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Two innovative projects from IGTP secure €300,000 in funding to advance the diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases
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The Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) has been awarded two grants in the proves de validació (validation testing) call for the 2024-2026 period, under the Strategic plan for research and innovation in health (PERIS) 2022-2027 from the Department of Health of the Catalan Government.
This call aims to drive innovation in healthcare by supporting projects in their early stages of development. The funding facilitates the validation and practical implementation of prototypes that have the potential to transform the healthcare system and improve citizens' quality of life.
Lewy-Dx: the first blood test for diagnosing dementia with Lewy bodies
The Lewy-Dx project has been awarded €100,000 under the "Medical Technology and Digital Health" category. This initiative is led by Katrin Beyer, leader of the Genomics and Transcriptomics of Synucleinopathies (GTS) research group at IGTP.
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the second most common neurodegenerative dementia, posing significant challenges in terms of diagnosis. Many cases remain undiagnosed or are misidentified as Alzheimer's disease, leading to inappropriate treatments that can worsen patients' symptoms. Additionally, no rapid, cost-effective, and easily implementable diagnostic methods currently exist for DLB, complicating clinical management and hindering the development of targeted treatments.
In this context, the GTS group has secured funding to develop Lewy-Dx, an in vitro diagnostic test for DLB based on the detection of platelet microRNA, a diagnostic approach already patented. This new diagnostic tool is minimally invasive, easy to implement, and cost-effective. It is expected to offer significant benefits by reducing healthcare costs, improving patients' and caregivers' quality of life, and supporting the development of new drugs specifically for DLB.
A multi-target therapy for stroke based on apotransferrin
The second IGTP project funded in the call is led by Teresa Gasull, head of the Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology (CMN) research group. It has been awarded €200,000 under the "Innovation in Drug and Advanced Therapy" category.
Stroke is one of the most severe medical emergencies worldwide. This cerebrovascular accident is mainly classified into ischaemic stroke and haemorrhagic stroke. In both cases, neuronal damage begins rapidly, leading to irreversible loss of neural tissue and often resulting in permanent disability. Current treatments for ischaemic stroke focus on dissolving or removing the blood clot, but many patients are not eligible for these interventions. The options for haemorrhagic stroke are even more limited, leading to high mortality and disability rates.
The CMN group is developing a new therapeutic approach based on apotransferrin. They have designed a multi-target therapy that has shown promising results in reducing neurological damage in mouse models of both ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke. In collaboration with the Dutch company Prothya, IGTP is now extending this research to porcine models, which offer a more human-like preclinical testing environment, a crucial step in validating the treatment's safety before advancing to clinical trials. This project aims to establish new therapeutic strategies to reduce stroke-related mortality and disability.
IGTP's commitment to translating laboratory discoveries into societal benefits
As outlined in its strategic plan, IGTP is committed to fostering a culture of innovation and supporting processes that translate scientific discoveries into tangible benefits for society. This strategy not only drives the pursuit of innovative and viable approaches to current challenges but also promotes collaboration with key players in the healthcare and industrial sectors. By doing so, IGTP positions itself as a driving force for change, ensuring that breakthroughs in the laboratory translate into opportunities to improve public health and well-being.