Noticias

A tailored physical exercise programme implemented for the past two years and a half with 370 senior patients over 75 by the Geriatrics Unit at the Navarra Hospital Complex (CHN) has been found to produce ‘improvements in participants’ cognitive functions.’ This is the most important conclusion in the study published in medical journal PLOS Medicine by researchers at CHN, Navarrabiomed – a joint biomedical research centre of the Government of Navarra and the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) – and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) in Brazil. According to the authors, this finding is evidence of the need to ‘change traditional hospitalisation, consisting mainly of bed rest, to acknowledge the importance of keeping functional capacity and cognitive ability active, as key components of a patient’s functional status.’

The authors of the study are UPNA researchers Mikel López Sáez de Asteasu and Mikel Izquierdo Redín (faculty member at the Department of Medical Sciences), CHN-Navarrabiomed researchers Nicolás Martínez Velilla (Head of the Geriatrics Unit), Álvaro Casas Herrero, Fabricio Zambom Ferraresi and Arkaitz Galbete Jiménez, and UFRGS researcher Eduardo L. Cadore. All UPNA and CHN-Navarrabiomed researchers are members of the Navarra Medical Research Institute (IdiSNA) and, except for Galbete, of the Frailty and Healthy Ageing Network-Based Biomedical Research (CIBERFES).

Physical exercise programme for strength, balance and gait

Participants in the programme were given tailored, controlled exercises for strength, balance and gait, adapted to their capabilities, even during the acute phase of their illnesses. Depending on their condition, training intensity varied from 30% to 60% of their muscle strength in arm and leg workout series. The workout routine consisted of two 20-minute sessions, in the morning and in the afternoon, five to seven days a week (including weekends and holidays), supervised by instructors specialising in physical exercise for seniors.

The programme, a version of the Vivifrail project (successfully implemented with almost 1000 people with frailty issues in seven European countries), took into account the clinical condition of individual patients. In an paper published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, in late 2018, the same team showed that, rather than worsening a patient’s condition, physical exercise ‘plays a key role in preventing frailty, avoiding the complications associated with passive hospital stay and motivating patients in their struggle against disease.’ Now, the team took one further step to study an issue that has seldom been discussed: the benefits of physical activity for the cognitive function of patients.

According to Mikel Izquierdo, in older patients, acute disease followed by hospitalisation ‘often leads to long-term disability.’ Moreover, ‘prolonged bed rest increases the risk of developing cognitive decline or dementia in senior patients with acute hospitalisation,’ Nicolás Martínez Velilla adds.

Improvements in patients

The study results showed that, at the time of discharge, the patients who had followed the physical exercise programme had better language and math, orientation, memory and attention, spatial and cognitive skills than those who had not done the exercises. According to the authors, this is the first study ‘to highlight the benefits of a multi-component physical exercise programme for executive functions and oral fluency in hospitalised elderly patients.’

Photo: The authors of the study published in PLOS Medicine at Navarrabiomed. From left to right: Nicolás Martínez Velilla, Mikel Izquierdo Redín, Mikel López Sáez de Asteasu, Fabricio Zambom Ferraresi and Arkaitz Galbete Jiménez.

Experts gathered at the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) have urged health and sports professionals to become ‘health agents’ by promoting physical activity among young people and pregnant women. Their goal is to improve the health and fitness of the population as a strategy to prevent non-communicable chronic diseases like obesity, heart disease or type 2 diabetes. A symposium was held by UPNA in Pamplona on Thursday 9 May to discuss exercise prescription as a way to improve health in all ages. Organised by the School of Medical Sciences and the Department of Medical Sciences, the event drew some 130 sports, health and biomedical experts.

Two UPNA researchers, who are also members of Navarrabiomed (the joint biomedical research centre of the Government of Navarra and the Public University of Navarra) and the Navarra Medical Research Institute (IdiSNA), delivered speeches: Mikel Izquierdo Redín, organiser the event, and Robinson Ramírez-Vélez. Mikel Izquierdo talked about strength training and the functions of the muscular system, ‘which a number of health professionals consider important for improving health and recovering from diseases linked with a sedentary lifestyle and population ageing, as well as for optimising sport performance after muscle injury.’ He debunked some of the myths created by pseudo-therapies in connection with strength training and improved muscle function. He said that muscle loss is not an inevitable outcome of ageing, as it can be prevented with proper training. He also observed that it is not true that children cannot do strength training exercises; on the contrary, they can, as long as they engage in controlled movements that are suitable for their age. He insisted that fitness ‘always’ offers benefits to patients who suffer from diseases such as type 2 diabetes and denied that the best muscle training is the one associated with extreme fatigue.

Finally, Izquierdo questioned the effectiveness and validity of the Kinesio Taping Method (which consists in applying elastic strips on muscles to treat pain), hypopressive techniques, electro stimulation suits and muscle roller sticks.

Health and pregnancy

Robinson Ramírez-Vélez said that, despite the efforts made to prevent non-communicable chronic disease, such as promoting healthy habits like physical exercise, a balanced diet, a good night’s sleep, quitting smoking and drinking, and so on, ‘we have failed to obtain the desired results.’ Studies reveal, he added, that ‘the mother’s state of health during pregnancy conditions to some extent the developing baby’s health later in life.’ He highlighted the importance of physical activity in children and adolescents – both aerobic exercise and resistance/strength training. Also, he insisted that health professionals should prescribe physical activity in all stages of life, even pregnancy.

The closing lecture was delivered by Antonio García-Hermoso, of Navarrabiomed and IdiSNA. He showed his disappointment in the fact that ‘Physical Education in school is not considered to be as important as subjects.’ He cited important international studies concluding that ‘exercise in youth is good for both physical and mental wellbeing.’ Finally, García-Hermoso recommended that ‘sports should be given the importance they deserve in primary, secondary and higher education.’

The Immunomodulation Unit at the biomedical research centre Navarrabiomed, with the cooperation of the Medical Oncology Service from the Navarra Hospital Complex (CHN), has identified molecular properties in the immune system of lung cancer patients involved in clinical responses to immunotherapy based on PD-L1/PD-1 inhibitors. The study, published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, was made possible by the support of Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC) and Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII).

About 300 people are diagnosed annually with lung cancer in Navarra. 20 per cent of them get immunotherapy, a type of cancer treatment that helps the patient’s immune system fight cancer.

A study conducted by researchers at Navarrabiomed shows for the first time the significance of CD4 cells for the response to PD-L1/PD-1 blockade immunotherapy in lung cancer patients. The results of the study might help predict, examining the characteristics of the patient’s immune system, whether they are likely to respond to this type of treatment before treating them.

In addition, the study offers preliminary evidence for using new combination therapies that would improve the efficacy of PD-L1/PD-1 blockade immunotherapy in patients who, in principle, could not benefit from this type of immunotherapy.

It took three years to complete the research project, which was led by David Escors Murugarren and Grazyna Kochan, from the Immunomodulation Unit, and Ruth Vera García, Head of the Medical Oncology Service at CHN.

Moreover, the study is at the core of Miren Zuazo Ibarra’s MD dissertation. ‘Immunotherapies are regularly used in today’s clinical practice, but in a number of cases, the molecular mechanisms involved in the success or failure of a certain therapy are unknown. The results of our study will help more patients benefit from immunotherapy,’ says the young scientist, acknowledging oncologist Hugo Arasanz Esteban and graduate student María Jesús García Granda for their contributions.

At present, the team are also working on melanoma and head and neck cancer. They are also planning to extend the translational investigation to patients treated with immunotherapy as first-line treatment.

The recently published paper forms part of the scientific production of the Navarra Medical Research Institute (IdiSNA), the institution both CHN and Navarrabiomed belong to.

Today, Navarrabiomed granted a new ‘Stop Fuga de Cerebros’ fellowship – the programme funded by Roche Farma Spain to stop brain drain and retain young talent in the country, instead of pushing young researchers out in search of resources to carry out their projects.

The event was attended by Luis Gabilondo, Director-General of the Navarra Health Department; Iñigo Lasa, Director of Navarrabiomed; and Mónica Palomanes, Regional Access & Business Manager at Roche Farma. The beneficiary was Carlos Hernández, postdoctoral researcher at the Immunomodulation Unit of the biomedical research centre Navarrabiomed.

‘Stop Fuga de Cerebros’ is an initiative whereby Roche Farma Spain promotes innovation in the local health sector. According to Hernández, this fellowship has enabled him to continue research and boost his career. Without it, he would have had to find a different job or find a research opportunity abroad.
‘Roche’s initiative will enable many researchers like me to stay in Spain, and this will contribute to build a research network to the benefit of Spanish society,’ the postdoc researcher added.

Cutting-edge research: immunotherapy against cancer

The Immunomodulation Unit, which Carlos Hernández is a member of, works jointly with the Medical Oncology Service at the Navarra Hospital Complex (CHN), which does ground-breaking research into the development of immunotherapies for cancer treatment.

When a tumour develops, cancer cells inhibit the immune system so that it cannot attack the tumour. Immunotherapy is aimed at reactivating the immune system so that it can attack and eliminate the tumour. Hernández works to identify biomarkers that predict what patients will respond to immunotherapy and studies the causes of the lack of response in some patients.

For the time being, his research focuses on lung cancer, but his findings can be applied to other types of tumours.

About the ‘Stop Fuga de Cerebros’ fellowship

The ‘Stop Fuga de Cerebros’ fellowship is a tool Roche makes available to regional health ministries for the funding of pre- and postdoc research projects in Spain.
Giving 60,000 Euro over 18 months, it is managed by participating health departments at the regional level, via a cooperation agreement between Roche Farma and the designated agency in each department. So far, Roche Farma has signed cooperation agreements with the health departments in Andalusia, Aragon, the Balearic Islands, the Basque Country, the Canary Islands, Castile-La Mancha, Castile-Leon, Catalonia, the Community of Valencia, Madrid, Murcia and Navarra.

The ‘Stop Fuga de Cerebros’ initiative is aimed at strengthening the research network in Spain. Today, many highly-qualified young researchers find it hard to pursue a scientific career in the country. The initiative is an effective tool designed in response to this situation.

Yesterday, Francisco Arasanz, Chairman of Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC) in Navarra, delivered the funds to carry out a research project to David Escors, Head of the Immunomodulation Unit at Navarrabiomed. The project, to be developed over the next three years, will be fully funded by AECC Navarra, as a way to channel the support of the community to cancer research and to renew the association’s commitment to the battle against cancer.

At the same event, AECC Navarra announced it would continue to finance the research project led by Luis Montuenga, from Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA) of the University of Navarra, for the next two years.

The financed project at Navarrabiomed

Immunotherapy is a highly successful treatment for a wide range of cancer types. However, it still fails in a great number of patients. The reasons for this lack of effectiveness are still unknown.
Over the past four years, the team led by Dr Escors has contributed to the development of treatments that reverse ageing in the immune system. Thanks to the AECC funding, they will be able to study if the drugs used in this reversal are effective against cancer in combination with immunotherapy. Based on the study’s results, they will design simple blood tests to predict or suggest the best treatment for each patient.

Firmly committed to research

So far this year, AECC has allocated 12 million Euro to 140 projects. Since 2011, it has given 40 million Euro to 250 projects, carried out in more than 50 research centres.
AECC funds research into the various stages of cancer and into rare tumours, prioritising coordinated teams that develop translational research, projects focusing on childhood cancer and postdoctoral fellowships. Currently, about 100 researchers have stable jobs thanks to AECC financing.

• The project, the best of the R&D initiatives submitted to INTERREG SUDOE, will be developed by a consortium of ten research centres from France, Portugal and Spain.

The Navarra Hospital Complex (CHN), through the biomedical research centre Navarrabiomed, will participate for three years in ICTUSnet, a network for the development and implementation of novel models for stroke care. Ten R&D centres from six regions of France, Portugal and Spain will develop the project. They will have 35 associate partners in both the public and the private sectors in Southwest Europe, most of them hospitals and healthcare centres.

The presentation of the project was made by Tomás Belzunegui, Deputy Director of the Hospitalisation and Emergency Process Unit, alongside Marisol Fragoso, Management Director of Navarrabiomed, and CHN neurologists Roberto Muñoz and Beatriz Zandio.

ICTUSnet is co-funded by INTERREG SUDOE, which supports regional development in Southwest Europe by financing transnational projects through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The programme promotes transnational cooperation to solve problems common to the regions in Southwest Europe.

ICTUSnet got the highest score in the second call for R&D projects of the INTERREG SUDOE 2014-2020 programme. 357 projects were submitted, out of which 222 focused on R&D (axis 1) and 135 centred on the protection of the environment and efficient use of resources (axis 5).

The project Navarra will be part of is based on the handling and sharing of data on stroke care from the participating regions, which cover a population of 20 million. The partners in ICTUSnet will exchange information and experiences with the aim to improve stroke care strategies and treatment protocols, and to support stroke research. The project is worth 1.7 million Euro, 1.3 million coming from the ERDF.

A network coordinated from Catalonia

ICTUSnet is coordinated by the Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia (AQuAS) and receives support from important organisations specialising in big data and cloud computing, such as the Barcelona Supercomputing Center-Centro Nacional de Supercomputación.

ICTUSnet has the mission ‘to create a network of collaboration and, at the same time, do research into the protocols and procedures used in stroke recovery, based on the data provided by the partners in the consortium. Good practices will be identified and modified, so that they can be used in all participating regions across Southwest Europe.

ICTUSnet will create a platform built on cloud computing technology. It will become the central node in a distributed system for data extraction and analysis of huge amounts of information through cognitive algorithms. ICTUSnet will collect structural and non-structural data from stroke records in the different regions that are part of the network.

The initiative will create a transnational excellence network for stroke care research and innovation, thus deepening the knowledge of the disease and of the quality and efficacy of patient care, identifying and leveraging synergies between medicine, ICTs and computer science, developing a virtual platform that is accessible to all stakeholders and open to other regions as well, sharing good practices and improving the existing plans for comprehensive care.

The project has ten partners from Catalonia (AQuAS, Barcelona Supercomputing Center-Centro Nacional de Supercomputación, Fundació Ictus and Open Evidence), Aragon (Aragon Institute of Medical Sciences), Balearic Islands (Illes Balears Medical Research Institute), Navarra (Navarrabiomed), North of Portugal (Administração Regional de Saúde do Norte) and Occitanie (Centre hospitalier universitaire de Montpellier, Département de neurologie, Unité neurovasculaire and Centre hospitalier universitaire de Toulouse).

ICTUSnet is part of the Navarra Health Plan 2014-2020 strategy, dealing with acute emergencies and the impact of response times, which includes protocols and activities for continuous improvement and research into stroke, heart attack, cardiac arrest, severe polytrauma and sepsis.

900 strokes a year

The CHN Stroke Unit There receives about 900 patients every year, 86 per cent of them having suffered ischaemic strokes. 20 per cent of the latter get intravenous drug (fibrinolytic) therapy, while 4 per cent are treated with catheter-based thrombectomy.

The Navarra Health System-Osasunbidea (SNS-O) delivers comprehensive stroke care through a number of protocols, from ‘stroke code’ implementation to treatment in the Stroke Unit or intensive post-stroke rehabilitation, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech/language therapy, and cognitive, emotional and social assessment. The ‘stroke code’ has recently incorporated the CAT scan code, which reduces intervention times by implementing treatment directly in the scanning room, and a telestroke system that connects the emergency doctors at the Reina Sofía Hospital in Tudela to the stroke experts at the CHN Neurology Unit, using video cameras or other remote devices, so that they can work together.

Stroke is the number two cause of death in the general population and the leading cause of permanent disability. In approximately 40 per cent of cases, patients may have difficulty in dealing with everyday activities resulting as a result of inability to control movement; paralysis on one side of the body; problems with body posture, walking and balance; language, memory or thinking impairment; and sensory disturbances. Reducing risk factors help prevent 80 per cent of strokes.

The best way to reduce stroke risk is to eat a healthy diet, reducing the amount of salt and avoiding high-cholesterol foods; to exercise moderately and regularly; to control weight; to control blood pressure, cholesterol levels and blood sugar levels; to quit smoking; to drink alcohol in moderation; and to go to the doctor’s in case of heart palpitations.

Common stroke symptoms and signs, which can appear suddenly, are total or partial paralysis affecting any part of the body, numbness, vision problems, difficulty speaking or understanding someone else’s speech, and abrupt onset of severe headache. With these symptoms, even when they are transitory, the patient must be taken to hospital as quickly as possible.

• Ongoing research in the Navarra Health System-Osasunbidea focuses on biomarkers for early detection

More than 70 oncology, radiation therapy and digestive medicine professionals gathered on Thursday for a seminar on pancreatic adenocarcinoma, held at the biomedical research centre Navarrabiomed.

The event was organised and promoted by Antonio Viudez Berral, a specialist from the Medical Oncology Unit at the Navarra Hospital Complex (CHN) and researcher at Navarrabiomed and the Navarra Medical Research Institute (IdiSNA), as a meeting place for a comprehensive approach to pancreatic cancer. ‘We need to share the methods, techniques and care protocols being implemented at the different centres, while keeping abreast of the most recent lines of research at the global level, if we are to gain a deeper understanding of pancreatic research and come up with more effective treatments,’ Viudez remarks.

The seminar gathered a dozen speakers from healthcare and research centres in Spain and the USA, including Dr Roberto Pazo (Miguel Servet University Hospital, Zaragoza), Dr Ana de Jesús Acosta (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore), Dr Isidoro Cobo (Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, CNIO), Dr Sara Arévalo (Donostia University Hospital), Dr Fernando Pardo (Clínica Universidad de Navarra, CUN) and Dr Ruth Vera (Head of the Medical Oncology Unit, Navarra Hospital Complex, CHN).
Dr Vera, during her presentation.

Early detection from blood tests

In pancreatic cancer, the tissue adjacent to and interacting with the tumour plays a fundamental role. Various strategies are currently being studied in different countries to weaken this tissue and thus make treatments more effective.

Teams at Navarrabiomed and CHN are carrying out two research projects to identify biomarkers that predict response to treatment in two types of pancreatic cancer: pancreatic adenocarcinoma and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours.

Likewise, the team led by Dr Viudez are working on a new line of research, focusing on early detection from blood tests – a way of accurately predicting which pancreatic cystic lesions can be precursors to pancreatic cancer. ‘Cystic lesion analysis and removal are key to preventing the development of pancreatic cancer,’ Dr Viudez explains.

Navarra: about 50 new cases every year

According to Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC), over 200,000 patients are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer worldwide every year. A genetic disease, cancer of the pancreas can be inherited or acquired, often as a result of unhealthy eating habits or lifestyles.

The global incidence of pancreatic cancer has risen over the past 40 years, going up by 113 per cent in Europe and North America. The rising incidence is associated with environmental factors, eating habits and smoking, and population ageing. In Navarra, there are 40 to 50 new cases every year.

Surgery, when possible, continues to be the main treatment for pancreatic cancer. Chemotherapy before or after surgery improves survival of patients. In advanced stages, doctors recommend combination chemotherapy. Early diagnosis increases survival rates (about 8 per cent five-year survival rate for the 2005-2011 period, according to the American National Cancer Institute, NCI; 27 per cent in cases of localised cancer and 2 per cent for metastatic cancer.

Photo: From left to right: Antonio Viudez, Ana de Jesús Acosta, Fernando Arias, Juan Vila, José Carlos Subtil, Joaquín Fernández, Isidoro Cobo, Sara Arévalo, Ruth Vera and Fernando Pardo.

The Navarra Hospital Complex (CHN) and the biomedical research centre Navarrabiomed have carried out an innovative study of the so-called ‘liquid biopsy’ in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis and follow-up. The results of this study were published in the international peer-reviewed journal Annals of Translational Medicine.

On the occasion of the Global ALS Awareness Day, members of the multidisciplinary team treating patients with ALS in Navarra shared the latest research and care developments in connection with this disease, including this innovative study of the use of liquid biopsy testing in ALS diagnosis and follow-up.

The leaders of the study were Maite Mendióroz and Ivonne Jericó, doctors from the CHN Neurology Department and researchers at Navarrabiomed. The project was part of the scientific activity done at the Navarra Medical Research Institute (IdiSNA), a public-private agency for the promotion of biomedical research in Navarra. The survey involved ALS patients and a control group (individuals without ALS), and professionals from the departments of Neurology and Anaesthesiology and the Nursing Team at CHN, and the Neuroepigenetics Unit at Navarrabiomed.

According to the study coordinators, one of the biggest weaknesses in research into neurodegenerative disease is the difficulty to access and study the nervous tissue of living patients. In order to address this difficulty, the study analyses the application of liquid biopsy testing, a technique recently developed in the field of cancer research, to ALS diagnosis.

Liquid biopsy is based on the fact that, when cells degenerate and die, their contents – including DNA – flow into the bloodstream. The released DNA molecules contain biochemical information about the original cells (hence the name ‘biopsy’) – in this case, diseased neurons. The original cell contents can be isolated and analysed in blood samples (hence the name ‘liquid’). The researchers have successfully used this technique with ALS patients to identify a new gene, RHBDF2, as a biomarker for ALS diagnosis in the future.

‘To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time ever liquid biopsy has been used to diagnose neurodegenerative diseases. The results have been encouraging so far. Now we are planning to extend the technique to other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease,’ the doctors said, adding that the survey was made possible by the generous participation of patients and their families, and the volunteers in the control group.

A multidisciplinary team, 11 years and more than 200 patients

The team treating ALS patients in Navarra have striven to promote ALS research right from the start. Currently, two researchers at the Navarrabiomed Neuromuscular Disease and Motor Neuron Disease Group (headed by Dr Jericó) are working on ALS for their PhD projects, and other four projects address this neurodegenerative disease – specifically, the identification of biomarkers for diagnosis and follow-up, the role of neuroinflammation, the underlying mechanisms, the analysis of genetic factors, and the study of epidemiological aspects and disability.
The Group coordinates both research and care activities, and collaborates with the Navarrabiomed Proteomics and Biobank platforms, the Neuroepigenetics Research Unit (headed by Dr Mendióroz) and the Navarra Public and Occupational Health Service (Rare Disease Registry).

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive nervous system disease with a heterogeneous clinical presentation but common symptoms like muscle weakness and progressive muscular atrophy. Prognosis is variable among patients. About 5 to 10 per cent of ALS is familial, which means it arises in families in which there is a history of ALS. The other 90 to 95 per cent of ALS is sporadic, meaning it occurs without a family history, its causes still being unknown. Every year, 1 to 2 people every 100,000 are diagnosed with ALS. Despite being a rare disease, it has a deep social and family impact. Currently, there is no cure for ALS, but this does not mean there is no treatment.

ALS care involves multiple disciplines. On the occasion of the Global ALS Awareness Day the multidisciplinary team at CHN shared an informative brochure with patients and their families, highlighting the importance of coordinated social and health care through multidisciplinary units or teams. Active for 11 years now, the CHN team have treated over 200 patients to date.

Navarra has been one of the first Spanish regions to implement a multidisciplinary care model for ALS patients. Since 2007, the region has been offering comprehensive, coordinated care to them and their families, through a multi- and interdisciplinary team whose members include a neurologist, (Dr Ivonne Jericó), a nutritionist (Dr Ana Zugasti), two pulmonologists (Dr Joan Boldú and Dr Begoña Fernandez), a neurophysiologist (Dr Asun Ibiricu), an intensive care physician (Dr Juan Pedro Tirapu), a social worker (Rakel Suescun), neurology nurses, dieticians, a palliative care service and members of the Psychological and Social Support Service at San Juan de Dios Hospital (Yolanda Santesteban and Ana Baños).

From the beginning, the team set out to offer adequate, tailored, patient-centred social and health care, while promoting research as the key to finding an effective treatment for ALS.
 

Image: Members of the multidisciplinary team treating patients with ALS in Navarra.

The Spanish Biobank Network (RNBB) has been present in the International Biobank Conference 2019, held in Doha, Qatar, from 25 to 27 March. It was represented by Cristina Villena, Coordinator of RNBB and the Lung Cancer Biobank Platform at the Respiratory Disease Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERES), and Isabel Gil-Aldea, Coordinator of the Navarrabiomed Biobank.

At the conference, organised by the European, Middle Eastern & African Society for Biopreservation and Biobanking (ESBB) in collaboration with the Qatar Biobank (QBB), with the support of BBMRI-ERIC and the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER), experts discussed the characteristics of national biobanks and shared international experiences in connection with data return from sample donations for research.

Villena spoke on day 1, as part of the panel ‘Donors Matter: Incidental Findings & Return of Genetic Data’. She discussed the experience of Spanish biobanks, based on the work done by RNBB Legal and Ethical Advisory Committee.

Gil-Aldea spoke on day 2, as part of the panel ‘Biobanks as a Useful Tool in the Process of Drug Development and Discovery of Biomarkers’. She talked about the experience of the Navarrabiomed Biobank in the development of new therapies and the discovery of biomarkers for the different disease stages.

In addition, the conference participants visited the QBB, a medical research platform dedicated to improving the lives and health of the Qatari people. QBB’s activity is framed within the Qatar Genome Programme (QGP), a pioneering project in the implementation of precision medicine at the international level.

A national platform

The RNBB Platform is an initiative of Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), aimed at adding value of the National Health System by promoting quality scientific knowledge production. At present, the platform comprises 52 institutions across Spain and 688 researchers.

3D3B, a project replicating the behaviour and distribution of the drugs used to treat neurodegenerative diseases, has been awarded the first prize at SciencEkaitza 2019, a competition giving recognition to the most ground-breaking research projects in Navarra and those with a significant social and economic impact. The prize was given by the Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Chairman of ADItech Technology Corporation, Manu Ayerdi, at the 2nd Navarra Science Gala, held in Baluarte.

Special prizes went to Rastreator, which studies how to activate the immune system through the olfactory bulb in Alzheimer’s patients; Runheat, a project to design printed-circuit radiant flooring; Zeco2da, for the design of zero-emission data processing modules; Nutryfert, a method to make highly effective granular fertilisers; and Emotional Films, for effective use of the audiovisual language to communicate scientific contents. The People’s Choice Award was granted to Stroke Challenge, a project to help patients recover from stroke, while the Patent Award went to Omega Zeta, the Navarra-based corporation with the largest number of patents applied for and published in 2018.

In his speech, Manu Ayerdi said, ‘SciencEkaitza wants to show the scientific reality of Navarra, and the remarkable work done in the fields of research and innovation.’ ‘It is a showcase of Navarra’s present and future, where science plays a fundamental role. At the Government of Navarra we are aware of this: “we know the value added to our society by researchers with their daily work,’ he added.

The gala, organised by ADItech Technology Corporation with the cooperation of the Government of Navarra, drew such remarkable figures as Professor María Blanco, researcher and member of the Navarra Innovation System, and winner of the SciencEkaitza First Prize 2018; Carlos Magdalena, Tropical Senior Horticulturist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; George Smoot, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2006; actor John Cleese, co-founder of the British comedy troupe Monty Python; and comedian Luis Piedrahita, who was the emcee.

SciencEkaitza is coming to a close on Friday, 28 June, with a book presentation and signing: Carlos Magdalena’s El Mesías de las plantas, at the Elkar bookshop in Pamplona (C/Comedias).

The award-winning projects

María Blanco and Icíar Astiasarán, Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Navarra (UNAV), gave out the Special Health Prize to Rastreator, a project which studies how to activate the immune system through the olfactory bulb in Alzheimer’s patients. The project team includes researchers Ana García-Osta, Mar Cuadrado, Alberto Pérez Mediavilla, Marta Pérez, Noelia Casares, Juan J. Lasarte, Teresa Lozano, Isabel Vivar and Aritz Lasarte of Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), and Enrique Santamaría, Jokin Fernández, Karina Ausín, Andrea González-Morales and Mercedes Lachén-Montes of Navarrabiomed.
Carlos Magdalena and Ramón Gonzalo, Chancellor of the Public University of Navarra (UPNA), handed out the Special Food Chain Prize to Nutryfert, a project to develop a new, original method to make highly effective granular fertilisers from the mineral nutrients found in organic waste, whose recycling is key to the development of a circular economy. Project members include José María García-Mina, Óscar Urrutia, Marta Fuentes, Javier Erro, Maria Movila, Maite Olaetxea and Ángel Zamarreño (UNAV), and Alberto Lafarga and Luis Orcaray (INTIA).

Carlos Magdalena and Eduardo Ryan, Institutional Representative of Iberdrola in Navarra, gave the Special Prize for Renewable Energy and Resources to Zeco2da, a revolutionary project that consists in designing zero-emission data processing modules to be installed in the region, thus boosting a sustainable digital economy. This project was developed by Sergio Díaz de Garayo, Javier Llorente and Laura Frías at CENER, and Patricia Aranguren at UPNA.
George Smoot and Rafael Aquique, COO for Europe at Dana, delivered the Special Prize for the Automotive Industry and Mechatronics, which went to Runheat, a project to design a type of radiant flooring featuring an electric circuit printed in PTC ink on the inner surface that is only a few microns thick. The circuit is connected to an electric energy accumulator or receiver so as to evenly distribute heat in a home. The project’s developers were Santiago Gómez (NAITEC), and Alberto Berrueta and Álvaro Martínez (UPNA).

The Patent Award, giving recognition to the Navarra-based corporation with the largest number of patents applied for and published the previous year, was given by Iñaki Pinillos, Managing Director of Navarra de Servicios y Tecnologías (Nasertic), and Iosu Ibáñez, from the Navarra R&D+i Department, to Omega Zeta.
As to the People’s Choice Award, it was handed out by a member of the audience to the developers of Stroke Challenge, a project helping patients who have had a stroke on their way to recovery: Josune Orbe (CIMA), Roberto Muñoz (Navarrabiomed) and Francisco Fernández (ADACEN).

John Cleese and a representative of the Audiovisual Cluster of Navarra (CLAVNA) gave out the Special Audiovisual Communication Prize – an adequately chosen category for Cleese – to Emotional Films, for knowing how to use of the audiovisual language effectively to communicate scientific contents. This project was carried out by UPNA researchers Carlos del Río, Arantxa Villanueva, Andoni Larumbe, Mikel Galar, Mikel Elkano, Mikel Xabier Uriz and Daniel Paternain, Juan Carlos Pérez of UNED, Carlos Fernández de Vigo and Lorena Ares of NGL, and Leticia Garcés, from Padres Formados.

Last but not least, the SciencEkaitza First Prize, delivered by Manu Ayerdi and John Cleese, went to 3D3B, a project replicating the structure and outer layer of the brain for 3D printing in order to test the behaviour and distribution of the drugs used to treat neurodegenerative diseases before they are administered to the patient. The researchers that were part of the project were Navarrabiomed’s Natalia Ramírez, Maite Mendióroz, Ibai Tamayo Rodríguez and Alberto Labarga, UPNA’s Mauro Malvé, Rafa Cabeza, María Ángeles Cuellar and Arantxa Villanueva, and NAITEC’s Joseba Irigoyen.