News
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September 20th, 2024 - Press notes
The oxidation of low-density lipoproteins present in the blood (LDL) or bad cholesterol opens the door to an increased cardiovascular risk, as this oxidized cholesterol is more likely to deposit in the arteries, leading to the growth of cholesterol plaques that cause arteriosclerosis.
Engaging in intense physical activity reduces the oxidation of LDL particles, lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease. Thirty minutes of intense exercise daily reduces oxidized LDL cholesterol by 8 to 10%. However, the effect is only seen in men. Low or moderate intensity exercises do not have the same effect.
This is revealed by a study from the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, published in the Spanish Journal of Cardiology.
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September, 19th, 2024 - Press notes
The database, which is accessible to the entire scientific community, contains 16,807 models of the thoracolumbar part of the spine. It can help with the design of personalized models for patients with spinal deformities, thus improving their diagnosis and treatment.
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September 5, 2024 - Press notes
For women who have been admitted to a hospital for a mental disorder, the risk of suicide is 48 times higher than in the general female population. For men in the same situation, the risk is 28 times higher, according to a study by the Hospital del Mar Research Institute published in JAMA Network Open.
The risk of premature death, meaning dying before the age of 70, is also higher in people hospitalized for a mental disorder. This group has nearly eight times the mortality risk compared to the rest of the population.
The study analyzed data from nearly 50,000 people. The disorders with the most impact are depression, cognitive disorders, adjustment and bipolar disorders, and alcohol use.
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August 7, 2024 - Press notes
A 10% increase in blood sugar levels from the usual raises the likelihood of a poor prognosis by 7% and the chance of death by 10% within three months of the stroke, according to a study published in Cardiovascular Diabetology.
The study reviewed data from nearly 3,000 patients treated for this condition at Hospital del Mar.
Research will continue to determine if managing glucose levels in this population can improve their prognosis.
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July 11th, 2024 - Press notes
High blood levels of these fats, both from plant and marine sources, are associated with better use of glucose in the brain of people with a high genetic risk of developing the disease.
This is what the results of a new study by the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), research center of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, indicate.
The research, based on data from 320 participants of the Alfa cohort, promoted by the "la Caixa" Foundation, concludes that nutritional interventions could prevent the disease.
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July 10th, 2024 - Press notes
A study published in Science Advances identifies a set of microproteins that are exclusively produced in liver tumors. This makes them a clear target for immune system cells and a potential target for cancer vaccine development.
The research was led by the Evolutionary Genomics Research Group at the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, in collaboration with Cima University of Navarra and Pompeu Fabra University.
Various state-of-the-art tools were used to detect and identify these small molecules in samples from over a hundred tumors.
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June 5th, 2024 - Press notes
A scientific team led by Dr Anna Bigas, from the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and the Josep Carreras Institute, has described the role of the IκBα protein in the differentiation process of haematopoietic cells.
In the absence of this protein, the stem cells enter quiescence, acquire a dormant state and maintain their potential, which may allow them to be transplanted for therapeutic uses in leukaemia or blood diseases of genetic origin.
This is an important step towards being able to generate these types of cells in the lab, preventing them from differentiating and turning into other cells too early.
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May 29th, 2024 - Press notes
An international study led by the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute has demonstrated, for the first time, the role of two proteins in the activation and deactivation of the system through which drugs act against schizophrenia symptoms.
These two proteins are potential targets for developing new drugs aimed at specific symptoms of the disease, avoiding the side effects of current treatments.
The study analyzed how certain molecules act on a serotonin cell receptor, which could allow for differentiated effects on schizophrenia symptoms without affecting other brain processes.
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May 3rd, 2024 - Press notes
Natural Killer (NK) cells, when exposed to antibody treatment used against HER2-positive breast cancer, secrete specific types of cytokines that activate the immune response against tumor cells.
Researchers have confirmed that patients with NK lymphocytes present in the tumor environment show a better response to treatment, thanks to this mechanism.
This confirms the feasibility of using cytokines secreted by NK cells as markers of response to anti-HER2 antibodies with a simple blood test. It also reaffirms various clinical trials using these lymphocytes to bolster treatment in patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer.
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February 23rd, 2023 - Press notes
A collaborative effort led by Dr. Anna Bigas, from the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, found that the population of haematopoietic stem cells (HSC) responsible for the generation and self-renewal of the blood and immune system keeps a long-term undifferentiated state thanks to its ability to physically block its own NOTCH1 receptor through the expression of JAGGED1, a specific NOTCH activator. Authors hypothesise that the lack of this previously unknown mechanism might be the cause for the poor performance of current approaches to generate haematopoietic stem cells from induced pluripotent stem cells for regenerative medicine.
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