At the IGTP TODAY
Researchers at the IGTP and Germans Trias Hospital have published new research in Frontiers in Immunology on the behaviour of dendritic cells (DC) during the development of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in children. These cells are involved in both the destruction of beta cells in T1D and the regulation of the immune response. This paper fills an important gap in knowledge about the disease in children.
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.
The VIII edition of the Pedrera Talents prizes were presented last Thursday at the Pedrera. Three institutions participate in the awards, promoted by the Catalunya la Pedrera Foundation: they are the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), the Clinic Hospital Barcelona and the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology.
Last Friday the first update meeting at national level to take a global view of the healthcare situation and present the latest research data for Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) took place at the IGTP. This pioneering event was organized by the members of the National Reference Centre in genetic neuro-cutaneous syndromes (Facomatosis), (CSUR) on the Can Ruti Campus and also included patients and families affected by the disease.
To celebrate World Diabetes Day we will literally be talking about the illness at the IGTP; several members of the Immunology of Diabetes Group, which is led by Marta Vives-Pi and concentrates on research into diabetes type 1, will be taking part in talks and discussions in scientific and public forums during the next few days.
Researchers from the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital and Institute have developed and successfully validated a new one-step screening method to diagnose active hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in people who inject drugs. The new method will permit better planning of future more effective actions to improve diagnostics and treatments for this vulnerable group. The study also estimated the prevalence of HCV infection in this community and showed that many people tested do not know that they are infected.
This week the IGTP and other centres hosted the “Can Ruti Open Door Session” within Science Week in Badalona; the Science Week is a national event organized by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT). This year nearly 200 high school students from various educational centres have visited the research facilities at nine different organizations on the Can Ruti Campus and learned about studies taking place there.
On Friday 8 November the first of the series of popular science talks organized by the Friends of Can Ruti (Amics de Can Ruti) took place in the Joan Coromines Library in Masnou and the Sant Andreu Library in Llavaneres. This is the second series of informative talks and once again they are inspired by the topic of this year's TV3 Marathon, which is rare diseases. Professionals from the IGTP and the Germans Trias Hospital are taking part.
The results point to a much more active role for pancreatic beta cells in type 1 diabetes than previously appreciated and suggests a mechanism that may play a key role in other auto-immune diseases.
Yesterday evening the ceremony to present awards to the 43 projects that will receive funding for cancer research from the 2018 edition of the La Marató de TV3 and Catalunya Radio was held at the Academy of Medical Sciences. Three of the projects will be carried out under the leadership of Germans Trias professionals.
