August 12nd, 2025 - Press release
Inhibiting a specific gene, MET, in combination with standard chemotherapy and immunotherapy, enhances treatment efficacy and limits tumor growth in small cell lung cancer (SCLC).
The study, led by the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, analyzed the effect of MET inhibition in mouse models and studied gene expression in patient tumor samples. The results are published in Cell Reports Medicine.
Researchers aim to pursue this line of research with a clinical trial involving patients.
August 5th, 2025 - Press release
70% of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) cases go undiagnosed. Now, a study led by Hospital del Mar and the Hospital del Mar Research Institute has validated ten metabolites that are altered in patients with this disease.
These metabolites can be identified through a simple blood test, which opens the door to their use in future population-based screening for suspected COPD.
The study used artificial intelligence tools to determine which of these molecules yielded the most accurate results.
July 31st, 2025 - Press release
Study Published in The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease
This is indicated by the results of the PENSA study, a clinical trial conducted jointly by the Research Institute of Hospital del Mar and the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center, the research center of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation. The study concludes that combining a healthy lifestyle program with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a natural compound found in green tea, could offer sustained cognitive benefits in people at high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Over the course of one year, around one hundred cognitively healthy volunteers, but in stages potentially prior to the onset of dementia, were monitored. They were divided into three groups. One group received only healthy lifestyle advice. The other two groups underwent a lifestyle improvement intervention program combined with either EGCG or placebo. Almost half of the participants who received the lifestyle program combined with EGCG improved their cognition, compared to 30% of those in the lifestyle program combined with the placebo group. These cognitive benefits in the EGCG group were maintained after the treatment ended. The study also highlights the effect of following a healthy lifestyle. Compared to participants who only received healthy lifestyle advice, those who completed the full intervention program improved their cognition up to 4.5 times more if they took EGCG, and up to 3 times more if they took placebo. Furthermore, both intervention groups reduced the risk of developing dementia by approximately 25%.July 25th, 2025 - Press release
Researchers from the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and Yale University, in the United States, have demonstrated how the action of certain genes on precursor cells of brain formation can cause alterations linked to cortical malformations but also to the origin of neuropsychiatric diseases such as autism or bipolar disorder.
The study, published in Nature Communications, is the first of its kind. It has been able to simulate the function of a list of nearly 3,000 genes linked to these pathologies during human brain development.
The work opens a window to understand the origin of these diseases and to develop treatment opportunities through gene therapy.
July 15th, 2025 - Press notes
The first collaboration day between the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) was held today at the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB). The meeting provided an opportunity to share research projects, identify areas for collaboration and formalise a strategic alliance through the signing of a collaboration agreement between the Hospital del Mar and the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and IBEC.
July 16, 2025 - Press release
These molecules act as small building blocks that regulate the cellular response by switching certain internal signals on or off.
This is the conclusion of an international study led by the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, published in the journal Nature Communications.
The findings may help develop more precise drugs to treat various diseases more effectively, while avoiding side effects.
July 10th, 2025 - Press notes
The journal Cancer Cell has published a study led by the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, together with researchers from GEICAM, identifying malignant cells carrying the TIM-3 protein as a central factor in their ability to generate breast cancer metastasis.
This molecule allows cancer cells to survive the most critical and challenging stage of metastasis-when they first reach a new organ-by evading immune system attacks. At the same time, it may serve as a marker of poor prognosis and metastasis risk in patients with TIM-3-positive tumors.
This discovery opens the door to the potential use of treatments that block TIM-3 to prevent metastasis before it becomes clinically evident.
June 27th, 2025 - Press notes
A study by the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, recently published in the journal PNAS, advances our understanding of how the brain makes decisions by participating in the storage of associations between different stimuli.
The research has identified the importance of specific brain areas in these processes, particularly the amygdala and its relationship with parts of the cerebral cortex. This finding could lead to new therapeutic approaches for treating mental disorders such as psychosis or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The study was conducted on mice, but the researchers believe that the mechanisms involved may be similar in humans.
June 13, 2025 - Press notes
Following a diet based on Mediterranean diet recommendations and engaging in moderate physical activity is associated with a 41% to 59% lower risk of starting antidepressant, anxiolytic, antipsychotic, and antiseizure medications.
The study is published in the journal Age and Ageing and is based on data from the PREDIMED study, a clinical trial on the effects of the Mediterranean diet in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
The analysis includes data from between 6,000 and 7,000 participants in the study, all older adults at risk for chronic illness.
June 6, 2025 - Press notes
Having high blood levels of a type of molecule, spermidine, before surgery increases the risk of tumor recurrence after surgery by 4.7 times.
This risk decreases if spermidine levels in the patient's blood drop after surgery.
The study is published in the Annals of Surgery journal and opens the door to determining which individuals are at higher risk, either before entering the operating room or just afterward, in order to offer them complementary or specific treatment.
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