Reus, January 14, 2025. Scientific advances resulting from studies led by the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV), the Sant Joan University Hospital of Reus and the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) in the field of ophthalmology have allowed the development of two software for the early diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy. It is a common eye condition in people with type 2 diabetes and is the leading cause of low vision in the population under 60. If not treated in time, it can become irreversible: it can no longer be corrected with glasses and those who suffer from it must stop doing very common activities, such as reading or driving.
This technology is currently being used in a pilot phase at the Sant Joan Hospital in Reus and in different primary care centers in the province of Tarragona. These health centers are where patients go to get tested to detect it and monitor the disease. Through a retinograph or non-mydriatic camera, photos are taken of the fundus of the eye, the affected part. These softwares are integrated into their clinical history, thus allowing a more accurate assessment of the disease and its treatment. They will also allow it to be diagnosed in the most incipient phase, thus preventing it from getting worse and becoming serious, completely conditioning the life of the person who suffers from it.
Innovative technology
The first of these softwares has been named MIRA and is a reading algorithm that records patient data extracted from the photo of the fundus of the eye. It detects whether they have diabetic retinopathy, the degree of evolution (mild, moderate or severe) and, in the case of patients without injury, whether there is a risk of developing it. The MIRA program, unlike other software currently on the market, is capable of detecting diabetic retinopathy in the initial stages, when it is still reversible, and thus prevent it from getting worse. “Diabetic retinopathy in its early stages, if we control it metabolically, that is, by taking care of glucose levels and blood pressure, we can stop it and even reverse it, without having to resort to aggressive intraocular treatments, which is what happens in the advanced stages, in which we have to give intravitreal injections (administration of medications inside the eye to treat eye diseases and protect vision) or have to intervene by performing surgery, etc.”, explains Dr. Pere Romero, head of the Ophthalmology Research Group, which, together with the Department of Computer Engineering and Mathematics of the URV, have developed this technology.
The second algorithm is known as RETIPROGRAM and is a prediction algorithm: it is set with 9 indicators (age, sex, weight, height, blood pressure, time of evolution of diabetes, its metabolic control, hemoglobin levels and kidney condition) to assess the state of the patient’s disease, and, consequently, to determine how often they should go to their health center to have the control test. “This last software will therefore help us to rationalize this type of test: we will do them in a personalized way, when it is assessed that it is necessary to do them, and not when the health system establishes it by default”. This algorithm is the first in Spain that has been developed by studying a population of diabetic patients in the territory (more than 120,000, controlled over 10 years), with which the prediction of the date to do the control is very accurate.
This research has received funding from the Institut de Salut Carlos III (references PI21/00064, PI18/00169, PI15/001150 and PI12/01535) and has been co-financed by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Health and the European Union (references 220718 and 230123), giving rise to the creation of the spin-off RetinaReadRisk S.L. (https://retinareadrisk.eu/), in February 2023.
Air pollution, noise, light and hazardous waste not only affect the environment, but can also have a great impact on our health. To address this challenge, the TecnATox research group (Center for Environmental, Food and Toxicological Technology) of the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV) and Rovira i Virgili University (URV) is participating in a new European project, ENVESOME (“The Environmental Exposome and Health”), which aims to study how the combination of these factors can contribute to the development of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disorders, respiratory difficulties, sleep disturbances and mental health problems.
This project has been awarded under the HORIZON-HLTH-2024-ENVHLTH-02-06 call and has a duration of four years. It is led by the National Hellenic Research Foundation of Greece and involves the participation of 14 European Union institutions. The main objective of the project is to strengthen the knowledge available to policy makers and to provide tools that help to better understand the causal mechanisms and associations between pollution and diseases throughout the different stages of life.
ENVESOME combines science, technology and data to investigate how pollution affects human health. Researchers collect air quality data, analyze the human body’s biological responses, and use artificial intelligence to make connections between exposure to pollutants and disease. This information enables the development of strategies to reduce the risks associated with pollution and improve public health.
From this research, new tools will be designed and tested in several areas to evaluate their effectiveness. These tools include a mobile application to help people learn about their exposure to pollution and learn how to protect themselves, a support system for policy makers to improve environmental decision making, and a chatbot aimed at healthcare professionals to guide them on the effects of pollution on patients.
Project impact and objectives
Beyond research, ENVESOME aims to apply its findings to improve public policies and update allowable pollution limits. It also seeks to promote healthy habits that help reduce the negative effects of pollution on health.
This collaborative effort demonstrates that science and joint work between European institutions can make a significant difference in protecting public health. With ENVESOME, it is expected to offer effective solutions to address one of the most important challenges of our time: pollution and its effects on human health
The prominent role of the TecnATox group of IISPV and URV
TecnATox plays a key role within the ENVESOME project, led by principal investigator Dr. Vikas Kumar. Vikas Kumar, who leads TecnATox’s strategic contributions in various areas of research and development: Model development; making a lead in computational toxicology and bioinformatics to create predictive models, artificial intelligence and big data volumes; driving innovation in text mining, data harmonization and dynamic knowledge graphs, exposure assessment; improving frameworks and tools for contaminant exposure assessment and policy support; providing data-driven tools, such as decision support systems (DSS) and chatbots, for policy makers.
This comprehensive involvement highlights TecnATox’s expertise in integrating biological, computational and analytical methods to address emerging challenges in environmental health.
A European-wide investigation in which the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV) participates studies which factors influence the emotional and physical health of adolescents, so that they themselves can adopt them in their day-to-day lives or strengthen them, in the event that they already have them incorporated, and so that they can improve their overall well-being. Specifically, researchers from the NeuroEpia Research Group (Clinical and Epidemiological Neuroscience) are participating, which, through first an observational study (monitoring a population of adolescents and their habits) and a subsequent intervention with these young people, will corroborate which aspects have a greater influence on their health.
In the last phase of the study, these aspects of healthy living will be incorporated into a mobile application designed so that adolescents can install it on their device and receive advice and recommendations on how to improve their emotional and physical health.
The project, called YEAH! (Youth hEAlth from a Holistic perspective), is led at the IISPV by principal investigator Jordi Julvez, head of the NeuroEpia Research group.
It is coordinated by the Universite Grenoble Alpes and will last 5 years. It is funded by the European Union.
Researchers from the Oncological, Translational, Epidemiological and Clinical Research Group (GIOTEC), the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV) and the Sant Joan University Hospital in Reus, have recruited the first patient for this phase II trial, in which 9 hospitals throughout Spain are participating and which aims to test the efficacy of the drug Niraparib to treat women who have suffered from ovarian cancer and who have relapsed in the form of single metastases after previous maintenance therapy with a drug from the same family as Niraparib.
The medication that will be tested in this clinical trial will be administered to treat them once they have been operated on for oligometastases.
30 patients are needed for the ANALLISA clinical trial. The objective of the trial is to confirm above all the efficacy and safety of the drug.
The main researcher of the GIOTEC research group that participates in the trial together with other 8 hospitals in Spain is Dra. Maria Masvidal Hernandez.
Reus, Tuesday 17 December 2024. The central and Carrilet markets in Reus will host from today Tuesday 17 December and until this Saturday 21 a stand with researchers and researchers from the Research Group on Genetics and Environment in Psychiatry (GAP ), of the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV) and the Pere Mata Institut University Hospital, to report on the latest scientific studies they are carrying out to investigate bipolar disorder and psychotic disorders, and to recruit volunteers to participate. Today Tuesday, tomorrow Wednesday and Thursday, the stand will be located in the Carrilet market in Reus, from 11am to 1pm. On Friday and Saturday it will be in the central market of Reus at the same time (on Friday it will also be there in the afternoon, from 6pm to 8pm). To participate in these two studies, adults (16 to 55 years old) and without any psychiatric diagnosis are needed. Those interested can register through this form. Public participation in research is essential to advance science and contribute to find more innovative and effective treatments for mental illness.
These two projects have been able to be launched thanks to the financing of the Fundació La Marató and are the Inscription i the Bipodex. The first is an innovative project that aims to anticipate and predict the risk of psychotic disorders. It uses personalized information from genetics, brain images and characteristics of the olfactory epithelium (nostrils), allowing, in this way, a complete and precise analysis of a person’s vulnerability in relation to this type of disorder mental.
The Bipodex project focuses on studying bipolar disorder, a serious psychiatric illness that affects the mechanisms that influence mood. People who suffer from it (it is estimated that around 100,000 in Catalonia) can range from pathological euphoria, called mania, to depression, passing through phases without any psychiatric symptoms. In this last phase the person can lead a normal life.
The institution also awarded the prize for Medical Teaching and Education to the researcher Maria Rosa Fenoll, from the Histology and Neurobiology Unit (UHNeurob) of the IISPV and the URV and a member of the URV’s Faculty of Medicine
The Spanish Royal National Academy of Medicine (RANME) has awarded its annual prizes, which publicly recognise the work, dedication, hard work and trajectory of Spanish medical professionals and those who dedicate themselves to giving it visibility. IISPV researcher and Professor of Nutrition at the Rovira i Virgili University (URV), Jordi Salas-Salvadó, has received the most important prize awarded in these distinctions, which, in addition to the recognition, includes the title of corresponding academic of the RANME, the medal of the academic body and the accrediting diploma.
Jordi Salas-Salvadó is head of the Food, Nutrition, Development and Mental Health (ANUT-DSM) group at the IISPV and the URV and principal investigator of the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red (CIBER) de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III. He is also a member of the Network of Experts of the Public Health Agency of the Generalitat de Catalunya, director of the Catalan Nutrition Centre of the Institut d’Estudis Catalans, president of the World Forum for Nutrition Research and Dissemination and a member of the International Carbohydrate Quality Consortium and of the board of the Panel of Experts on Diabetes and Nutrition.
Salas-Salvadó’s research interests focus on human clinical trials evaluating the effect of diets and dietary compounds on obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Since 2005 he is one of the leaders of the PREDIMED study, and he is currently director and chairman of the steering committee of the PREDIMED-PLUS study, an ongoing multicentre, randomised, primary prevention trial with 6,900 overweight or obese participants with metabolic syndrome.
Maria Rosa Fenoll is a senior researcher at the Histology and Neurobiology Unit (UHNeurob) of the IISPV and the URV. She has been teaching at the URV since 1993 and has coordinated two interuniversity master’s degrees. An expert in audiovisual communication, she has implemented the use of ICT in teaching and has shared teaching innovation awards, the Vicenç Vives award from the Generalitat de Catalunya and the URV.
His field of research is neurobiology, mainly the structural and functional analysis of neuromuscular synaptic plasticity and the biological effects of laser light in mammals. She has participated in competitive research projects, co-authored numerous scientific articles published in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters. She has been academic vice-dean of Medicine, vice-dean of international relations and initiated the international relations and mobility programmes of the Faculty of Medicine and the CAJAL and SICUE-SÉNECA mobility programmes in Spain.
The medals will be awarded on 14 January, coinciding with the opening of the new academic year 2025.
Tarragona, November 28, 2024. The municipalities of Perafort and Els Garidells joined forces last Sunday, November 24, in the ninth edition of the solidarity walk for diabetes.
The event, which brought together nearly 400 people of all ages, raised nearly 2,000 euros, which will be used to support research on this disease through the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV).
The participants enjoyed a 9-kilometer circular route that connected the two towns, promoting health, coexistence and commitment to a cause of solidarity. The funds collected will be allocated to the Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases Research Group (DIAMET), a team of scientists from the IISPV that is a reference in Spain for its history in the study of diabetes and associated metabolic diseases.
The DIAMET group has made significant scientific advances possible that contribute to improving the knowledge and treatment of diseases such as diabetes, which affects millions of people worldwide.
For more information on the projects led by the DIAMET group, you can visit the following link.
Once again, this walk demonstrates how citizen collaboration can become an engine of change, boosting scientific research and improving the lives of many people.
The Social Council of the IISPV met yesterday at the Hotel Olympus Palace in Salou. Our director, Dr. Joan Vendrell, explained to the members of this body the balance of the research work of the IISPV throughout this 2024, and raised the main challenges for the future.
This year, we welcome a new member: Maria Esther Fernandez, owner of the FarmaTarraco pharmacy and promoter of the edition in Tarragona of the Mamapop charity concert (its aim is to collect funds for breast cancer research).
Thank you, Hotel Olympus Palace in Salou, for welcoming us into your home!
This Sunday, the inhabitants of La Pobla de Mafumet took part in the Fiesta del Oli Nou, one of the most deeply-rooted traditions in the municipality. As every year, the attendees were able to savour the new oil pressing through a popular breakfast that included herring, sausage, sausage, sausage, bacon and bread as components of a meal washed down with the protagonist of the day, new oil, from the Siurana PDO. More than 400 people took part in the event.
With the purchase of the breakfast ticket, for only 3 euros, the attendees participated in the breakfast, and also, as usual, the activity had a solidarity background, since the full proceeds from this popular initiative will benefit the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV) and the Mamapop Festival, in favour of research against breast cancer.
About IISPV
The IISPV is the centre that manages research in health and biomedicine in the province of Tarragona. which brings together the university hospitals Joan XXIII in Tarragona, Sant Joan in Reus and Institut Pere Mata in Reus, and the Hospital Virgen de la Cinta in Tortosa, as well as the Rovira de la Cinta University in Tortosa. of Reus and the Hospital Virgen de la Cinta of Tortosa, as well as the Rovira i Virgili University. Since its Since its creation in 2005, the Institute has been working to ensure that biomedical research is translated into quality clinical practice for the benefit of patients and to improve the health of the population. The IISPV has more than 600 professionals and 35 research groups divided into four strategic areas: Metabolic Diseases and Nutrition; Infection, Immunity and Environment; Oncology; and Neurosciences and Mental Health.
About Mamapop
The Mamapop solidarity concert was born in Lleida in 2014 with the aim of raising funds for scientific research in the field of breast cancer. scientific research in the field of breast cancer. In Camp de Tarragona, Mamapop collaborates with the IISPV with the IISPV in the common goal of fighting against this disease.
Some images of the day
The Instituto de Salud Carlos III has resolved the call DTS24 – Proyectos de Desarrollo Tecnológico en Salud (AES 2024). The NeuroEpia research group has obtained funding for an innovative project for the validation of medical devices (aCUP-E and EPlacement) in the field of clinical neurophysiology. This support has been achieved after passing a public and competitive process, where the project has been evaluated with an excellent score of 92 out of 100 points.
The programme aims to promote innovation in NHS healthcare centres and the transfer of innovative solutions, as well as the generation of benefits for the community, while allowing for the establishment of alliances between research entities and companies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical and health technology sectors.
The project, entitled ‘Validation and improvement of two innovative medical technologies in the field of clinical neurophysiology: neonatal electrode for aEEG and electrode positioning system’, promoted by the NeuroEpia group of the Sant Joan de Reus University Hospital (HUSJR) and the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV), has been awarded 208,945 euros.
This financial support will make it possible to validate the technologies through clinical trials, develop the industrialisation plan and transfer them to the market. The project is based on two main hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1: Neonatal improvement with a new EEG electrode
The new aCUP-E electrodes, compared to traditional ice electrodes, offer advantages such as increased long-term monitoring time due to improved recording quality (with fewer artefacts), reduced risk of dislodgement and elimination of the need for frequent replacement.
Hypothesis 2: Improved localisation of cranial areas
The EPlacement system improves electrode placement over conventional tape-measurement methods. This solution stands out for being faster, simpler, more cost-effective and accurate, adapting to the specific requirements of neurophysiological testing. This improvement not only optimises diagnosis and treatment in clinical neurophysiology, but also reduces staff time and increases placement accuracy.
In addition, EPlacement has multiple applications, including neuromodulatory treatments with non-invasive brain stimulation, used in pathologies such as major depression, post-stroke recovery or neuropathic pain. A more precise localisation of the cranial target point, such as the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (F3), could significantly improve the efficacy of treatments.
A multidisciplinary team at the service of innovation
The NeuroEpia group, specialised in Clinical and Epidemiological Neuroscience, has several lines of research, including Clinical Neurophysiology, led by Dr. Vicenç Pascual, coordinator of the Clinical Neurophysiology Service of the Sant Joan de Reus University Hospital. This line, in collaboration with the Neurally platform led by Dr. Albert Fabregat, aims to create medical devices to improve clinical practice in this scientific field.
The Clinical Neurophysiology team includes professionals from different disciplines:
This project is an example of how collaboration between clinical research, technological innovation and industry can contribute to improving the health and quality of life of patients.
