At the IGTP TODAY
The seventh edition of the Charity Fun Run for Minority Paediatric Diseases was a resounding success this year, with twice as many runners as 2017. In all 700 participants completed the different routes and enjoyed a family fun day in Badalona.
Today and during all of this week reusable water bottles will be on sale at three supermarkets of the Sorli chain in Badalona. Funds from the sales will support research into kidney disease. The event is part of the celebration of World Kidney Day, which takes place on 8 March.
Many activities have taken place this week on Campus Can Ruti to celebrate the International Rare Disease Day on the last day of February.
Researchers from the Immunology of Diabetes research group of the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) have confirmed, in human cells, that liposomes designed as immunotherapy for type 1 diabetes (T1D) are a valid strategy to arrest the autoimmune attack characteristic of this disease. They have done so in a preclinical study demonstrating the tolerogenic effect of these liposomes on cells of the immune system of patients with T1D. The results have been published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.
Dr. García Prado, leader of the Viral Immune Evasion and Vacciones (VIRIEVAC) at the IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute will combine the new position with the leadership of her group, focused on the design of new strategies against HIV. Manel Puig, General Director of the IGTP, has presented the new organizational chart during the presentation of the Research Agenda 2018, together with the new challenges for the coming years.
Tanya Vavouri, researcher at the IGTP and Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute is one of the nominees for the Vanguardia de la Ciencia award, for the study showing that environment affects genetics and can be retained for generations. The vote is open to everyone, scientist or not, until February 28.
It is the first and largest international clinical trial ever in this type of patients. IGTP researchers coordinate what is going to be a unique collection in Europe of biological samples for this segment of patients, and will lead the posterior studies. Liver cancer in children is classified as a rare diseases and, in Spain, 15 cases are diagnoses every year.
The spin-off is the result of a joint research project between the IGTP, ICN2 and ICREA and has already attracted 1.1 million euros. The Catalan biotech company has been created to develop the therapies for clinical use. The therapy uses liposomes to halt the destructive reaction of the body's own tissues caused by diseases such as Type 1 diabetes or multiple sclerosis.
The spin-off company Swan Medical SL, of which the IGTP is a shareholder, is responsible for production and distribution of the product, baptised Rutilight®, that can be adapted to all current surgical instruments to provide a spotlight on the operating area. The new device eliminates shadows in the operating area and illuminates places that are difficult to access. The tool has been invented by surgeons for surgeons
IGTP Scientists working with the Reference Centre for Phakomatoses in the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital-ICO Badalona have confirmed what dermatologists on the team have long suspected. Skin plaques in young children can be used to identify NF2 patients long before their symptoms appear.
