and cure of infectious diseases" in the last call for the Horizon 2020 Programme. The only two to come to Spain have been awarded to institutions on Can Ruti Campus (Badalona). One of the studies will investigate the role of the intestinal microbiome in cases of HIV infection and the other the potential of anti-inflammatories as adjuvant therapy for tuberculosis.
The movement is being led by some of the top experts on hepatitis C and public health at national level, including Dr Elisa Martró, leader of the Clinical Virology and New Diagnostic Tools Group at the IGTP and the Microbiology Service at the Germans Trias Hospital. The experts are aiming at cities, where there are higher numbers of people living with the virus and they are also where most new infections occur.
The official kick-off meeting of the consortium INsTRuCT (INnovative Training in myeloid Regulatory Cell Therapy) took place this week in Regensburg, Germany and Dr Eva Martínez-Cáceres, Head of the Immunopathology Research Group, took part. InsTRuCT is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action, within the Horizon 2020 research funding programme. Its members are European researchers from the areas of academia and business and their aim is to carry out basic and clinical research to develop immunotherapies based on myeloid regulatory cells (MRC).
A new study by a multidisciplinary team from the CMCiB-IGTP and the UPC uses mathematical modelling to provide tantalising insights into how the origin of tuberculosis has affected population growth and female resistance to infection. The study published in Scientific Reports, provides mechanisms by which TB infection has helped to shape human society as we know it.
Cristina Vilaplana and Adrià Pujol-Cruells of the Experimental Tuberculosis Unit at the IGTP have used a novel approach to TB research and applied anthropological methodology to make recommendations on how the set up a patient-oriented approach to treat tuberculosis (TB). The article has been published in Frontiers in medicine.
The IGTP-GTP biobanc has won an award for the best oral presentation of a poster, for the team's work on analysing the work of the biobanc over the past 5 years and evaluating the balance between samples stored and requests for samples made. The team demonstrated that the biobanc is dynamic, receiving a steady increase of requests for samples and is able to respond to changing needs from researchers.
The pioneering surgery that took place last May at the Germans Trias Hospital. The bio-implant, based on umbilical cord stem cells, has been developed by the Cardiovascular Disease Research Group (ICREC) at Germans Trias, led by Antoni Bayés-Genís in a research line, which they have been pursuing for 10 years. The new therapy has been developed with the collaboration of the Blood and Tissue Bank (BST) and the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC); this is the first step of the application in clinical practice and the group will continue to monitor safety and the capacity of cardiac tissue to recover
Two groups at the IGTP have taken part in the workshop "Complex Systems" organized by the Èpica Foundation. The experience is a first for the IGTP and has meant that art and science have worked together to produce results for both of them. Èpica is a space for interdisciplinary learning and training for the performing arts run by the Fura dels Baus. The results of the workshop are based on research projects from the IGTP and will be shown this Friday and Saturday 29 and 30 November at the Èpica headquarters in Badalona.
The Neuromuscular and Neuropediatric Group at the IGTP, led by Gisela Nogales-Gadea have identified a subset of patients with an atypical type of myotonic dystrophy type 1 (MD1), which develops later and with more severe symptoms than usual. This has important implications for diagnosis of these patients, who can be misdiagnosed or not given the correct prognosis. It is also vital for managing the disease correctly in patients and their families. The study has been published in Human Mutation.
