Researchers from the Research Group on Clinical Epidemiology and Health Services of the Sant Pau Research Institute – IIB Sant Pau, in collaboration with the Iberoamerican Cochrane Network, have launched “Evidences COVID-19”, a new information resource that offers relevant related information with the SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

This resource, which is continuously updated and expanded, offers a series of documents that synthesize the most relevant information to answer priority questions about the pandemic, in the form of reviews of the scientific literature and critical evaluations of published studies.

The documents are intended to synthesize and update the knowledge available regarding COVID-19, and give a collaborative response to the current health emergency. These documents address issues related to the epidemiology, clinical, prevention, and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 infection.

The documents that are being published in this resource are of different types:

• COVID19 responses: quick reviews of the literature that answer priority questions, locally or globally, from other existing knowledge transfer products or, when necessary, from primary studies.
• Study COVID-19: Comment on the structures that are filled in by the new or original information on the coronavirus and COVID-19.
• COVID-19 clinical trials: structured comments from published clinical trials of treatments in patients with COVID-19 or strategies for disease prevention.
• Cochrane Reviews: Links to Cochrane systematic reviews included in the first two special collections that Cochrane has prepared as content related to the COVID-19 pandemic, for infection control and prevention and critical care.

This resource can be consulted in Catalan on the website of the Research Institute: https://www.recercasantpau.cat/noticies-grup/evidencies-covid-19/ and in Spanish on the website of the Center Cochrane Iberoamericà: https: //es.cochrane.org/es/recursos/evidencias-covid-19

The trial will study the use of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin with or without tocilizumab and, among other objectives, whether these drugs reduce in-hospital mortality and the need for mechanical ventilation in the Intensive Care Unit.

More information

Researchers from the Lipids and Cardiovascular Pathology Group, from the Institute of Research of Sant Pau – IIB Sant Pau, led by Dr. Vicenta Llorente; from CSIC; from the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute; from the Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona and from the University of Barcelona have published an article in Metabolism. In their work, carried out in the context of different CIBER groups, they demonstrate in an experimental model that the preservation of low levels of the LRP1 receptor in cardiomyocytes (or in the heart) prevents the development of insulin resistance and obesity induced by the diet.

In the article “Low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 deficiency in cardiomyocytes reduce susceptibility to insulin resistance and Obesity” they state that it is due to the fact that the LRPI receptor controls the release of a protein in the bloodstream, the cardioquin or ANP hormone, which modulates the liver’s ability to burn or oxidize the fatty acids that the diet provides to the body. The increased ability of the liver to burn fatty acids prevents them from accumulating as fat and, therefore, LRP1-deficient animals gain less weight than controls even though they are fed a diet richer in fatty acids. These results open up a new therapeutic avenue to prevent cardiac and metabolic disorders in the context of diet-induced obesity and diabetes.

About the article

Benitez-Amaro A, Revuelta-López E, Bornachea O, Cedo L, See À, Herrero L, Roglans N, Soler-Botija C, de Gonzalo-Calvo D, Nasarre L, Camino-López S, García JE, Mato E, Blanco-Vaca F, Bayes-Genis A, Sebastian D, Laguna JC, Sierra D, Zorzano A, Escuela-Gil JC, Llorente-Cortes V. “Low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 deficiency in cardiomyocytes reducing susceptibility to insulin resistance and Obesity “. Metabolism. 2020 Feb 26: 154.191. doi: 10.1016 / j.metabol.2020.154191. PubMed PMID: 32112822.

Following the guidelines of the Ministry of Health regarding preventive measures of an organizational nature to prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 infection, the Research Institute of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau suspends the activities that suppose a large presence of people outside the center in order to protect the safety of the people in its enclosure.

Therefore, all events that meet these characteristics are postponed to the new date.

The Sant Pau Institute for Biomedical Research – IIB Sant Pau with Dr. J. Carlos Escolà of the Research Group on Metabolic Bases in Cardiovascular Risk, organized the seminar “Transcription factor USF1 deficiency Improves cardiometabolic health, Enhancer Cholesterol efflux but has Adverse effects on reproductive function” by Matti Jauhiainen, professor at the Minerva Foundation Institute for Medical Research, Biomedicum 2U Helsinki. The conference will take place on March 11th at 3 pm in the auditorium of the Research Institute.

The Sant Pau Biomedical Research Institute (IIB Sant Pau) with the Cardiovascular Biochemistry Research Group, led by Dr. José Luis Sánchez-Quesada, is organizing the seminar “Serum Amyloid A in Lipid Transport and Immune Response: Structural bases for a new function of an ancent protein” by Olga Grusky, Professor of Physiology and Biophysics at Boston University School of Medicine . The conference will be held on March 5 at 3 pm in the auditorium of the Research Institute.

Dr. Jordi Clarimón, from the Genetic Unit of Neurodegenerative Diseases at the Sant Pau Research Institute – IIB Sant Pau, together with researchers from the ACE Foundation and the Marqués de Valdecilla Hospital, have prepared a review of human genetic variability and how it can influence the appearance of degenerative dementias such as Alzheimer’s, frontotemporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies or prion diseases.

To consult the article

Dr. Jordi Mancebo, director of the Intensive Medicine department of Sant Pau, is coauthor of the survey “Effect of Intravenous Interferon β-1stwhere Death and Days Free From MechanicalVentilation Among Patients With Moderate key Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: At Randomized Clinical Trial” published recently at the magazine JAMA, and of which Dr. Antoni J. Betbesé, clinical cape of the same Kick, is member of the multicèntric INTEREST Study Group.

més…

Adela Gomez has launched a ‘crowdfunding’ campaign to investigate the rare disease she suffers from, Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disease in which antibodies attack nerves. The aim of the campaign was to raise 5,000 euros for the Neuromuscular Diseases Research Group of the Sant Pau Research Institute, which specialises in Guillain-Barré, in order to contribute to its research and the development of treatments; although the figure has already been exceeded, reaching a total of 11,686 euros.

Guillain-Barré syndrome is a progressive paralysis, which evolves over several weeks. Recovery, which can take months, requires a long hospital stay. In fact, the young woman has been admitted to Sant Pau for one month under the supervision of Dr. Luis Querol, neurologist at the Neuromuscular Unit of the Sant Pau Neurology Service and researcher at the Neuromuscular Diseases Research Group of the Sant Pau Research Institute.

In total, there are 400 cases per year in Spain with this syndrome, so it is considered a rare disease. According to the experts, most cases recover completely, but there is a high percentage of affected people in which the sequelae are permanent or can even reach, in a few cases, death.

The Gaudí Shopping Association has donated to the Sant Pau Research Institute the 1,179.29 euros collected during the solidarity campaign organized around the World Breast Cancer Day last year by the shopkeepers who are members of this association. The money will go to a research project led by Dr. Cristina Arqueros, from the Oncology Clinical Research Group of the Sant Pau Research Institute, led by Dr. Agustín Barnadas, director of the Oncology Service of Sant Pau.

The Sant Pau Institute for Biomedical Research (IIB Sant Pau) with the Research Group on Metabolic Bases in Cardiovascular Risk, coordinated by Dr. José Julve, are organizing the seminar “Mitochondrial dynamics and its role in metabolic diseases” by Antonio Zorzano, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Barcelona, coordinator of the Molecular Medicine Programme at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and head of the CIBERDEM Programme: “Cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the development and progression of type 2 diabetes”. The seminar will be held on the 26th in the conference room of the Hospital.

The Research Institute of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau – IIB Sant Pau and the company Psious have signed a collaboration agreement through which clinical researchers at the Hospital de Sant Pau will have at their disposal virtual reality equipment to carry out clinical trials with their patients. Within this collaboration framework, the use of VR in clinical trials of approximately 12 to 24 months duration is foreseen, with a variable number of patients (between 200 and 300) depending on the study and covering a range of diverse pathologies. The collaboration begins with the study Efficacy of virtual reality as a pain and anxiety distraction strategy in hysteroscopy, led by the team of Dr. Josep Estadella, from the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Hospital de Sant Pau.

Next Tuesday 25th February, at 7 p.m., Dr. Diana Fernández and nurse M.Teresa Vilella, researchers of the Primary Care Research Group of the EAP Sardenya – IIB Sant Pau, will give a talk at the Guinardó Civic Centre. The session will focus on “Telemedicine in heart failure patients: An innovative experience from the primary care centre (PCC)”. This is an activity of the Sant Pau Research Institute within the Aula 141 cycle.

More information here

Dr. Daniel Guisado, researcher of the Cerebral Vascular Disease Research Group at the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau Research Institute – IIB Sant Pau, and assistant doctor at the Neurology Service of the Hospital de Sant Pau will be giving the conference “The shortcuts of blood” next Tuesday 18 February, from 6.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. This session is part of the “Science and Medical Research” cycle of talks at the Navas Civic Centre. Admission is free.

When a stroke occurs due to a blockage of an important artery in the brain, treatments must be carried out as quickly as possible to try to resolve the blockage with the least possible brain damage. These treatments are possible thanks to the fact that a minimum amount of blood manages to reach the neurons that are suffering (and keep them hibernating but alive) through small paths that open up with this objective: the shortcuts of the blood.

More information

Sant Pau joins the International Day of Women and Girls in Science
Tomorrow, February 11, is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This initiative promotes activities that, making visible the work of female scientists, commemorate this day, foster scientific vocations in girls and help close the gender gap in science. This fourth edition hosts more than 1,700 through February 15.

In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 11 February as International Women’s and Girl’s Day in Science. The goal is to achieve full and equitable access and participation in science for women and girls, as well as the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

This platform was created by a group of women scientists and teachers, who propose activities that “help visualize the work of female scientists, create female roles in the fields of science and engineering, and promote practices that favor the gender equality in the scientific field. ” In this third edition there are actions planned in educational centers, bookstores, cultural centers, etc.

You will find the activities https://11defebrero.org/

Learn more at http://www.un.org/es/events/women-and-girls-in-science-day/

Researchers from the Research Institute of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau – IIB Sant Pau, the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and the Centre for Networked Biomedical Research (CIBER) have published an article in Advanced materials, one of the most prestigious international scientific journals in the field of nanomedicine and materials science. The work describes the generation by the researchers themselves, of a new pharmaceutical form of subcutaneous administration and sustained release of cytotoxic directed protein nanoparticles, which selectively eliminate metastatic stem cells, inducing a potent metastasis prevention effect in a colorectal cancer model with no detectable adverse or toxic effects.

Publication link

The team of researchers, formed by Prof. Antonio Villaverde and Dr. Esther Vázquez, from the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine of the UAB (IBB) and led by Dr. Ramon Mangues, from the Research Institute of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau – IIB Sant Pau (who have been collaborating closely for over a decade) have created inclusion bodies of amyloid and nanostructured fibres which, when administered subcutaneously in laboratory mice, are capable of releasing continuously soluble cytotoxic nanoparticles carrying the exotoxin of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which manages to maintain a stable concentration of this nanomedicine in blood and tissue.

This new pharmaceutical form of subcutaneous administration for sustained release makes it possible to administer high doses of this nanofarm, at long intervals (weeks in mice and probably months in humans) without toxicity at the point of injection or in normal tissues, while generating a powerful antimetastatic effect. The development of the drug for human administration would reduce the need for frequent intravenous injection of current cytotoxic anti-tumour drugs, requiring hospitalization.

Apart from being controlled release systems, these inclusion bodies or nanoparticles incorporate a link that interacts with the receptor (CXCR4), present at high levels in the membrane of metastatic stem cells capable of generating metastasis (MSC CXCR4 +). Once this new pharmaceutical form is administered subcutaneously in mice with metastatic colorectal cancer, this bond directs each nanoparticle released by this amyloid structure (protein aggregates of fibrillar morphology) towards the tumor tissues, increasing their uptake very considerably, to internalize specifically in the CXCR4+ MSCs and induce their selective destruction.

This effect achieves a significant reduction in the size of the tumor in the colon while blocking the development of lymph node, lung, liver and peritoneal metastases, without appreciable uptake or toxicity in healthy (non-tumor) tissues. This therapy offers a response to the urgent medical need to inhibit the development of metastases, which represents the main cause of death in cancer patients. On the other hand, the selective destruction of tumour and metastatic cells increases the therapeutic index of this nanomedicine, obtaining a powerful antimetastatic effect without generating associated adverse effects, which differentiates it from most of the anti-tumour drugs currently used, which produce frequently severe adverse effects.

It is estimated that this new therapeutic strategy will have a high clinical impact by reducing the requirement for hospital administration, which most anti-tumour drugs have, and blocking the metastatic spread, responding to an unmet clinical need. On the other hand, it is important to note that this new pharmaceutical form, which combines sustained release with guidance by the CXCR4 receptor, could be used in the treatment of at least 23 types of cancer that also express high levels of this receptor in tumor cells.

Next Tuesday, February 11, Dr. Jordi Clarimón, researcher and coordinator of the Research Group on Genetics of Neurodegenerative Diseases at the Research Institute of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau – IIB Sant Pau will give a talk at the Guinardó Civic Center. An activity of the Sant Pau Research Institute within the Aula 141 cycle entitled “Alois Alzheimer: a psychiatrist who made history”.

More information

Next Saturday, 8th february, the solidarity concert of the Laud’Ars Orchestra will take place at the Casal de Entidades Mas Guinardó in support of the project “Cholesterol and Thyroid Cancer”, led by Dr. Eugenia Mato and Dr. Juan Carlos Escolà, researchers from Sant Pau. An event organized by the Research Institute of the Hospital de Sant Pau, which will take place at 7 pm, with free admission.

http://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/casalsdebarrihg/cemasguinardo/node/1551

The Sant Pau Research Institute recently received a very special donation from a family in Aiguafreda. The money collected comes from the sale of Costumama’s textile products. It was an idea of Anna Martinez, its creator, who was born with the challenge of overcoming cancer, an illness suffered by different members of her family. The refuge in sewing during the treatment process led her to create some purses that over time have become all kinds of textile objects of which she allocates all the profits to research, and which she has decided to donate to the research being carried out at the Sant Pau.

The Institute of Biomedical Research, IIB – Sant Pau, is participating in a study, published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine, which points to the immune response to high-density lipoproteins (HDL) as a pathogenic mechanism in the progression of the abdominal aortic aneurysm. The researchers of this study suggest that anti-HDL antibody levels may be a biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of this vascular pathology.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a disease characterized by the dilation of the abdominal aorta. It is an asymptomatic condition and difficult to diagnose in time, which can progress to the rupture of the artery, a fatal event in most cases. Therefore, it is a key challenge for research to find biomarkers that contribute to an earlier diagnosis, improving the monitoring and prognosis of the disease.

In this field, new research published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine has demonstrated the presence of circulating antibodies to high density lipoproteins (HDL) in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). The results, from researchers at the University of Oviedo, from CIBER Cardiovascular Diseases (CIBERCV) at the Instituto de Investigaciones Sanitarias Jiménez Díaz, and from CIBER Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases (CIBERDEM) at IIB-Sant Pau , suggest that the levels of these anti-HDL antibodies could have potential value as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker. Furthermore, they point out that the immune response to HDL could be a key pathogenic mechanism in the evolution of this blood vessel disease.

Good’ cholesterol, key to preventing aortic dilatation

AAA is usually characterized by the accumulation of cholesterol and immune cells in the aortic wall, which trigger an inflammatory immune response. Therefore, HDLs play a key role in preventing this accumulation of cholesterol on immune cells (mainly macrophages) in the artery wall.

Previous studies by the CIBERCV and CIBERDEM groups had shown that low levels of HDL cholesterol are associated with the presence of AAA and that there are modified forms of HDL in the aneurysmal wall. However, the exact mechanisms that lead to the decrease in HDL levels remain unknown. On the other hand, the research team from the University of Oviedo had previously demonstrated the presence of antibodies generated against HDL (anti-HDL) in several autoimmune diseases.

This new work, with the support of “la Caixa” Foundation, focused on investigating the presence of anti-HDL antibodies in patients with AAA and their possible association with the clinical characteristics of this disease. To this end, the circulating levels of antibodies directed against HDL (anti-HDL) in plasma and tissues of 488 patients diagnosed with AAA and 184 healthy controls were analysed.

Anti-HDL antibodies, potential diagnostic and prognostic marker

The results obtained demonstrated an increase in the levels of these anti-HDL antibodies in plasma from patients with AAA, independent of risk factors. Likewise, anti-HDL antibodies were negatively associated with HDL cholesterol levels and positively with aortic size, a marker used to follow the evolution of these patients. Both results point to the potential value of this indicator as a biomarker for both diagnosis and prognosis of this vascular disease.

In addition to these data, the authors detected the presence of these antibodies in the arterial wall of patients with AAA, suggesting an immune response to HDL in the aneurysmal wall as one of the mechanisms of progression of this disease.

Regarding its usefulness as a biomarker, José Luis Martín Ventura, CIBERCV researcher at the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Jiménez Díaz, states that “the presence of these antibodies may provide additional clues for understanding risk stratification in these patients, which represents a key aspect in clinical treatment”. On the other hand, Javier Rodríguez Carrió, first signatory of this article, points out that “antibody detection is a relatively simple, objective, reproducible and feasible technique in most hospitals, which provides additional advantages over more sophisticated and less accessible techniques”.

However, the researchers point to the need for further studies in this field: “From a clinical point of view, further research is warranted to elucidate the exact role of anti-HDL antibodies as biomarkers for patient stratification and clinical management, as well as their contribution to the mechanisms of abdominal aortic aneurysm,” they conclude.

Reference article:

Rodríguez-Carrio J, Lindholt JS, Canyelles M, Martínez-López D, Tondo M, Blanco-Colio LM, Michel JB, Escolà-Gil JC, Suárez A, Martín-Ventura JL. IgG Anti-High Density Lipoprotein Antibodies Are Elevated in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm and Associated with Lipid Profile and Clinical Features. J Clin Med. 2019 Dec 26;9(1). pii: E67. DOI: 10.3390/jcm9010067