Obesity is one of the main health problems today: it affects more than half of the world’s population (more than 650 million adults). Other diseases are associated with it, such as type 2 diabetes (422 million people suffer from it) or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (around 25% of the world’s population).
The Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases Research Group (DIAMET) works so that the scientific advances that have made these fields possible can be translated into practical solutions for the benefit of people. In fact, they have recently created the spin-off SucciPro S.L. to develop new drugs based on their own research that allow these diseases to be treated in a more effective and personalised way.
Their studies have also made it possible to improve and innovate the approach that is carried out by proposing new therapeutic pathways that are less invasive and non-surgical, such as following dietary guidelines. With this new approach, not only is weight loss more effective, but the metabolic health of these patients is also improved, thus alleviating the complications they suffer from obesity.
More information and DIAMET studies
In Spain, prostate cancer is what most affects the male population (30,000 diagnosed in 2023) and is the second leading cause of death. In the province of Tarragona, nearly 700 new cases are detected each year. Although today there are many clinical biomarkers that are used for diagnosis, these do not provide accurate enough information to assess whether the tumor is aggressive and whether, therefore, the patient’s life is at risk (this cancer is not usually fatal unless it becomes aggressive). Studies carried out by the Research Group on Biomarkers and Molecular Mechanisms of Diseases (DIBIOMEC) together with professionals from the Joan XXIII University Hospital of Tarragona have found 3 biomarkers that make it possible to predict in a semen sample the severity of prostate cancer a fast (in just 48 hours) and economical way. In addition, compared to PSA (the biomarker that is used as a reference today), these new biomarkers are 14% more accurate when predicting tumor aggressiveness.
The DIBIOMEC Research Group has incorporated these biomarkers into a computerized algorithm or orienting diagram to help medical staff specializing in urology make diagnostic decisions and thus recommend more personalized treatments.
More information and DIBIOMEC studies
6% of boys and girls and teenagers suffer from ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). This disorder affects their day-to-day life by preventing them from carrying out activities that are crucial at this stage of life and that require the optimal functioning of basic capacities such as learning, memory and attention (the most affected). Research led by the Clinical and Epidemiological Neuroscience Research Group (NeuroÉpia) has made possible findings that revolutionize the approach that has been taken so far to this disorder: they have discovered that eating 4 walnuts a day (or at least 3 times a per week) a significant improvement in these abilities can be achieved. If these types of recommendations were integrated into the healthcare system, these children and adolescents could receive treatments that also included dietary guidelines.
NeuroÈpia is also studying whether consuming walnuts during pregnancy could prevent the development of ADHD, a fact that would revolutionize its treatment and help reduce the costs involved for the public health system.
More information and studies of NeuroEpia
Infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has already caused the death of more than 40 million people. By the end of 2022, around 39 million people were living with HIV, around 630,000 people had died from HIV-related causes, and approximately 1.3 million had become infected. HIV infection has become a chronic health problem, with no effective cure to eradicate the infection or avoid lifelong treatment.
From the Infection and Immunity Research Group (INIM), researchers work to establish new personalized therapeutic options that help maximize the use of health resources, fighting both for the prevention of new infections and for the good quality of life of people already living with HIV. The INIM group was born at the University Hospital of Tarragona Joan XXIII driven by three specialists in infectious diseases who saw the need to know better a disease that was then very unknown and which has ended up becoming a public health problem in world scale