Next Saturday 27th June at 6 p.m., the first regulated race in the new normality will take place at the Sant Pau Modernist complex, organised by the Hospital de Sant Pau and Champion, with the support of the Fundació Privada Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau. The entire proceeds will be used for the Sant Pau investigation against Covid-19.
The 2020 edition of La Marató of TV3 and Catalunya Radio por Covid-19 will be exceptional and one of the first novelties is the dissemination and awareness campaign, which usually starts in October and, in this edition, starts with a first phase in June with the graphic image, the slogan of the campaign, a new solidarity product and the possibility of already making donations.
Researchers from the Research Group on Lipids and Cardiovascular Pathology at IR Sant Pau and IIBB-CSIC, led by Dr. Vicenta Llorente, have published an article in Theranostics. In the article “Immunization with the Gly1127-Cys1140 amino acid sequence of the LRP1 receptor reduces atherosclerosis in rabbits. Molecular, immunohistochemical and nuclear imaging studies ”have also collaborated researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Hospital Vall d’Hebron in the context of different CIBER groups.
The building of the Research Institute of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau has obtained the LEED GOLD certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, which identifies the building as an example of energy efficiency and sustainability both in its construction and in its useful life and demonstrates the leadership of the awarded Institution in favour of energy rationality and the transformation towards a more sustainable building.
La Fura dels Baus has presented at the Sant Pau Modernist enclosure the charity show NN (New Normality). The proposal, which will pay tribute to the health sector and to all those who are fighting to overcome the Covid-19, will allocate the money collected from their performances at the site to the Covid-19 micro-patronage campaign of the Hospital de Sant Pau.
The Sant Pau Institute for Biomedical Research (IIB Sant Pau) has initiated more than 30 research projects to combat and learn more about the new coronavirus and Covid-19 disease. The projects are developed in different research areas in order to have a global vision of the disease.
A new study by Sant Pau researchers attached to CIBERDEM and CIBERCV establishes that patients with severe/advanced abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) present a significant reduction in the main cardioprotective function of HDLs, their ability to prevent the accumulation of cholesterol in the macrophages of the arterial wall.
The Alliance of Institutes for Health Research and Innovation in Catalonia (IRISCAT) is organizing its first joint scientific dissemination action: a series of webinars that will address different topics related to biomedical research and COVID-19. These online research seminars will be held every two weeks and the first one, led by Dr. Manuel Puig, from the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital and Research Institute, will take place on 27 May at 4 pm.
A higher degree of adherence to the Mediterranean Diet is associated with better quality of life in patients with type 1 diabetes. This is demonstrated by a multicentre study published in Nutrients and promoted by the CIBER group on diabetes and metabolic diseases (CIBERDEM) at the Sant Pau Biomedical Research Institute (IIB Sant Pau), led by Dr. Dídac Mauricio, head of the Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition Research Group at the Sant Pau Research Institute and director of the Endocrinology and Nutrition Service at Sant Pau Hospital.
The Pneumology and Intensive Care Medicine Services of Sant Pau have collaborated in the writing of a scientific article, which has recently been published in the prestigious American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
The paper describes the experience of Sant Pau in performing bronchoscopies in severe patients with COVID-19, respiratory failure and invasive mechanical ventilation. The data were collected during the first three weeks of the epidemic outbreak and it is the first published worldwide series of these characteristics. In addition to the description of technical aspects, the work shows that the performance of bronchoscopies in these patients has contributed favorably to the management of bronchial secretions and infectious complications.
Researchers from the CIBER on Cardiovascular Diseases (CIBERCV) have analysed the contribution of a protein (the NOR-1 nuclear receptor) to the progression of hypertensive cardiac hypertrophy, thanks to the creation of a transgenic mouse model. In this way, they open a new way to discover new therapies to face this disease, which is the main cause of heart failure, one of the most important health problems of our society.
Dr. Israel Fernández Cadenas, from the Pharmacogenomics and Neurovascular Genetics Research Group at the Sant Pau Research Institute, is one of the 25 speakers who today presented their work at the Research Symposium on Coronavirus organized by the Catalan Society of Biology.
In his participation, Dr. Fenández Cadenas has presented the INMUNGEN-CoV2 Project that his group has initiated in the Institute of Research of Sant Pau together with Dr. Anna Planas Principal Investigator and member of the IIB-CSIC and with Dr. Jordi Pérez Tur of the IBV-CSIC with financing of the CSIC.
A Sant Paul’s study of the factors that determine aortic diameter in families at high risk for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) reveals two new candidate genes. The article was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Mecicine: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/4/1242
The Complex Diseases Genomics Group of the Sant Pau Hospital Research Institute – IIB Sant Pau, led by Dr. José Manuel Soria, demonstrates, for the first time, which epigenetic mechanisms are involved in the risk of suffering a thrombotic condition. This work, which will be published in the May issue of the prestigious scientific journal ATVB (Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology), recognizes the group of Sant Pau scientists as world pioneers in establishing an epigenetic profile of thrombosis.
The study has specifically analysed microRNAs, elements responsible for regulating the expression of our genes under certain specific circumstances, and has made it possible to establish a profile of microRNA expression (biomarkers) as a risk factor for thrombosis. This allows us to establish a pattern that detects the genetic predisposition of a patient to develop thrombotic conditions.
The results of the work will improve the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of thrombosis, changing clinical practice, and therefore will have a high impact on the health of the population.
Only in Europe, every minute, a person dies from a thrombotic event
Currently, the Complex Disease Genomics research group is analyzing the impact that this microRNA profile has on the risk of thrombosis in cancer patients, since thromboembolic disease is the leading cause of death among cancer patients (about 20% of cancer patients will suffer a thrombotic event, depending on the type of tumor).
This microRNA profile will also play an important role in the project that the Sant Pau Research Group is designing to assess the risk of thrombosis in the COVID patient, who develops coagulation and thrombosis disorders, which is a serious clinical complication with a high mortality rate.
The team of scientists has developed the study at the Hospital de Sant Pau Research Institute – IIB Sant Pau, and it is led by the head of the Complex Diseases Genomics Group of the same institute, Dr. José Manuel Soria, who has coordinated Drs. Alba Rodríguez-Ríos, Sonia López, Angel Martínez-Pérez and Dr. Juan Carlos Souto, research member of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau and consultant to the Haemostasis Unit of the Haematology Service.
Association “ACTIVA’TT against thrombosis”
Doctors Soria and Souto are founding members of the association “ACTIVA’TT against thrombosis”, which works with the Sant Pau Research Institute and the Hospital de Sant Pau, to improve the diagnosis, prevention, treatment and social education towards these important pathologies.
www.activatt.com
Dr. Eduard Gallardo has been appointed group leader of the U762 CIBERER (Centre for Research on Rare Disease Networks) in Sant Pau, replacing Dr. Isabel Illa. This research group specializes in neuromuscular diseases.
Since 1993, Dr. Gallardo has been working in the field of desinmune neuropathies, myasthenia, inflammatory myopathies and muscular dystrophies, specifically in dysferlinopathies. He has published over 100 articles in scientific journals in the field of neuromuscular diseases and has been a principal investigator in 12 research projects.
The research carried out by this research group at CIBERER de Sant Pau is clearly translational, which has led to the development of multiple diagnostic techniques that have been incorporated into the Hospital de Sant Pau’s laboratory test portfolio.
The goals achieved in the laboratory, together with the work of excellence in the clinic of the Neuromuscular Diseases Unit of the Hospital de Sant Pau, led by Dr. Isabel Illa, have led the group to be highlighted as a unit of excellence in Spain (CSUR) – http://www.santpau.cat/web/public/csur– and in Europe (ERN).
Grup Immobiliari Alting has made a donation to the Research Institute of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau – IIB Sant Pau for the creation of a Biobank of COVID-19 samples that will contribute to its present and future research. The aim of this project is to collect, process and process samples from SARS-CoV2 seropositive patients under conditions that guarantee quality in the long term, in order to facilitate research at COVID-19 for those researchers who are seeking a drug, vaccine and/or the effects of this malaltia on certain types of patients.
The project
Surplus diagnostic blood samples will be collected from previously inactivated SARS-CoV2 positive patients at the Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona. The samples will be stored at -86ºC after processing in the biobank’s biosafety laboratory to obtain plasma and cells, according to the needs of the researchers who request the samples. Processing shall be carried out in accordance with the standard work protocols of the National Biobank Network, adopted by the Sant Pau biobank to guarantee the maximum quality of the samples processed. In order to collect and process the samples, it is necessary to acquire personal protection material (disposable gowns, FFP2 masks, surgical masks and gloves), disinfection material (for hands and surfaces), reagents for processing the samples (serum, media, tubes), technical personnel for processing the samples and equipment for labelling and refrigerated conservation of samples.
What is a biomedical research biobank?
A biobank is a public or private non-profit institution that holds collections of biological samples of human origin for biomedical research purposes, with quality criteria. Biobanks use standardized protocols to process and preserve biological samples, so that they can guarantee that the results obtained from the research carried out with them are reproducible.
Alting in social projects
Alting, which actively participates in various social projects, supports research with our present and future in mind. Likewise, from Alting we express our admiration for all the staff, health and researchers who work together in the fight against COVID-19.
Research Institute of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau
The Research Institute of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, created on 4 June 1992, is a private scientific foundation whose mission is to promote basic, clinical, epidemiological and health services research in the field of health sciences and biomedicine, with the ultimate aim of contributing to the improvement of the health of the population. On 10 December 2003, the Government of Catalonia approved the affiliation of the Institute to the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), as a university institute.
#RSCAlting #Quedateencasa # Covid19 # Investigación
The Portal de la Recerca de Catalunya (PRC) already contains the data of the Research Institute of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, as a centre of the Institució CERCA (Research Centres of Catalonia).
The PRC highlights the research carried out in Catalonia. It increases access and visibility of the work of researchers, improves the processes of unified management of research data for participating universities and centers, and facilitates the projection of the potential of the entire Catalan research system.
Hospital de Sant Pau, QEV Technologies engineering, the automobile company Nissan and the Eurecat technology centre have developed the Q-Vent respirator for use in hospital ICUs to alleviate the lack of equipment generated by COVID-19 throughout the world. The design of the respirator is intended to contribute to supplying emerging countries, given its performance in terms of accessibility, flexibility and reliability.
The Q-Vent ventilator, which has already been authorised by the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Healthcare Products (AEMPS) for use in clinical research, has been tested at the facilities of the Research Institute of the Hospital de Sant Pau – IIB Sant Pau (Barcelona) with excellent results. The first 20 units will be given to CatSalut, in order to continue contributing to the provision of resources in the ICUs of Catalonia and to the development of the ongoing clinical study for the optimization of the equipment.
Q-Vent is a 22kg portable equipment developed by QEV Technologies and the Research Institute of the Hospital de Sant Pau – IIB Sant Pau that automates a resuscitator device that manually assists the patient’s breathing, in order to make up for the lack of conventional automatic respirators in the face of the emergency situation generated by the new coronavirus worldwide.
The objective of the Hospital de Sant Pau, QEV Technologies, Nissan and Eurecat is to make available to any market an accessible and easy-to-use respirator that is at the same time robust and reliable.
“From the beginning of the epidemic we took on the challenge of developing a low-cost portable system that could reach all corners of the world, especially in those emerging countries where the COVID-19 was going to cause great damage and where most patients would not have access to respirators. And thanks to the effort and will of all, it has been achieved,” explains Miguel Valldecabres, CEO of QEV Technologies.
“From Sant Pau we support this initiative to fight against COVID-19. We believe it is necessary to help emerging countries that have lower economic capacities than those we have in Europe and that is why we support the QEV Technologies project so that this ventilator can be useful in ICUs anywhere in the world”, confirms Dr. José M. Guerra, scientific coordinator of the project, a doctor from the Arrhythmia Unit of the Hospital de Sant Pau and coordinator of the Clinical and Translational Cardiology Research Group of the research institute of this centre.
Nissan develops the production process
Production of the Q-Vent will begin this week at Nissan’s Zona Franca engine and gearbox plant, where engineers have developed the production process for mass production, with a capacity of 180 units per day.
Eurecat has been in charge of advising on the design of components and the production of some of them, as well as managing the process for including hospitals in the clinical study, as is the case with the Althaia Foundation (Hospital Red Asistencial Universitaria de Manresa).
Control of frequency, pressure and volume of oxygen supplied
Q-Vent allows you to control the values of frequency, pressure and volume of oxygen supplied to the patient and includes a safety system with sound alarms and an internal auxiliary battery that, in the event of a power failure, gives it an autonomy of at least 36 minutes. The device is monitored and controlled by a PC with Windows operating system supplied and by means of the Open source software -Covid Patient Tracker-. The software has remote connectivity and requires no configuration, allowing immediate use.
Security system with alarms
The software has been designed to guarantee its stable operation over time and incorporates an acoustic alarm system. These alarms are activated both in the event of accidental disconnection and any alternation in the programmed or measured parameters.
Connectivity
The Q-Vent is equipped with Open Source software -Covid Patient Tracker- which allows for the monitoring and control of an unlimited number of respirators in real time from a single PC, thus reducing the time required for medical supervision.
Acknowledgements
The Hospital de Sant Pau, QEV Technologies engineering, the Nissan automotive company and Eurecat would like to thank their suppliers and collaborators for all the support received, and make special mention of the support provided by the AEMPS, CatSalut, ACCION and LGAI.
Cochrane ha creado un nuevo registro universal de estudios en humanos sobre COVID-19 como respuesta al desafío global que plantea la actual pandemia. Este Registro de estudios COVID-19, que ya contiene más de 1.200 estudios, se actualiza constantemente con los nuevos trabajos publicados o en marcha, con el objetivo de facilitar la investigación y la toma de decisiones de salud basada en la evidencia . Pronto ofrecerá también la posibilidad de buscar por metadatos relevantes y crear alertas sobre los nuevos estudios disponibles.
El objetivo del registro es ayudar a los investigadores a identificar la evidencia disponible, priorizar temas y producir revisiones rápidas que permitan desarrollar nuevas intervenciones terapéuticas, diagnósticas y preventivas. Este proyecto encaja con la misión de Cochrane de promover la toma de decisiones de salud basadas en la evidencia mediante la realización de revisiones sistemáticas y otros resúmenes de la evidencia. Y se suma a otros recursos, como Evidencias COVID-19, desarrollado por el Centro Cochrane Iberoamericano.
“Una de las virtudes de este registro es que contribuirá a no precipitarse prescribiendo tratamientos que aún están en fase de estudio. Asimismo, ayudará a que dejen impulsarse proyectos de investigación poco sólidos o con un bajo número de pacientes si se comprueba que hay otros en marcha que pueden aportar mucho más “, destaca Xavier Bonfill, director del Servicio de Epidemiología de Sant Pau y director del Centro Cochrane Iberoamericano.
Karla Soares-Weiser, la editora en jefe de Cochrane, califica este recurso como un gran avance para la síntesis rápida de la evidencia sobre COVID-19: “Cochrane ha lanzado un registro de importancia crítica basado en estudios que expone claramente los criterios de elegibilidad y los recursos que estamos utilizando. El objetivo de este recurso es apoyar los esfuerzos de síntesis de la evidencia, como las revisiones sistemáticas vivas, los metaanálisis en red vivos y las revisiones rápidas a partir de guías vivas relacionadas con la COVID-19 “.
Todos los estudios incluidos en el registro están clasificados según sus características, lo que permite realizar búsquedas específicas por tipo de estudio y de diseño, fecha de publicación, objetivo y otras características relevantes. “Cochrane ha estado trabajando durante varios años en soluciones y procesos tecnológicos para mejorar la eficiencia en la síntesis de evidencia y avanzar hacia un modelo de ecosistema de evidencia viva. La COVID-19 nos presenta un gran desafío y utilizaremos nuestras herramientas de síntesis y gestión de datos para ayudar a dar una respuesta rápida a las preguntas más importantes para los tomadores de decisiones del mundo. Este registro es una pieza clave para poder dar esta respuesta”, señala Chris Mavergames, jefe de Tecnología e Informática de Cochrane y líder del proyecto.
Isabelle Boutron, epidemióloga del Centro de Investigación en Epidemiología y Estadística y directora de Cochrane Francia, señala que “el Registro de estudios COVID-19 de Cochrane nos ayuda a sintetizar de manera muy rápida los estudios primarios para nuestro metanálisis en red vivo. Así podemos proporcionar la evidencia relevante para los investigadores que trabajan activamente en diagnóstico, intervenciones preventivas, terapias y vacunas para la COVID-19 “.
Página web del COVID-19 Study Register: https://covid-19.cochrane.org/ Más información y entrevistas: Victoria Leo Centre Cochrane Iberoamericà Tel: +34 93 553 7814 | comunica@cochrane.es
The first project of the Sant Pau Research Institute funded by the Department of Health is led by researchers José F. Nomdedeu Guinot and Silvia Vidal Alcorisa and aims to define the effective immune response against COVID-19 by studying antibodies against SARS-CoV -2 in the blood of health professionals. The second is led by the researcher Ivan Castellví, who plans to identify a possible marker to determine which COVID-19 patients will suffer from worsening respiratory failure.
The Department of Health, through the Directorate General for Healthcare Research and Innovation (DGRI), will invest 4 million euros in 19 research and innovation projects to prevent and treat COVID-19 disease. As part of an emergency call for proposals in collaboration with Biocat, the projects have been selected from among researchers at different healthcare research centers committed to the IRISCAT alliance (Institutes for Healthcare Research and Innovation of Catalonia).
