At the IGTP TODAY
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The figure forms part of the study of the evolution of the pandemic, based on mathematical models, being carried out with the support of the "la Caixa" Foundation by a multidisciplinary group of researchers from the UPC and the IGTP. The data show that there were at least 2.5-2.7 million accumulated cases in Spain on 26 April and 600-800,000 cases in Catalonia. According to the analysis, the delay between the appearance of symptoms and registration in the official statistics is between 10 to 14 days.
The emergency ventilator RESPIRA, developed by GPAINNOVA, with the support of the Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute and the University of Barcelona have passed the first stage of the clinical trial with the first two patients affected by COVID-19 successfully. With the first phase complete, the study can be expanded to other hospitals in the region. Thanks to the support received from the public, companies and administrations today the first 100 emergency ventilators c have been delivered to the SEM for distribution.
The Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS) has today given the green light to test the device developed by the company GasN2 with the support of professionals from the Hospital Clínic Barcelona, the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) and the University of Barcelona (UB). The prototype uses a system of electro pneumatic valves to supply and control the volume of oxygen necessary for each patient. Support from civil society, companies and administrations has been key to the development of the design and industrial scaling up of the model to contribute to the provision of the ventilators needed by the health system.
The IGTP has received funding in the extraordinary call published by the Department of Research and Innovation of the Department of Health (DGRIS) with the collaboration of AQuAS and Biocat and aimed at all the Iriscat centres for research into coronavirus. The two projects, focussed on the immune response of health professionals on the frontline with the virus, have joined the forces of the IGTP, IrsiCaixa and research and healthcare in the context of primary and hospital healthcare. A third project, led by Dr Julià Blanco, researcher at IrsiCaixa and the IGTP has also received funding.
