In general, there is little information about the capacity to provide services to people with mental disorders in the different European countries. The existing knowledge shows great disparity between each state and low coverage in practically all disorders.

These data put at risk the World Health Organization's objective of increasing coverage for these patients by 50% by the year 2030.

More than 5,000 genes were found to behave differently in TRD compared with non-resistant patients.

The study reports the first results of the PROMPT consortium, which aims to combine clinical and molecular data using machine learning to predict which patients are at risk of developing TRD.

This is highlighted by the first study to measure neonatal brain myelination using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Published in the journal Environment International, it is the result of a collaboration between Hospital del Mar and ISGlobal.

The research shows that prenatal exposure to fine particles (PM2.5) is associated with slower brain maturation during the first month of life. Myelination is a key marker of brain development.

The study coordinated by the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and the UPF has enabled classifying suicidal ideation according to three degrees of increasing severity and notes that students who are more stress sensitive have more suicidal thoughts.

The work, coordinated by Dr. Manuel Valero, head of the Neural Computation Laboratory at the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, presents an open-access tool to analyze neuronal diversity.

The tool is already freely available and can be applied to the study of other brain regions and of diseases such as Alzheimer's, epilepsy, major depression, and Down syndrome, paving the way for more specific therapeutic strategies.

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.

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.

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%.

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.