Institut de Recerca Sant Pau - Centre CERCA
A type of omega-3 fatty acid found in oily fish, used as a medication to lower triglycerides, may directly protect the heart after a heart attack. A study led by the Research Institute of Sant Pau (IR Sant Pau) shows that the eicosapentaenoic acid ethyl ester (EPA-E) reduces cardiac damage through mechanisms that go beyond its effect on blood lipids. The study, published in the journal European Heart Journal, shows that this compound not only improves the lipid profile but also acts directly on injured cardiac tissue, modulating key processes such as inflammation, cellular metabolism, and oxidative stress. All of which are critical in the progression of myocardial infarction.
People with type 1 diabetes continue to face an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease even when they maintain good glycemic control and apparently normal cholesterol levels. This phenomenon, known as residual cardiovascular risk, calls into question the ability of routine blood tests to reflect actual risk and points to the existence of more complex alterations in the types of particles that transport cholesterol in the bloodstream. A study led by researchers from the Institut de Recerca Sant Pau (IR Sant Pau), Hospital de Sant Pau, and CIBERDEM, published in the journal Frontiers in Endocrinology, shows that these patients have increased levels of small dense low-density lipoproteins (sdLDL), a type of LDL cholesterol made up of smaller particles that accumulate more easily within arterial walls. This finding provides a mechanistic explanation for this residual cardiovascular risk and reinforces the need to go beyond standard cholesterol measurements.
The lack of reliable biomarkers capable of anticipating corticosteroid response remains one of the major challenges in the management of alcohol-associated hepatitis. In this setting, a team from the Sant Pau Research Institute (IR Sant Pau) has identified a specific profile of circulating plasma extracellular vesicles (EVs) associated both with treatment response and with medium- and long-term mortality. The study findings, published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, highlight the potential of these EVs as non-invasive biomarkers to improve prognostic stratification and support clinical decision-making in a disease associated with high mortality.
Intracerebral hemorrhage is the most severe form of stroke and one of the neurological conditions with the highest mortality. It is relatively common for decisions involving early limitation of treatment—that is, not initiating or withdrawing certain therapeutic interventions—to be made within the first hours after admission, generally when the prognosis is considered poor and these measures are not expected to provide real benefit to the patient.
Endometriosis, a chronic inflammatory disease that affects approximately one in ten women of reproductive age—around 190 million worldwide—remains poorly understood from a biological perspective, which has historically hindered both its accurate diagnosis and the development of effective treatments. Now, an international study published in Nature Genetics provides new data to better understand the genetic basis and mechanisms involved in this condition.
