Two new solidarity initiatives give a percentage of sales to biomedical research on COVID-19 at the IGTP

The malaria parasite ‘P. vivax’ can remain in the spleen upon expression of certain proteins

The malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax can adhere to human spleen cells through the expression of so-called variant proteins. These are the conclusions of a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by "la Caixa" and the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP). The results, published in PNAS, suggest that this could represent an additional challenge to eliminating the disease.

The IGTP participates in an international project to validate serological tests for COVID-19

The Innovation in Respiratory Infection and Tuberculosis Diagnosis research group led by Dr José Dominguez and Dr Cristina Prat Aymerich have started a collaboration with the team led by Dr Lluis Cuevas at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to develop and validate new serological techniques for diagnosing COVID-19. The project is financed by the Wellcome Trust (UK).

Artificial intelligence identifies a new drug for beta cell regeneration in type 1 diabetes

Researchers from IGTP have published an article on the identification of a drug for beta cell regeneration in type 1 diabetes. The drug is already licenced for use in people with type 2 diabetes. Using artificial intelligence researchers selected the drug from 6,605 candidates and tested it in mouse models. The drug improved hyperglycaemia and results indicate that beta cell replacement took place. More research is needed to explore its use as a new therapy for beta cell regeneration, which should be combined with an immunomodulatory strategy to reduce autoimmunity.

The IGTP contributes to the European Society of Endocrinology statement on COVID-19 and endocrine diseases

Manel Puig, acting director of the IGTP, has been one of a distinguished team of three leading endocrinologists to publish a statement and general guidelines on behalf of the European Society of Endocrinology. The document includes advice for endocrinologists and also for patients with diabetes mellitus and other endocrine or metabolic diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement includes guidelines for patients on how to avoid infection and what to do when it is suspected.

A new study shows that increasing the number of cycles with temozolomide for glioblastoma patients brings no additional benefits and increases the toxicity of the treatment

The trial, the results of which have been published in been published in the journal "Neuro Oncology", was led by the researcher and medical oncologist Carme Balaña and included a large group of professionals from the ICO.

The IGTP coordinates a clinical trial to reduce the number of infections by SARS-CoV-2

The clinical trial will test whether the food supplement Manremyc® protects against infection with SARS-CoV-2 and starts this May. The Pharmaceutical company Reig Jofre is the sponsor of the trial. It is coordinated from the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute together with the IDIAP Jordi Gol Foundation. The trial will last three months and results are expected in October 2020.

Analysis of the first sample of replies to the citizens’ questionnaire on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic

The study has collected close to 62,000 replies to the questionnaire in only 15 days so far. The researchers have carried out the analysis of the results for this initial period. The questionnaire is still available in four languages (and soon in five) and will continue to collect information during the coming phases of the pandemic.

The percentage of COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Spain rises to nearly 10% of the population

The figure forms part of the study of the evolution of the pandemic, based on mathematical models, being carried out with the support of the "la Caixa" Foundation by a multidisciplinary group of researchers from the UPC and the IGTP. The data show that there were at least 2.5-2.7 million accumulated cases in Spain on 26 April and 600-800,000 cases in Catalonia. According to the analysis, the delay between the appearance of symptoms and registration in the official statistics is between 10 to 14 days.

100 RESPIRA ventilators from GAPInnova delivered to the SEM to continue clinical trials with COVID-19 patients in other hospitals

The emergency ventilator RESPIRA, developed by GPAINNOVA, with the support of the Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute and the University of Barcelona have passed the first stage of the clinical trial with the first two patients affected by COVID-19 successfully. With the first phase complete, the study can be expanded to other hospitals in the region. Thanks to the support received from the public, companies and administrations today the first 100 emergency ventilators c have been delivered to the SEM for distribution.