September 18, 2023 - Press notes
Researchers from the UAB, the Gregorio Marañón Health Research Institute, and the Hospital del Mar Research Institute have published the first article reviewing research conducted to date on the neurobiological adaptation of women to motherhood by analysing the relation of hormones, brain and behaviour during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
The findings support the hypothesis that fluctuating hormones, mainly estrogens, are related to changes in the human brain structure, but what is yet to be determined is how this influences neuroplasticity and maternal behaviour.
The article sets a roadmap for future research projects and demonstrates the scarcity of research conducted until now in women, essential due to the differences existing in the sexual hormones of each species.
September 7, 2023 - Press notes
Overall, health has worsened across the population, especially regarding anxiety and depression, as well as pain and discomfort. But the effects of the pandemic have hit educated women especially hard, narrowing their health disparities with population groups with a lower education after initial home confinement.
The researchers attribute this development to the negative effect of teleworking on the health of people who worked from home and had to care for family members. At the same time, there may have been a positive effect of government measures to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic among more disadvantaged groups.
The work is part of the MINDCOVID project, and was based on telephone interview surveys of 2,000 people. It is published in the International Journal for Equity in Health.
August 10, 2023 - Press notes
A team from the Hospital del Mar Research Institute has, for the first time, detected fetal DNA in the olfactory neuroepithelium of women who have given birth to a boy. A new study will now be launched, which will also analyze female fetal DNA.
The team of researchers has been able to confirm that women with depression had much lower levels of cells from newborns than those who were not suffering from this disorder.
This discovery paves the way to studying the DNA exchange between the mother and the fetus during pregnancy as a factor that protects women against depression, as well as its relationship with other psychiatric disorders.
July, 31st 2023 - Press notes
When spinal deformity corrective surgery is performed, a critical point arises: the border between the instrumented area of the spine and the area that remains free. This border is the area where one of patients' major complications occurs. A research team led by Universitat Pompeu Fabra, with the Hospital del Mar, has managed to improve the accuracy of predicting the risk of the onset of this affectation, which may contribute to improving spinal surgeries. The research has enjoyed the collaboration of the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute, the Galeazzi Orthopaedic Institute in Milan and the Shulthess Klinik in Zurich (Switzerland).
July, 23rd 2023 - Press notes
Cannabis use disorder (CUD) affects over 14 million individuals in the US. Despite the urgent need, there are no FDA-approved medications to treat CUD; behavioral treatments have shown limited benefit.
AEF0117 is the first of a new pharmacologic class, type 1 cannabinoid receptor signaling-specific inhibitors (CB1-SSi), with a unique mechanism of action and greater safety and efficacy than prior generations of CB1 inhibitors. In a phase 2a clinical study in volunteers with CUD, AEF0117 produced statistically significant reductions in the positive subjective and reinforcing effects of smoked cannabis.
June 21, 2023 - Press notes
The Molecular Mechanisms of Cancer and Stem Cell Research Group of the Hospital del Mar Research Institute is the only center in Spain to participate in an international study that validates the deficiency of a protein, IκBα, as a marker of poor prognosis in this type of tumor.
The work, published in Cell Reports Medicine, has analyzed data from more than 2,000 patients. In addition, the researchers have identified one of the pathways on which this protein acts, which makes it a possible therapeutic target.
The Hospital del Mar Research Institute group is already working on a model to search for possible treatments that modulate the function of this marker. It should be considered that at present there are very few therapeutic alternatives for glioma, which has a very high mortality rate.
15th June, 2023 - Press notes
A study published in iScience, spearheaded by the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Centre, part of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, validates these tools for monitoring potential sufferers.
Data was analysed from 56 volunteers who participated in the PENSA study, designed to determine whether it is possible to slow cognitive decline in stages prior to the onset of dementia through a combination of a lifestyle intervention programme and the consumption of a preparation based on a green tea component.
It was possible to monitor the evolution of the cognitive functions of these people much more closely and continuously than with standard tests. This paves the way for the adaptation, practically in real time, of treatments that can be adjusted to changes in cognitive decline.
April 12th, 2023 - Press notes
The goal of the subject is to sensitize of future medical practitioners to achieve a more human physician-patient relationship, eschewing the distancing that the advancements of technology in the profession entail.
30th March, 2023 - Press notes
Adding a peptide, a molecule made of several amino acids, to oxaliplatin, a chemotherapy drug used to treat colorectal cancer, avoids the side effects this treatment can have on normal cells, including potential chemotherapy resistance.
This is confirmed by an article published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, led by the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). This work is the second part of a recent study that explored how platinum accumulation in normal cells promotes platinum resistance in colorectal cancer cells.
This new approach prevents healthy cells surrounding the tumour from accumulating platinum. This avoids the activation of certain genes linked to poor treatment response and tumour progression.
1st March, 2023 - Press notes
Low levels of a particular protein in squamous cell carcinoma cells indicate that they are preparing to start migrating to other organs, thereby causing the tumour to spread to other areas of the body.
This is according to a study by the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, which has just been published in the journal Life Science Alliance.
Tumour cells prepare to migrate by changing their metabolism so that they can consume lipids, in other words, cholesterol molecules. This raises the possibility of studying ways to block this process and prevent tumour metastasis.
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