Lozano, a predoctoral researcher from the Geriatrics and Active Ageing Unit (INGEA) at Navarrabiomed-IdiSNA and specialist in Geriatrics at the Hospital Universitario de Navarra, will defend her thesis from the Universidad Pública de Navarra on Friday, 5th April at 17:00 h, in the conference room at Navarrabiomed.

The doctoral study, entitled “Delirium in the elderly: from biomarkers to clinical practice”, has been carried out at Navarrabiomed and the Hospital Universitario de Navarra under the supervision of Drs. Mikel Izquierdo Redín, Principal Investigator of the Physical Exercise, Health and Quality of Life unit (E-FIT) at Navarrabiomed and Nicolás Martínez Velilla, Principal Investigator of the INGEA Unit. This project has also been possible thanks to support from the Scientific/Technical Proteomics Department and Biobank at Navarrabiomed.

Details of the research

This doctoral thesis concerns the potential use of biomarkers to predict the risk of delirium in older adults and the implementation of physical exercise as a tool to modify its evolution once established. Delirium is a severe and very common neuropsychiatric syndrome in the elderly that leads to disability and cognitive impairment. The underlying pathophysiological mechanisms are not well known and there is currently no effective treatment available for it. Serum biomarkers can be a minimally invasive and effective strategy to predict the onset of delirium, helping to better understand its pathophysiology and potentially contributing to its prevention, as well as the development of future therapeutic targets. In addition, physical exercise can offer an alternative to pharmacological treatment in a disease in which, to date, no medication has been proven to be effective.

This thesis is based on three studies carried out that have been published in different high-impact national and international journals (Q1-Q2) and a total of ten communications at international conferences. This research has led to the creation of new projects, such as the delirium working group of the Spanish Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology, where the doctoral student serves as secretary, and the delirium chapter of the Good Clinical Practice Guidelines in Geriatrics. A genetic study reveals how viruses that infect bacteria protect themselves and, at the same time, safeguard their hosts.