News
-
11th January, 2023 - Press notes
A study led by researchers from the Stem Cell and Cancer Research Group at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute has revealed the key role a protein plays in identifying patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia who will not respond to standard treatment. The study, published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine, shows that combining chemotherapy with an inhibitor for this protein helps to eliminate treatment resistance in an animal model. This is a rare disease, which is diagnosed in around a hundred people each year in Spain, mainly paediatric patients.
more information
-
December, 22nd 2022 - Press notes
The Hospital del Mar and the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) is one of the first eight European centres currently selected to participate in the European Union's DARWIN EU® initiative to carry out multicentre observational studies on medicines. The data available to these partners will be used for studies to generate real-world evidence that will support scientific evaluations and regulatory decision making.
more information
-
December, 2nd 2022 - Press notes
The Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute is leading the study that will evaluate whether a new molecule can be used to improve the cognitive performance of people with Down syndrome. The study is part of the ICOD project for the improvement of cognition in Down syndrome, promoted by the European Union, which is funding a project of this type for the first time. The treatment has already passed the trial phase with volunteers without Down syndrome, which sought to certify the safety and tolerability of the medicine. In this new phase, the safety of the treatment in people with Down syndrome will be validated and the first indications of effectiveness will be obtained. It is estimated that results may be available by mid-2023.
more information
-
November 16th, 2022 - Press notes
A study led by the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Centre (BBRC), a research unit from the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, and the University of Gothenburg, has compared the validity of nine biomarkers for the day-to-day diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in hospital centres. The work involved a cohort of patients from Hospital del Mar with various neurological pathologies.
The researchers analysed the presence of nine variants of the Tau protein in blood samples from these people. Some of these blood markers are just as useful for detecting Alzheimer's as those measured in the reference test used, namely the analysis of cerebrospinal fluid obtained by lumbar puncture.
Less invasive plasma biomarker determinations than those performed after a lumbar puncture may provide a tool for improving the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and determining which individuals should undergo further testing to confirm the diagnosis. The work has been published in the leading journal in this field, Alzheimer's & Dementia.
more information
-
October 28th, 2022 - Press release
This is a study cohort comprising 200,000 people, which will be used to study and improve the health of the Spanish population. Dr. Jordi Alonso, head of the Health Services Research Group at the IMIM-Hospital del Mar, is a member of the project's executive committee, which has just completed its first year of work.
more information
-
October 27th, 2022 - Press notes
A study by the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute and Pompeu Fabra University has found that not all HIV patients respond adequately to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. The work has been published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.
more information
-
5th October, 2022 - Press notes
A study led by researchers at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM-Hospital del Mar) has determined the role that fibroblasts, the cells that contribute to tissue formation, play in a tumour's ability to generate resistance to the most common biological treatment for HER2. The paper, published in the journal Nature Communications, demonstrates the ability of a new therapy, currently undergoing clinical trials, to promote a potent immune response by binding to the fibroblasts, enabling it to overcome resistance to anti-HER2 therapy in tumours with this cancer cell protection mechanism. To demonstrate this, the researchers created a 3D tumour model in which they were able to check the relationships between all the factors involved. HER2+ breast cancer is one of the most aggressive and rapidly progressing cancers. HER2-targeted treatments have changed the outlook, but resistance continues to hinder the curative potential. Research into cancer treatment resistance is yielding very encouraging results thanks to projects led by researchers from the IMIM-Hospital del Mar cancer research programme.
more information
-
October 3rd, 2022 - Press notes
Agreement between Hospital del Mar and Barcelona Health Hub
Hospital del Mar and Barcelona Health Hub (BHH) have signed a collaboration agreement to promote activities and projects related to the health sector. Also, both organizations will share information to build a network of contacts at institutional level to promote this sector.
more information
-
September 9th, 2022 - Press notes
Patients admitted for SARS-CoV-2 infection with unbalanced levels of two immune system cells, CD4 and CD8 T-lymphocytes have a worse prognosis and a higher risk of dying. Having more than two times as many CD4 than CD8 lymphocytes increases the likelihood of dying from the infection by 4.6 times and doubles the likelihood of suffering from respiratory distress, according to a study by physicians and researchers from Hospital del Mar, Hospital del Mar Institute of Medical Research and Pompeu Fabra University, published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine. This leads the signatories of the study to recommend a more aggressive therapeutic approach in these patients upon admission. In addition, they consider that this situation may be seen in other viral infections.
more information
-
August, 11th - Press notes
The research, led by the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), research center of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM-Hospital del Mar) and the University of Gothenburg, has been published in the prestigious journal Nature Medicine. The study, which used data from almost 400 participants of the ALFA+ Study, which has the impetus of the "la Caixa" Foundation, determines that the biomarkers p-tau231 and p-tau217 measured in the blood are suitable for indicating brain changes related to the amyloid protein in people without cognitive symptoms. The results of this research make p-tau231 a very promising blood biomarker to detect early those middle-aged people who show the first brain changes associated with Alzheimer's and to conduct clinical trials aimed at this early stage of Alzheimer's.
more information