Through the testimony of Òscar Luri, who has suffered from diabetes for 40 years, we explain how the innovative technology developed thanks to the collaboration of researchers from the IISPV, the Sant Joan University Hospital in Reus and the URV has significantly improved the prevention and treatment of the disease and its complications, such as diabetic retinopathy
Óscar Luri has been a patient of Dr Pere Romero, head of the ophthalmology research group at the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV) and head of this service at the Sant Joan University Hospital in Reus, for 20 years.
He is 54 years old and suffers from type I diabetes. He was diagnosed at the age of 13. His father, who worked in the health sector, was immediately aware of the health implications of this disease and the need to act in time: he took him to some camps for girls and boys with diabetes, aimed at teaching them small healthy habits and how to take care of themselves.
Careful monitoring of this type of patient is essential, as the complications of the disease can significantly reduce quality of life. Diabetic retinopathy is one such complication. It is a common eye condition that causes loss of vision and can lead to blindness if not treated early. Óscar is monitored in Dr Romero’s office at the hospital: “I feel that they take care of me like my family would: they are always very attentive to how I am doing”.
Óscar Luri (al centre de la imatge, amb la mascareta) amb els seus companys de feina del CAP Sant Pere de Reus, on treballa.
It is precisely this commitment to patients and their care that has led Dr Romero’s team to work to advance science in order to offer the most innovative, personalised and effective treatments to the people he cares for. In collaboration with the URV’s Department of Computer Engineering and Mathematics, they have developed 2 software programs (called Mira and RETIPROGRAM) based on artificial intelligence. The first is a reading algorithm that reads the patient’s data extracted from the photo of the ocular fundus taken with a retinography or non-mydriatic camera (this is the test used to detect diabetic retinopathy) and determines, for each patient, the risk of suffering from it and, if they have it, the degree of development (mild, moderate or severe). The RETIPROGRAM, on the other hand, is a predictive algorithm: it uses indicators such as the patient’s age, weight, height, blood pressure, haemoglobin level and renal status to assess how often the test should be performed in order to be well controlled. “This latest software will therefore help us to rationalise this type of test: we will do it in a personalised way, when it is determined that it is necessary to do it, and not when the healthcare system sets it as a standard.”
This technology is based on a portable device: “a retinograph, but… portable”, explain the health professionals in Dr Romero’s team.
Óscar taking the fundus examination test with the “transportable retinograph” that is currently used in a pilot phase at the Sant Joan University Hospital in Reus, among other centers, and that works in accordance with the 2 registered softwares.
The test to detect diabetic retinopathy by examining the fundus of the eye is performed once a year (usually, but it depends on the patient) in certain primary care centres and hospitals, mostly in cities. Thanks to this new technology and the portable system, people with diabetes who live in rural areas or who have difficulty moving will not have to travel they will be able to be examined by their family doctor at their primary care centre.
Image of a fixed retinograph, which is currently used (in some primary care centres and hospitals). This type of device allows us to detect eye conditions that cannot be seen with the naked eye, such as microneurisms or small haemorrhages.
This software and the “portable retinograph” are being used in a pilot phase at the Ophthalmology Service of the Sant Joan de Reus University Hospital and with patients from 5 of the 11 primary health care areas that we have in our territory (Cambrils, Reus, Riudoms, La Selva del Camp and Ulldemolins). It is estimated that around 14% of this population (around 30,000 people) suffer from diabetes: “In our area we only have 3 non-mydriatic retinal chambers, one of which is in our hospital. With these, we can photograph a maximum of 10,000 patients per year, no more. So there are 20,000 people we cannot reach. So we have to prioritise: RETIPROGRAM allows us to do this by stratifying these patients: we start with those who are most at risk, and for those who do not need to be photographed every year, we extend their visits,” explains Dr Romero.
Screenshot of the Mira programme analysing the image of the fundus of a patient’s eye taken with a retinograph. In this case, the programme has detected diabetic retinopathy, which it considers to be severe.
More than 10 years of work by researchers from the IISPV and the URV in the field of diabetic retinopathy and artificial intelligence, respectively, have resulted in the creation of the spin-off company RetinaReadRisk, in which these partners are involved: the IISPV, UP2Smart (URV), Grupo TRC (Telefónica) and GENESIS Biomed. The company was created within the framework of the RetinaReadRisk project, which has received co-funding from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Health and the European Union under Grant Agreement 230123.
The spin-off RetinaReadRisk will be responsible for marketing the software, which will help to integrate the technology into the Catalan public health system in the future.
Project consortium
RetinaReadRisk
RetinaReadRisk is the spin-off created within the framework of the European project Retina Read Risk, and founded by Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV), GENESIS Biomed, UP2Smart and Grupo TRC in February 2023, it aims to bring a solution to facilitate screening of diabetic retinopathy. The creation of the company emerged from a project supported by EIT Health, an aspect that also gives it an international projection. The new spin-off RetinaReadRisk benefits from more than 10 years of work from researchers and hopes to attract private and public funding in the next 2-3 years to be able to finalize the development of the product and commercialize the solution developed during Retina Read Risk project. More information
Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV)
L’IISPV és un institut de recerca biomèdica situat a la província de Tarragona (Catalunya, Espanya) que combina la investigació clínica i bàsica per accelerar la translació del coneixement en benefici dels pacients. Fundat el 2005, l’institut integra l’Hospital Universitari de Tarragona Joan XIII, l’Hospital de Tortosa Verge de la Cinta, l’Hospital Universitari Sant Joan de Reus, l’Hospital Universitari Institut Pere Mata i la Universitat Rovira i Virgili, per tal d’aglutinar i gestionar la investigació biomèdica i la innovació al territori. L’IISPV pretén ser un centre de referència nacional i internacional en investigació i translació biomèdica, al servei de la població, vinculant els centres sanitaris a la comunitat. Més informació
Institut Català de la Salut (ICS)
The Catalan Institute of Health (ICS) is the largest public health services company of Catalonia with a staff of over 53,031 professionals, that provides health care to nearly six million people across the country. As a reference entity of the public health system, the aim of ICS is to improve people’s health and quality of live, through the provision of innovative and excellent health services, regarding both the promotion of health and the treatment of diseases, from the most prevalent to the most complex ones. ICS structure includes 953 primary care centres and local consultancy, 8 Hospitals and 7 research institutes, including IISPV as a one of them. Our organization mission states to be a model that, through its structure and participants, responds to projects of strategic relevance to the ICS, guaranteeing the capacity and sufficient knowledge to execute them in short terms and obtaining fast returns in the form of results and value for the organization. ICS’ vision would become a reference and reliable model for all management structures, corporate and territorial, and ICS professionals to promote innovative projects, advise on their approach and relate, if necessary, external agents that collaborate in its deployment and / or provide resources. Since mid-2021 till mid-November 2023, Mr Francesc Iglesias, responsible of the Research and Innovation support office of ICS, has been the chairman of the Governing Board of EIT Health Spain, being actually the vicechair of the EIT Health Spain foundation and Chair of INNOLIFE. More information
Telefónica
Telefónica is one of the world leaders integrated operator in the telecommunication sector, providing communication, digital services, information and entertainment solutions, with operations in 12 countries in Europe and Latin American and with a global present in 38 countries. As of the end of 2022, Telefónica’s total number of customers amounted more than 383 million and 103,000 professionals. Telefónica spends more 3.700 million euros each year on technological innovation, including more than 714 million euros on R&D of new products, services and management systems and improvement of existing ones. In the health sector, Telefonica is working in several areas like Telemedicine, geo-localised transport of living tissue between hospitals, assisted surgery operations with 5G and VR, AI applied to disease detection, etc. Més informació
Grupo TRC
Grupo TRC has over 30 years of experience working hand in hand with groups of hospitals, developing applications to optimize and integrate all activities and processes of a health center in a unified platform.
The experience in the integration of advanced telecommunications systems, in the deployment of voice operator and connectivity services and in the development of customized software, both public and private sectors, national and international, are the guarantee of the commitment to the quality of our deployments, solutions and services. More information
GENESIS Biomed
GENESIS Biomed is a consultancy firm in the biomedical healthcare sector specialized in providing consulting services in the genesis and first phases of lifecycle of biomedical spin-off and start-up companies, entrepreneurs, and research centers.
Based in its expertise GENESIS Biomed helps entrepreneurs and researchers to shape their business plan and supports them in the private fundraising process. GENESIS Biomed has raised >68,5 M€ in the last years in 20 rounds.
GENESIS Biomed expertise domains are biopharmaceutical, biotechnological, medical devices, in vitro diagnostic, nutraceutical and cosmetic. With more than 20 years of expertise in the healthcare sector, GENESIS Biomed is born in May 2017, and it is located in the Barcelona Science Park, and also with company sites in Madrid center and at La Marina in Valencia. More information
E-Senior
E-Seniors is a French non-profit association, founded in 2004 by Monique EPSTEIN. E-Seniors aims at fighting against e-exclusion by providing access to and training in ICT to seniors and/or disabled people. Its main objectives are bridging and shrinking the digital gap between generations, caring for elders by fighting against senior isolation, and opening new horizons for efficient use of free time. Besides teaching “basic computer skills”, E-Seniors has opened more thematically oriented workshops for “advanced” students, dealing with, for example, digital images and sounds, interactive messaging and chat, “writing memories”, and meetings dealing with the fight against e-exclusion. Through its work for elderly people and with them, the association tries as well to enhance awareness of the importance of ICT solutions in everyday life. More information
Fondation de l’Avenir
The Fondation de l’Avenir is a non-profit organization that funds, supports and promotes applied medical research for the benefit of patients. Created in 1987 by French mutual healthcare associations, it has been recognized as a public-interest non-profit since 1988. Today, the Foundation is the link between the mutual-healthcare movement and public health stakeholders. The Fondation de l’Avenir has more than 43,000 donors as well as 40 partners from the social and solidarity economy, working in concert to advance medical progress. The Foundation has funded more than 1,300 projects since its creation, including many world firsts. It is managed by an Executive Board, chaired by Marion Lelouvier, under the control of a Supervisory Board, chaired by Matthias Savignac. More information
EIT Health
EIT Health is a network of best-in-class health innovators with approximately 130 partners and is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union. We collaborate across borders to deliver new solutions that can enable European citizens to live longer, healthier lives.
As Europeans tackle the challenge of increasing chronic diseases and multi-morbidity, and seek to realise the opportunities that technology offers to move beyond conventional approaches to treatment, prevention and healthy lifestyles, we need thought leaders, innovators and efficient ways to bring innovative healthcare solutions to market. EIT Health addresses these needs. We connect all relevant healthcare players across European borders – making sure to include all sides of the “knowledge triangle”, so that innovation can happen at the intersection of research, education and business for the benefit of citizens. More information
EIT Health: Together for healthy lives in Europe.
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You can contact us through this email: contact@retinareadrisk.eu
The company was created within the framework of the RetinaReadRisk project, which has received co-funding from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Health and the European Union under Grant Agreement 230123.
Disclaimer
The RetinaReadRisk project is funded by the European Union. However, the views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the EIT. Neither the European Union nor the authority that grants the subsidy can be considered responsible for these.
Reus, 19 September 2024. Researchers from the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV), Rovira i Virgili University (URV) and other research centres in the Tarragona area (the Catalan Institute of Chemical Research -ICIQ– and the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution -IPHES-) will participate on Thursday 26 September, at 18h at the firaReusEvents in Reus, in the “microtalks” science outreach “Research for Change”. These talks are part of the programming of the “European Night of Research”, an informative event that for seven years has been promoting the Universidad Rovira i Virgili (URV) in the demarcation of Tarragona with the main objective of bringing science closer to citizens .
The scientific micro-talks are promoted by the IISPV in collaboration with all these institutions, the Reus City Council (through the Department of Economic Promotion, Innovation and Knowledge and REDESSA) and the URV. Their aim is to disseminate science through short talks – about 10 minutes each – in language that is understandable to non-specialized audiences. The programme is as follows:
The director of the IISPV, Dr. Joan Vendrell, points out that “initiatives like these are very important so that citizens become aware of the importance of research (in the health field, in our case), and how the studies we do contribute to improving their lives”.
The councilor for Economic Promotion, Innovation and Knowledge and CEO of REDESSA, Josep Baiges, highlightes “collaboration and networking with the URV and the scientific institutions of the territory to bring scientific research advances closer to the population with these informative days” and he recalls that one of the axes of work of this mandate is to “make Reus a city of science and innovation”.
Admission is free and open to all citizens. Pre-registration at: https://bit.ly/3yuF7Hs
The session of scientific micro-talks is part of the extensive program of activities planned for the European Night of Research, a great informative event organized by the Universidad Rovira i Virgili. The central activity is the fair of scientific workshops for family audiences that will fill the Plaza Corsini in Tarragona with half a hundred proposals on September 27 in the afternoon and September 28 in the morning. The workshops, from all scientific disciplines, will be given by more than 200 researchers from the URV and the research institutes of the territory: IISPV, ICAC, ICIQ and IPHES.
During the week of September 23 to 27, more than 30 scientific workshops have also been scheduled in the institutes of the demarcation and on Sunday 29 the Museum of the Port of Tarragona will host the scientific workshop “Plastificados!”, which will raise awareness about the problem of microplastics and how to identify them. It will be taught by Joaquim Rovira, researcher in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences of the URV.
The program of the European Night of Research also includes an exhibition of scientific photography that can be visited until October 7 in the Central Market of Tarragona and a fair of scientific workshops that will be held on October 4 in the Plaza de Spain of Tortosa.
The European Night of Research is possible thanks to the co-financing of the Horizon Europe research and innovation program of the European Union and the collaboration of the consortium coordinated by the University of Girona and of which other Catalan universities and public institutions are part.
The entire program of the European Research Night can be consulted on the website: www.tarragona.nitdelarecerca.cat
Reus, September 23, 2024. Researchers from the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV), the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) and other research centres in the Tarragona region (Institut Català de Recerca Química -ICIQ-, the Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology -ICAC- and the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution -IPHES-) will take part in the “microxerrades de la ciència” (scientific micro-talks) “Research for Change” on Thursday 26th September at 6pm at firaReusEvents in Reus.
This initiative, promoted by the IISPV with the collaboration of all these institutions and the City Council of Reus (Department of Economic Promotion, Innovation and Knowledge and Reus Economic Development -Redessa-), aims to disseminate science to the public. The presentations scheduled (each lasting 10 minutes) are as follows:
The importance of childhood nutrition in the prevention of obesity”, by Verónica Luque, researcher at the Pediatric, Nutrition and development Research Unit (PEDINUR) of the IISPV and the URV.
“The role of psychology in public health”, by Carlos Gómez Martínez, pre-doctoral researcher in the Food, Nutrition, Development and Mental Health Research Group (ANUT-DSM) of the IISPV.
Pros and cons of storing information in the cloud”, by German Telmo Eizaguirre, PhD student in the Cloud Computing Research Group Cloudlab at the URV.
Transforming waste into polymers for a more sustainable future”, by Marc Palà, pre-doctoral researcher in the Sustainable Polymers Research Group (SUSPOL) at the URV.
Sarcopenia, an obstacle to healthy ageing”, by María de la Sierra Besora Moreno, postdoctoral researcher in the Functional Nutrition, Oxidation and Cardiovascular Disease Research Group (NFOC-SALUD) of the IISPV and the URV.
Human fossils in Italy: Altamura and other stories”, by Costantino Buzi, researcher at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES).
Life behind the clock or the clock behind life”, by Aleix Ribas, researcher at the Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases Research Group (DIAMET) of the lISPV.
Rapid diagnosis as a tool to fight antibiotic resistance”, by Beatriz Prieto Simón, ICREA researcher and group leader at the Catalan Institute for Chemical Research (ICIQ).
Creativity and leadership to improve the lifestyles of the elderly and young people in rural environments”, by Claudia Jiménez ten Hoevel, pre-doctoral researcher at the NFOC-SALUD of the IISPV and the URV.
Admission is free and open to all citizens.
The consumption of nuts to prevent diseases is attracting increasing interest in recent years. A study with more than a million participants from all over the world and led by the IISPV-URV and the University of Copenhagen will make it possible to deepen this line of research, with the aim of promoting change at a global level in the field of health public ensuring that dietary guidelines are designed based on these foods and that their recommendations form part of the public health or medical protocols that are followed to attend to patients and prevent diseases.
The research (started this February and will continue for 3 years) is funded by the International Nut & Dried Fruit Council and will analyze follow-up studies of people from different parts of the world (from almost every continent: Europe, America, Asia and Oceania), to observe the relationship between the frequency with which they consume nuts and their state of health, and thus determine whether these foods are associated with the appearance, over the years, of chronic non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident, diabetes or so-called neurodegenerative diseases (such as dementia and Alzheimer’s). It will also assess whether those people who frequently consume tree nuts have a lower risk of mortality.
This study is innovative because, on the one hand, it is one of the few that is carried out on a global scale (so far research in this field has mostly been carried out in Europe and the United States of America), and because, on the other hand, will use a type of statistical tool called meta-analysis, which will allow analyzing and comparing data obtained in the study of 26 cohorts or groups of people from different parts of the world. “Previous studies carried out in several countries have used different techniques to analyze their data. Therefore, it is difficult to compare them and reach a conclusion, as well as to determine whether nuts are convenient or not for the prevention of diseases. In addition, what has been published so far comes mainly from studies carried out in Europe and the United States, so these data are not representative of what happens in other parts of the world. To be able to communicate worldwide dietary recommendations, it is necessary to analyze data from different parts of the world. This is exactly what is intended with this research. If it is observed that nuts are beneficial for the prevention of chronic diseases, given their versatility, health professionals could recommend their consumption as snacks or appetizers, or use them in the preparation of daily meals”, explains Dra. Marta Guash Ferré, who is responsible for leading the investigation, together with Dr. Jordi Salas Salvadó, head of the Food, Nutrition, Development and Mental Health Research Group (ANUT-DSM) of the IISPV-URV-CERCA and CIBERobn (Instituto Carlos III).
For his part, Dr. Jordi Salas states: “Although some studies have been carried out worldwide, it would be important to bring together the existing information from each of them to definitively understand what the scientific evidence tells us about the consumption of nuts in the context of disease prevention”.
The research team
This collaborative project (named Nut Consumption and Prevention of Non-communicable Diseases: A Global Individual Participant Data Meta-analysis (NUTPOOL) is led by Dr. Marta Guasch and Professor Jordi Salas, and includes researchers from Denmark and Spain: Postdoctoral researchers from the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) are part of the team. In Spain, the team of researchers includes Dr. Nancy Babio, associate professor of Nutrition and Dietetics of the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) and the senior postdoctoral researchers of the Human Nutrition Unit of the IISPV-URV-CIBERobn, Sangeetha Shyam and Jesús Francisco García-Gavilán.
It is a new scientific finding by the DIBIOMEC research group (made up of researchers from the IISPV and the Urology Service of the Joan XXIII Hospital in Tarragona) that could open new avenues for more effective and personalized treatments for this type of patient pacients
Tarragona, September 20, 2024. Prostate cancer (PCa, for its acronym) is the most common among men in Spain (with more than 30,000 new cases diagnosed each year). It is the second leading cause of cancer death in most Western countries. Although it usually develops slowly and in its initial stages it affects only the prostate (causing minimal damage), if it spreads to other parts of the body, such as bones and lymph nodes, it can be fatal. In fact, the number of serious cases is significant. Therefore, it is important to diagnose it early, to make the right choice of treatment and prevent it from getting worse.
The DIBIOMEC Research Group (Biomarkadores de Enfermedades y Mecanismos Moleculares) of the IISPV and composed of professionals from the Urology Service of the Joan XXIII Hospital in Tarragona, had previously discovered that the periprostatic adipose tissue (also called fat), which surrounds the tumors of prostate, favors the growth of these by providing them with fats so they can develop and proliferate. Recently, these researchers have made another discovery that could represent a new turning point in the approach to the disease: they have identified that this tissue secretes vesicles whose content causes changes in the genes of tumor cells. This contributes to it proliferating and triggering an inflammatory process, enhancing its aggressiveness. Specifically, the molecules responsible for this genetic change in the tumor – according to the study – are known as microRNA, located inside these vesicles secreted by the fat that surrounds it. This discovery offers new strategies for the development of innovative and personalized treatments.
Tumor microenvironment: another important finding
The tumor microenvironment is the cellular environment in which the tumor lives. It includes nearby blood vessels, fat, immune cells, fibroblasts, other cells, signaling molecules and the extracellular matrix. This study also underlines the need to consider the tumor microenvironment when designing new therapeutic strategies since, in the words of Dra. Matilde Rodríguez Chacón, head of the DIBIOMEC Group, “its role is key: it is enhancing the aggressiveness of tumors, and not only in prostate cancer, but in the case of other cancers such as breast cancer, stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer… Now it has been seen that the fat that surrounds the different tumors has a very substantial role and should not be overlooked”.
Bibliografic reference: Sánchez-Martin, S., Altuna-Coy, A., Arreaza-Gil, V. et al. Tumoral periprostatic adipose tissue exovesicles-derived miR-20a-5p regulates prostate cancer cell proliferation and inflammation through the RORA gene. J Transl Med 22, 661 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-024-05458-3
Els aliments amb un nivell glucèmic alt es relacionen amb un menor nombre d’espermatozoides i més baixa mobilitat, segons un estudi del grup de recerca NuMeh de l’IISPV i la URV
Un estudi dels grups de recerca en Nutrició i Salut Metabòlica (NuMeH) i del Centre de Tecnología Ambiental, Alimentària i Toxicològica (TecnATox) de l’Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV) i de la Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), ha posat de manifest la importància de la qualitat dels carbohidrats a la dieta per a la salut reproductiva masculina. Els resultats d’aquesta recerca, liderada per la responsable del grup NuMeh del IISPV i Catedràtica del Departament de Bioquímica i Biotecnologia i investigadora ICREA a la URV Mònica Bulló, han estat publicats a la revista World Journal of Men’s Health.
La infertilitat, definida per l’Organització Mundial de la Salut (OMS) com la incapacitat per aconseguir un embaràs després d’un any de relacions sexuals regulars sense protecció, afecta moltes parelles a tot el món. S’estima que entre el 40 i el 50% dels casos d’infertilitat estan relacionats amb factors masculins, particularment amb la qualitat del semen, que pot veure’s afectada per diversos causes ambientals i d’estil de vida, incloent-hi l’alimentació. Així, s’ha descrit que seguir una dieta mediterrània amb elevat consum de vegetals, llegums, fruites i peix es podria associar a una millor qualitat del semen, mentre que altres components nutricionals com els greixos saturats, les carns vermelles o l’alcohol podrien tenir un efecte perjudicial.
L’estudi destaca que, tot i que més del 50% de l’energia consumida en la dieta prové dels carbohidrats, hi ha poca informació sobre com la qualitat d’aquests influeix en la salut reproductiva. En aquest context, la investigació va analitzar la relació entre l’índex glucèmic i la càrrega glucèmica de la dieta, dos indicadors clau de la qualitat dels carbohidrats, i diversos paràmetres de qualitat del semen en més d’un centenar d’homes sans d’entre 18 i 35 anys.
Els resultats van indicar que el consum d’aliments amb un alt índex glucèmic, que reflecteix la rapidesa amb què un aliment augmenta els nivells de glucosa en sang, s’associava amb un menor nombre d’espermatozoides i una reducció en la seva mobilitat. Això suggereix que la ingesta d’aliments com farines refinades, aperitius, begudes ensucrades i llaminadures podria estar vinculada a una pitjor qualitat del semen.
La recerca ressalta la necessitat de considerar la qualitat dels carbohidrats no només pels seus efectes metabòlics generals, sinó també pel seu impacte en la salut reproductiva masculina. Els resultats subratllen la importància de seguir una dieta equilibrada i d’alta qualitat, com la dieta mediterrània, que afavoreix el consum de vegetals, llegums, fruites i peix, per millorar la qualitat espermàtica i, en conseqüència, la fertilitat masculina.
Referència bibliográfica: Mateu-Fabregat J, Papandreou C, Gutierrez-Tordera L, Rojas M, Novau-Ferré N, Mostafa H, Bulló M. Dietary Glycemic Index and Load and Semen Quality: A Cross-Sectional and Prospective Analysis within the FERTINUTS Trial. World J Mens Health. 2024 Apr;42:e53. https://doi.org/10.5534/wjmh.230328.
Dr Sonia Fernández-Veledo, head of the Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases (DIAMET) research group at the IISPV and coordinator of the Metabolic Diseases and Nutrition research area at the same institute, has recently been appointed deputy scientific director of CIBERDEM (Centre for Biomedical Research Network on Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases).
CIBERDEM brings together 29 research groups from all over Spain that are leading studies and projects in the field of diabetes and related diseases. CIBERDEM brings together research groups with different profiles and skills (both clinical and basic), made up of professionals from hospitals, research centres and universities. The research is therefore fundamentally multidisciplinary, collaborative and diverse, with the aim of contributing to improving the health of people with diabetes.
Reus, 21 June 2024. In general, genetics plays a very important role in the development of mental illnesses. In the case of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, for example, it is estimated that 80% of the factors involved are genetic, with the remaining 20% having to do with the environment in which we live. The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that one in four people will suffer from a psychiatric disorder during their lifetime.
The Research Group on Genetics and Environment in Psychiatry (GAP) of the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV) and the Pere Mata University Hospital has been studying the genetics of mental illness for more than three decades and has now received a grant of almost 1,700,000 euros from the Carlos III Health Institute (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation) to continue this line of research. This financial boost will allow them to launch the project, known as CESPED, which aims to develop a new clinical screening protocol to better detect and personalise a type of alteration consisting of the loss or gain of genetic material, which is often the cause of psychiatric diagnoses.
The screening protocol that this team of researchers will use will include parameters that have not previously been considered by psychiatric professionals and that are related to this change. This protocol will also be based on other medical conditions, such as whether the person suffers from heart problems, has a deficient immune system or whether the level of calcium in the blood is higher than normal. In addition, the shape of the face and the composition of its elements will be taken into account, as unusual facial features (eyes that are too far apart or a deformed lip or ear) could indicate the presence of this disorder. Finally, an inexpensive genetic test will be added to the screening tool. With all this data, researchers will be able to assess the likelihood that the patient is a carrier of a loss or gain of genetic material.
It is estimated that about 4% of people with a severe psychiatric diagnosis carry one of these genetic variants that explain their illness. If the risk is high, the research team will recommend that the patient be assessed in a clinical genetics unit and facilitate referral to this service.
In the future, this genetic information will allow psychiatrists to diagnose and treat some of the most common disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other psychoses, earlier, more effectively and in a more personalized way.
The research team that will carry out this study is coordinated by Dra. Elisabet Vilella, director of Research at the Institut Pere Mata University Hospital and Deputy Director of the IISPV and is made up of 17 research groups from hospitals all over Spain. Twelve of these groups are part of the prestigious mental health research network CIBERSAM, funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III. In addition, the Clinical Genetics Unit of the clinical laboratory of the Catalan Institute of Health Camp de Tarragona and Terres de l’Ebre (located at the Joan XXIII University Hospital) has been added to the study, which will participate in the project intervening in diagnosis and genetic counseling, and developing continuous training for mental health professionals in order to facilitate the identification of possible cases. In addition, it will identify cases that deserve to be referred to the respective clinical genetics units for advice.
The Clinical Genetics Unit
The Clinical Genetics Unit of the Joan XXIII University Hospital begins its first steps in 2019 to respond to the needs of patients with minority diseases and to the demand of healthcare professionals to advance in the field of diseases with genetic basis and personalized medicine. During those years, this multidisciplinary unit, made up of people with different professional profiles, has been consolidating and is presented in society practically at the same time as this important collaboration with the Pere Mata Institute.
This scientific collaboration between mental health teams and the Clinical Genetics Unit may highlight the future need for multidisciplinary teams to detect, identify and follow up people with genetic variants implicated in their psychiatric diagnosis.
Tarragona, June 20, 2024. 0.4% of the population in Spain (about 300,000 people) suffers from Crohn’s disease, according to the Confederation of Associations of Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis Patients of Spain (ACCU). Every year 3,500 cases are diagnosed. It may seem like an unrepresentative percentage, but the consequences for the health of these patients are enormous: it is a chronic disease; In many cases, it completely limits the life of those who suffer from it and 50% must undergo surgery in the first 10 years of receiving the diagnosis to undergo an intestinal resection, a very aggressive surgical intervention that involves removing the damaged piece of intestine. . On the other hand, it is one of the main causes of school absenteeism (an average of 3 months) and depression among the adolescent population.
Crohn’s is part of the so-called inflammatory bowel diseases (like ulcerative colitis). It causes severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, fatigue, nausea, bleeding, etc., which also ends up impacting the emotional health of those who suffer from it.
The study of this disease is therefore essential to contribute to improving the quality of life of these people. In this sense, the Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Research Group (IBODI) of the IISPV, the Joan XXIII University Hospital of Tarragona and the URV, has led research that has made a revolutionary discovery possible: it has identified, for the first time, the genes that are altered in the stem cells of the fat or adipose tissue that borders the damaged intestine of these patients. This alteration causes the natural functions of these cells to be disabled, thus weakening the intestine and promoting inflammation. Adipose tissue therefore has a key function for the good health of this organ, since it protects it from adverse conditions such as those described previously.
Specifically, the IBODI research group, led by Dr. Carolina Serena, has identified 2 altered genes that play an important role in Crohn’s disease: MAB21L2 and CACNA1H. The MAB21L2 gene is directly associated with patients who suffer from the disease (it is more active in their adipose tissue), and CACNA1H is more linked to patients who had previously suffered flares, but who have managed to stabilize and not have more relapses (they have it in a state of remission). This finding has been made in collaboration with the High Content Genomics and Bioinformatics Unit of the Germans Trias i Pujol Institute, the Colorectal Surgery Unit of the Valle Hebron Hospital in Barcelona and the Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases Research Group (DIAMET) of the IISPV.
Another of the significant discoveries of this IISPV study refers to these latter patients: it has been found that the stem cells of their adipose tissue retain the memory of inflammation. In this sense, Dr. Carolina Serena explains: “If we can better understand how adipose tissue stem cells are affected by inflammation and how they maintain this inflammatory memory, we could develop more effective therapies that not only treat the symptoms, but “They also stop the progression of the disease and improve the quality of life of patients.”
Cutting-edge technology
For this study, cutting-edge technologies in the field of research have been used, such as so-called omics, thanks to which it has been possible to obtain a huge volume of information with very precise data. These advanced tools make it possible to study diseases with very careful results with samples of patients that are not too large: for this research, for example, 30 people (healthy and with the disease) have been evaluated.
Bibliographic reference: Article: D. Monfort-Ferré, A. Boronat-Toscano, J.F. Sanchez-Herrero, A. Caro A, M. Menacho, I. Vañó-Segarra, M. Martí, B. Espina, R. Pluvinet, L. Cabrinety, C. Abadía, M. Ejarque, C. Nuñez-Roa, E .Maymo-Masip, L. Sumoy, J. Vendrell, S. Fernandez-Veledo, C. Serena (AC). Genome-wide DNA methylome and transcriptome profiling reveals key genes involved in dysregulation of adipose-stem cells in Crohn’s disease. Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis. https://doi.org/10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjae072.
Tarragona, June 17, 2024. In Spain, 25% of the population either has diabetes or is in a previous or initial state of the disease, according to data from the Di@bet.es study, led by CIBERDEM and financed by the Institute of Health Carlos III. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of this disease (it accounts for 90-95% of diagnosed cases). On the one hand, it is characterized by a resistance to insulin (the hormone that regulates sugar or glucose levels in the blood), and, on the other, because the beta cells of the pancreas have difficulty producing it. This causes an imbalance in our body that, if not controlled, can cause diverse and severe health problems.
To understand and treat diabetes, studying the beta cells of the pancreas is essential. When we eat, glucose levels increase, and to compensate, these cells release the hormone insulin, which facilitates the transport of sugars into metabolic tissues (muscles, liver and adipose tissue) by sending a signal to them. These sugars are stored in these tissues so our body can use them as energy reserves when necessary. In the case of people with type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance causes the body’s cells to be unable to use it properly, leaving glucose circulating in the blood and causing this decompensation.
The Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases Research Group (DIAMET) has made a discovery that represents a turning point in the approach to the disease: these researchers have found a new mechanism that could help improve the secretion of insulin and that, therefore, would favor blood sugar control in people with diabetes. This mechanism involves a substance called succinate and its receptor (known as SUCNR1), which is found in the beta cells of the pancreas.
The work has been carried out in collaboration with prestigious national institutions (UB-IDIBELL and UMH-IDiBE, among others) and international institutions (Harvard University and the National Research Council of Italy, for instance).
What is succinate?
Succinate is a natural compound present in our cells that plays an important role in energy metabolism. Traditionally, it has been associated with situations of cellular stress, such as those that occur in obese patients. This discovery shows that succinate can act as a beneficial signal that helps beta cells in the pancreas to release or secrete insulin, thereby regulating blood glucose levels.
“We discovered that the level of the SUCNR1 receptor increases in conditions of high blood sugar and metabolic deterioration, such as in obesity and diabetes. When succinate binds to this receptor, a process is activated that enhances insulin secretion. This is especially important after eating, when blood sugar levels are higher and the body needs more insulin to process this sugar,” explains Dr. Joan Sabadell-Basallote, for this DIAMET study (group led by Dr. Sonia Fernàndez-Veledo and Dr. Joan Vendrell).
This discovery opens the door to new strategies to treat diabetes, focusing on this mechanism to improve insulin secretion and help keep blood sugar levels under control. This discovery represents hope for people fighting this chronic disease.
Type 2 diabetes and obesity
This type of diabetes is closely related to obesity, as excess body fat contributes to insulin resistance. As a person gains weight, their cells become less sensitive to insulin, forcing the pancreas to produce more of it to maintain normal blood sugar levels. Over time, this constant effort can deplete the beta cells, reducing their ability to produce insulin, which contributes to the onset of type 2 diabetes.
The number of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes is increasing year after year worldwide: according to the International Diabetes Federation, around 500 million adults suffer from it and in 20 years this number is expected to exceed 700 million. This increase is attributed to factors such as the population aging, the rising obesity rates, and sedentary lifestyles.
Bibliografic reference: Sabadell-Basallote J, Astiarraga B, Castaño C, Ejarque M, Repollés-de-Dalmau M, Quesada I, Blanco J, Nuñez-Roa C, Rodríguez-Peña MM, Martínez L, De Jesus DF, Marroqui L, Bosch R, Montanya E, Sureda FX, Tura A, Mari A, Kulkarni RN, Vendrell J, Fernández-Veledo S. SUCNR1 regulates insulin secretion and glucose elevates the succinate response in people with prediabetes. J Clin Invest. 2024 May 7:e173214. doi: 10.1172/JCI173214. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38713514.