06/02/2020 - Press release
Ten years ago, researchers at Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) and at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) created a computer platform for collecting highly relevant scientific information that had, until then, been scattered across several sources: relationships between genes and diseases. This open access tool called DisGeNET has become a benchmark in the field of research. From now on, it will also have an industrial application thanks to MedBioinformatics Solutions, a spin-off of IMIM and UPF that is to develop software and consulting services that will bring added value to the information of DisGeNET to help companies develop new products and services. The company came to life today, 6 February, with the signing of the deeds of incorporation by the acting director of IMIM, Jorge Martínez, the UPF general manager, Jaume Badia; the researchers and partners of the company, Ferran Sanz, Laura Furlong, Janet Piñero and Olga Valverde, and the investor partners: Frederic Abelló and the companies Prous Institute for Biomedical Research and Icrowd+D.
21/01/2020 - Press release
Cytomegalovirus infection is a highly prevalent pathology among patients who have undergone a kidney transplant. Studies carried out at the Hospital del Mar and the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute indicate that it affects up to 30% of patients in the 6-month period following the operation. That is why finding elements that can act as infection risk markers for this virus is so important. A team of doctors from the hospital and researchers from the IMIM have demonstrated the role that one type of immune system cell, NK (Natural Killer) cells expressing a specific receptor (NKG2C), plays in predicting the risk of developing infection, complementing the existing conventional marker based on T-cell analysis.
14/01/2020 - Press release
Physical activity is related to changes in the structure of our DNA but does not modify the sequence of letters in the genes, its primary structure, according to a study led by researchers at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM). And by exercising in a moderate-vigorous way, i.e. walking briskly every day or doing sport for at least 30 minutes, we can maximise the benefits, This targets one of the key elements in the metabolism of triglycerides, which, in high concentrations, increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. These DNA changes influence the way our genes are read and their expression level.
Més informació "Physical activity modifies the way our DNA works"
16/12/2019 - Press release
A new study has estimated the exact, individualized cost of healthcare for patients being treated in hospital for an occupational disease not recognized by the Social Security. The study was conducted by researchers from the Center for Research in Occupational Health (CiSAL) at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) and the Occupational Health Service at Hospital del Mar As in other countries, Spain has two public health systems. On the one hand, the National Health Service, financed by taxes, covering all residents. On the other hand, the Social Security System is specific for occupational diseases, administered primarily by the mutual insurance companies that collaborate with the Social Security system, funded by contributions by employees and employers, which only offers protection to employees affiliated to the Social Security system.
27/11/2019 - Press release
Outstanding women researchers who use the latest computer advances for biomedical research and directives from companies and institutions in the world of technology and biomedicine will present the latest developments in this field of research and discuss the most immediate challenges at the end of November in Barcelona. The meeting will take place during the first edition of the Advances in Computational Biology (AdvCompBio) conference, which will gather around 200 attendees in the auditorium of La Pedrera in Barcelona on November 28 and 29. In this conference, all speakers and organizers are women, although the sessions will be open to everyone. AdvCompBio is primarily a high-level international scientific meeting, intended to discuss the latest artificial intelligence and big data technologies in computational biology, promote the exchange of experiences and create collaborative networks.
06/11/2019 - Press release
Over the past few decades, various studies have investigated the impact of air pollution on cognitive capacities in children. However, very little research has been done on the changes that air pollution could induce in children's growing brains . A new study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by "la Caixa", with the participation of Dr. Jesús Pujol, the research director of the Hospital del Mar Magnetic Resonance Unit and researcher at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) who carried out the magnetic resonance imaging studies, with the participation of Dr. Jesús Pujol, has found a link between air pollution and changes in the corpus callosum, a region of the brain associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study was carried out as a part of BREATHE, a project whose earlier findings suggest that air pollution has harmful effects on cognitive functions in schoolchildren and is also associated with functional changes in the brain.
02/10/2019 - Press release
It is an initiative with no precedents, 20 relevant people of Catalonia and Balearic Island ask for tackling with urgency the crisis of plastic waste after checking the presence of plastic in its body derived from plasticized food in the entire distribution chain and consumption. Rezero collected 20 urine samples from 20 participants.Once samples were collected, samples were analyzed from Norwegian Institute of Public Health (www.fhi.no/en), referencelaboratory at international level on the detection of metabolic plastic in human samples. Specifically, it have been analyzed the presence of 27 components related to plastic exposition: 15 phthalates and 12 phenols. Results have been supervised by Doctor Miquel Porta, professor of Preventive Medicine and health and researcher at IMIM. He informed to all participants the results face to face and corroborated the faces of surprise and the impact of theparticipants.
08/10/2019 - Press release
Based on a study of 566 drugs that interact with 129 different proteins, researchers from the Systems Pharmacology research group, part of the GRIB Research Programme on Biomedical Informatics, a joint programme between the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) and Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), in collaboration with researchers from the University of New Mexico, in the United States, realised that 71% of drugs have stronger affinities for their target proteins than those of the small internal molecules responsible for regulating their functions. Surprisingly, this is the first time that the affinities of endogenous ligands and drugs for the same proteins have been quantified. Humans have thousands of proteins, each with a specific function that is often regulated by thousands of small molecules synthesised by our bodies. This set of small molecules, also known as "endogenous metabolites", is known as the "human metabolome". Each one interacts with its native protein with a certain affinity that has been carefully optimised, in a natural way, throughout the long process of evolution, and this can vary between species and even in some instances, more subtly, between individuals.
Més informació "Our own bodies hold the key to designing safer drugs"
23/08/2019 - Press release
Researchers from the Molecular Cancer group at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) and doctors from Hospital del Mar, have demonstrated the effectiveness of a drug for treating metastatic bladder cancer in patients who did not respond to the usual treatment. The preliminary results of an ongoing clinical trial show that TAK-228, a mTORC1/2 protein inhibitor, can stop the progression of the disease. Four of the seven patients in the trial showed positive results. The trial also involved Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Barcelona, Hospital Universitari Parc Taulí in Sabadell, Clínica Universitaria in Navarre, and Hospital General Universitario in Elche.
Més informació "Effectiveness of a new bladder cancer treatment demonstrated"
10/07/2019 - Press release
A study led by researchers from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), has determined, for the first time, the importance of a cell mechanism that may be key to treating metastatic tumours. The work has demonstrated the role a protein, kinase IKKα, plays in the ability of tumour cells to repair themselves. This is a key factor in treatment resistance and tumour spread. The research has been published in the journal Molecular Cell. The researchers analysed the role of this protein, activated by mutations of the BRAF and KRAS oncogenes, present in the majority of the most aggressive tumours. The function of this protein is to facilitate DNA-repair in tumour cells after they have been damaged by chemotherapy, making them more resistant to the action of these drugs. This is key for the treatment approach, since this new study demonstrates, conclusively, that combining a BRAF oncogene inhibitor with chemotherapy deactivates and kills the tumour.
Més informació "Mechanism determined for treating the most aggressive tumours"
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