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04 October 2021

El 78% de los pacientes españoles está interesado en conocer dónde se fabrican sus medicamentos

La pandemia ocasionada por la COVID-19 ha despertado un mayor interés en los pacientes sobre la importancia de fabricar los medicamentos en Europa. Según el estudio MANUFACTURING RESILENCE elaborado por TEVA, al 78% de los pacientes españoles le gustaría saber dónde se fabrican sus medicamentos, dado que la crisis sanitaria ha puesto de manifiesto la debilidad europea ante la gran concentración de producción de medicamentos esenciales en el extranjero.

 

En concreto, este estudio interrogó a 3.000 pacientes mayores de 25 años procedentes de Francia, Alemania, Países Bajos, España, Croacia y República Checa. Todos los participantes son pacientes crónicos con una o más patologías, como enfermedad de Alzheimer, artritis, asma, cáncer, enfermedades cardiovasculares, EPOC, depresión, diabetes, enfermedades cardíacas o migraña, que requieren medicación regular.

 

Los datos están extraídos, por tanto, de la opinión de personas que dependen de medicación habitual para enfermedades crónicas. A la gran mayoría de ellos, el 87%, les gustaría que el gobierno apoye las inversiones para asegurar las capacidades de fabricación de medicamentos nacional. Del mismo modo, el 81% de los pacientes cree que es importante saber que la fabricación de medicamentos en Europa es tan competitiva como en el resto del mundo.

 

Estas conclusiones apuntan a una creciente preocupación, a raíz de la pandemia, por tener garantizadas la seguridad y el acceso de medicamentos vitales. Sin embargo, los datos son alentadores puesto que el 70% de los encuestados cree que la industria farmacéutica en Europa está capacitada para garantizar la estabilidad y fiabilidad del suministro constante de medicamentos.

 

Para Rafael Borràs, director de Relaciones Institucionales y comunicación del grupo TEVA: “La reciente crisis sanitaria ha sido una llamada de atención ante el creciente desequilibrio de la cadena farmacéutica mundial. La dependencia de Europa del mercado extranjero para recibir principios activo se ha visto reflejado con el cierre de fábricas y fronteras”.

 

Por su parte, Juan Carlos Conde, director general de TEVA España asegura que: “Desde la planta de Zaragoza de TEVA ponemos todos nuestros esfuerzos en adaptarnos a las nuevas realidades de forma competitiva y posicionándonos geopolíticamente para garantizar el acceso a nuestros pacientes a su botiquín de medicamentos. En la actualidad, se fabrican 30 moléculas y 1.600 presentaciones diferentes y 220 millones de unidades anuales de producto terminado para distribuir a farmacias y hospitales en nuestro centro de producción nacional”.

 

Impulso económico tras la pandemia

 

En el estudio también se recoge que los pacientes consideran el sector farmacéutico como crucial para impulsar la recuperación económica tras la pandemia. En concreto, el 69% menciona que la creación de empleo y el apoyo de la economía local es el principal beneficio para promover la fabricación de medicamentos en Europa, seguido de cerca por el deseo de tener un mejor acceso a los medicamentos esenciales y reducir la dependencia del suministro en el extranjero (58%).

 

 

Preocupación por una fabricación de medicamentos más ecológica

 

Un porcentaje alto de los encuestados españoles, un 81%, esto es 16 puntos más que la media europea, se muestra interesado en que sus medicamentos se fabriquen de forma sostenible para el medio ambiente.

 

Además, casi el total de los pacientes, el 84%, valoran que la fabricación de medicamentos se realice en Europa para reducir el uso de transporte y a su vez protegerla huella medioambiental.

 

03 October 2021

Scientists find protein which indicates whether memories can be changed

 


Researchers have discovered that a particular protein can be used as a brain marker to indicate whether emotional memories can be changed or forgotten. This is a study in animals, but the researchers hope that the findings will eventually allow people suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to return to leading a more balanced life. This work is presented at the ECNP Conference in Lisbon.

Scientists know that long-term memories can broadly be divided into two types: fact-based memory, where we can recall such things as names, places, events, etc., and a sort of instinctive memory where we remember such things as emotions and skills. Scientists have come to believe that these emotional memories can be modified, so perhaps allowing the trauma underlying PTSD to be treated. In 2004 some ground-breaking work by scientists in New York* showed that if animals were treated with the beta-blocker propranolol, this allowed them to forget a learned trauma. However, the results have sometimes been difficult to reproduce, leading to doubts about whether the memories were modifiable at all.

Now scientists at Cambridge University have shown that the presence of a particular protein – the “shank” protein, which acts as a scaffold for the receptors that determine the strength of connections between neurons - determines whether the memories can be modified in animals treated with propranolol. If this protein is degraded, then memories become modifiable**. However, if this protein is found to be present, then this shows that the memories were not degradable, so explaining why propranolol does not always produce amnesia.

Lead researcher, Dr Amy Milton said:

“We trained rats to associate a clicker with a mild electric footshock, to create a fear memory, similar to the way Pavlov conditioned dogs more than a hundred years ago. We then reminded the rats of this memory (‘reactivated the memory’) by introducing the clicker on its own, and immediately after this reminder we gave an injection of the beta-blocker propranolol. However, we did not see the amnesia that had been previously reported in the literature following this intervention. We then used the presence of the shank protein to determine whether the memories had become unstable in the first place, and found that they had not.  

This means that the shank protein can be used a biomarker for a malleable memory. We don’t yet know if it’s directly involved in the memory degradation, or if it’s a by-product of a deeper reaction. What it does do is give us a way in, a key to one of the first doors in understanding the biochemistry of memory.

These are really complex mechanisms, and we need to bear in mind that this is animal work; the brains of humans are similar, but much more complex. We don’t see this leading to the sort of situation shown in the movies, like for example “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”, where the protagonists can choose which memories to erase. But we hope that over time we will be able to identify the factors that make memories modifiable in animals and translate these to human patients. Ultimately, we hope to lessen the unconscious impact of traumatic emotional memories, the sort of trauma which can ruin the lives of people with PTSD. In ancient Greek legend they spoke of a drug, Nepenthe, which made them forget painful memories. We hope that this is a step on the path to treatment”.

Commenting, Dr Livia de Picker, University of Antwerp, said:

“This is interesting work. Unpicking what makes a memory is extremely difficult, and this work takes us a step nearer to understanding how memories are retained and changed. There is a long way to go in this process, and of course transferring these steps to humans will be difficult. But this does give us some hope that eventually we may be able to help people who suffer from memories of traumatic stress”.

Dr De Picker was not involved in this work; this is an independent comment,

*Debiec & LeDoux, 2004
**See Lee et al., 2008, DOI: 10.1126/science.1150541

This work is presented at the 34th ECNP Annual conference, which takes place in Lisbon and online from 2-5 October, see https://www.ecnp.eu/Congress2021/ECNPcongress . The European College of Neuropsychopharmacology is Europe’s main organisation working in applied neuroscience.

 

02 October 2021

European College of Neuropsychopharmacology: Fast driver, fast life: genetics and everyday behaviour reflected in risky driving

  



A new long-term psychological study of drivers has found an association between driving convictions, accidents and everyday behaviour such as eating junk food or alcohol consumption. The researchers have also uncovered evidence that this relationship is associated with genetic variation in serotonin metabolism – the same neurotransmitter targeted by many antidepressants. This suggests that risky behaviour in driving and in life may have a common psychological basis.

In an innovative study, researchers from Professor Jaanus Harro’s team at the University of Tartu (Estonia) combined psychological, genetic, and biochemical data from the unique Estonian Psychobiological Study of Traffic Behaviour with police and insurance records  

817 drivers (49.2% male, 50.8% female) participated in the study. Over a period of time they completed questionnaires to measure such factors as impulsivity and aggression: in addition, they underwent a series of blood tests and genetic analysis. Linking these results to the police and insurance databases the researchers began to uncover some of the links associated with risky driving. Presenting their findings to the ECNP Conference in Lisbon, they report that 137 drivers who had been cautioned for exceeding the speed limits tended to have faster reaction times, but that they also scored higher on physical and verbal aggression, undertaking more strenuous physical activity, and had higher consumption of junk foods (including energy drinks).

According to lead researcher Tõnis Tokko:

“We were able to pick out lots of associations between everyday risk taking and risky driving. For example we found that subjects who drink energy drinks at least once a week were twice as likely to speed as those who didn’t drink energy drinks as often. We think the energy drink consumption may be a related to a need for excitement, rather than the drinks themselves being a direct cause of traffic violations; the drivers’ underlying psychological makeup may lead them both to speed, and to want to consume more energy drinks or junk food. Similarly, our psychological tests showed us that those with fast decision making skills were 11% more likely to speed, and those with higher excitement seeking were 13% more likely to speed”.

 He continued:

“Driving history is an excellent platform to study behavioural regulation; most people drive, and driving convictions or accidents are objective records - they remain in databases. We found that significant associations exist between risky traffic behaviour and a range of lifestyle behaviours, such as undertaking strenuous exercise, alcohol consumption, or junk food and energy drink consumption.
 
The researchers also looked at genetic traits in the volunteer drivers.  They found that certain variants of a gene which controls serotonin transport (the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism) were associated with risky driving. Serotonin is the neurotransmitter which is thought to be involved in depression, and which is also regulated by many antidepressant drugs. “We found that certain gene variants are associated with risk-taking behaviour in both driving and in other areas of life; but this is an early finding and still needs to be confirmed” said Tõnis Tokko.

The Estonian Psychobiological Study of Traffic Behaviour is a long-term study that started collecting data in 2001 – it is believed to be the world’s only long-term study to follow drivers while considering psychology, and the related biology. Initially it aimed to identify behaviour patterns of drunk drivers and speeding drivers to try to prevent these behaviours, but it has since expanded to consider other factors.
 
Tõnis Tokko said “We are able to follow various driving-related factors over a period of years, including psychological behaviour, blood tests to understand biological changes, and genetics. We also have a firm idea of which of these drivers have committed traffic violations or have been in accidents. We believe this to be a unique system. This study shows that people who are reckless in traffic also tend to take chances in other areas of life, and our research shows that there may be a biological tendency to this behaviour”.
 
Dr Oliver Grimm, senior psychiatrist at the University Clinic Frankfurt, commented:
“This study is very interesting, as it is already known from large registry studies that ADHD and traffic accidents are more common in adults. This specific study from Estonia now helps to better understand how this accident-prone group is constituted from both the genetic risk and personality traits.”

Professor Oliver Howes, Professor of Molecular Psychiatry at King’s College, London, said:
“This study adds to other work showing that psychological and biological traits are linked to how people behave in the world. It's important to recognise that the associations don't mean that one leads to the other"

These are independent comments; neither Dr Grimm nor Professor Howes were  involved in this work.

This work is presented at the 34th ECNP Annual conference, which takes place in Lisbon and online from 2-5 October. See https://www.ecnp.eu/Congress2021/ECNPcongress . The European College of Neuropsychopharmacology is Europe’s main organisation working in applied neuroscience.

 
 
 

El Hospital Regional de Málaga e Ibima lideran un estudio piloto para detectar la atrofia muscular espinal y otras enfermedades raras en recién nacidos

 


 

 

The State of Qatar Inaugurates Qatar Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai Under the Slogan, “The Future is Now”

  


                                            


Welcoming visitors from around the globe, His Excellency Sultan bin Rashid Al Khater, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, inaugurated the Qatar Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai on October 1st. The opening was attended by General Commissioners from GCC participating countries as well as a number of dignitaries, officials and partners.

Following the inauguration, His Excellency toured the Qatar Pavilion which highlights the country’s achievements across various fields, showcases the most pioneering projects that are being developed in accordance with the National Vision 2030, and spotlights Qatar as the upcoming host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He also visited the pavilions of participating GCC countries, where each country’s most prominent achievements were showcased.

The Qatar Pavilion was designed by internationally-renowned architect, Santiago Calatrava, who represented a modern interpretation of the four elements presented in the Coat of Arms of Qatar. Its architectural composition draws inspiration from the two crossed and curved swords, encompassing a Dhow and island with two palm trees, that are at the core of the national emblem of the state of Qatar.

Santiago Calatrava said: “We are honoured to have been chosen for the design of the Qatar Pavilion at Expo 2020. Our relationship with the State of Qatar and its people lies very close to our heart. The Qatar Pavilion’s design draws inspiration from the four elements represented on the Coat of Arms of Qatar and pays tribute to the nation’s cultural heritage.”

The coinciding pair of buildings of the Qatar Pavilion consist of two main galleries of exhibition spaces. Gallery 1 serves as an introductory space and invites visitors to explore the past, present, and future of Qatar through visual arts, sound effects, and music. Guiding visitors toward the main entrance portal, refection pools flank the pavilion on both sides.

 



Utilizing a combination of technologies, from mirror screens and holographic projections to 3D mapping and transparent LED screens, six illusion showcases displaying key themes that represent Qatar’s story make use of illusions that bring objects inside the pavilion to life. Encompassing the subthemes of EXPO 2020 in Opportunity, Mobility, and Sustainability, these key concepts were derived from the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are an urgent call for action by all countries in a global partnership. These include: heritage, geography and culture; art, science and technology via creative stimuli; communication, transportation and exploration; environment, urban development, biodiversity, and natural resources; governance and investment in human capital; education, youth employment, and community welfare; industrial transformations, pioneering change and green economy initiatives; innovation and development.

Combining sound, light, and vision, Gallery 2 offers visitors a deeply immersive audio-visual experience that moves from impressionistic evocations to stunning imagery. Featuring a wrap-around projection screen and 6 illusion mirror totems, visitors are met with an experience that moves from peacefulness to heightened emotion, from the personal to the global, and from the conceptual to the concrete.

Located within the sustainability district at EXPO 2020, the Qatar Pavilion is adjacent to the Southwest concourse of the Sustainability Pavilion and has a plot area of approximately 960m2 and a total built up area (BUA) of approximately 620m2.


**To find out more information, visit: https://www.visitqatar.qa/



30 September 2021

NovoNordiskLAB, nuevo espacio virtual para potenciar la información y formación de la población sobre diferentes patologías

 


 

 

·      La diabetes es la primera patología en ocupar este espacio interactivo al que progresivamente se van a incorporar la obesidad, la hemofilia y los trastornos del crecimiento.

 

·      La exposición virtual NovoNordiskLAB, que emplea los recursos audiovisuales e interactivos más vanguardistas, está dirigida a toda la población, bien para potenciar su formación y control de las enfermedades o para saber cómo prevenirlas o detectarlas.

  Es una realidad que la diabetes afecta gravemente a la población española. En torno al 14% la padece, lo que supone cerca de 6 millones de personas1. De ellas, entre el 90-95% tiene diabetes tipo 2, aunque se estima que unos dos millones de personas con diabetes tipo 2 están aún sin diagnosticar2. Esta es una de las razones por las que Novo Nordisk acaba de poner en marcha NovoNordiskLAB para que la población conozca y aprenda sobre esta patología.

 

Como explica Olga Espallardo, directora de Relaciones Institucionales de Novo Nordisk España, “con este proyecto, en un área en el que contamos con casi 100 años de innovación y liderazgo, queremos que tanto las personas con diabetes como sin ella y sus familias sean los verdaderos protagonistas. Es uno de nuestros retos como compañía, fomentar la participación e implicación ciudadana en la prevención y cuidado de la diabetes, así como mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas que la padecen. Es un espacio dinámico en donde las familias pueden disfrutar de un espacio de conocimiento en salud”.

 

El proyecto también cuenta con la con la participación de la Federación Española de Diabetes (FEDE). En palabras de Juan Francisco Perán, presidente de FEDE, “esta iniciativa está pensado para facilitar la comprensión y ampliar los conocimientos sobre la diabetes, de una manera cercana, amena y positiva, al mismo tiempo que fomentar los hábitos de vida saludables. Y es que, no mucha gente, incluidas las propias personas con diabetes, conocen la patología en profundidad, con el consiguiente riesgo que puede suponer para su calidad de vida”.

 

En este sentido, no hay que olvidar que la diabetes está considerada como una de las principales causas de muerte en España ya que las personas con diabetes tienen hasta tres veces más riesgo de desarrollar enfermedades cardiovasculares2. Por eso, para prevenirla, como para su abordaje, la dieta y el ejercicio son pilares básicos.

 

Aprender, conocer y comprender

 Durante el recorrido expositivo el visitante puede de manera lúdica (recursos audiovisuales e interactivos, etc.) aprender, comprender y conocer sobre la prevención, el abordaje y el tratamiento de la diabetes. Hay contenido sobre introducción a la patología, causas, testimonios de personas con diabetes, la opinión de los expertos, etc. Todo en un año muy significativo en el que se cumplen 100 años desde el descubrimiento de la insulina, que ha sido durante el último siglo el principal tratamiento para esta enfermedad. Por ello, NovoNordiskLAB cuenta con una sala que permite a todos los visitantes conocer más sobre el descubrimiento y evolución de la insulina y el impacto que ha tenido en la vida de las personas que la padecen.

 

Asimismo, en este espacio también se pueden conocer algunas de las campañas impulsadas por FEDE recientemente que, a nivel nacional, representa y defiende los intereses y derechos de las personas con diabetes, o el trabajo realizado por la Fundación para la Diabetes Novo Nordisk (FDNN), como entidad que apuesta por un estilo de vida saludable y pone a disposición de la población las herramientas necesarias para prevenir la diabetes y para llevar un buen control de la misma.

 

Más patologías en NovoNordiskLAB

La exposición NovoNordiskLab se dividirá en un total de cuatro espacios, uno para cada patología en la que centra su trabajo e investigación Novo Nordisk: diabetes, obesidad, hemofilia y trastornos del crecimiento. En los próximos meses se irán abriendo las salas virtuales de las demás patologías.

 

Una iniciativa con la que, como incide Olga Espallardo, “pretendemos educar, informar y sensibilizar a todo el mundo sobre estas enfermedades para, a su vez, potenciar la detección y control de estas”.

El ISCIII y el Gobierno de Navarra sientan las bases para avanzar hacia la medicina personalizada

         


 


El Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), dependiente del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación y adscrito al Ministerio de Sanidad, y el Gobierno de Navarra, han implementado recientemente sendas iniciativas estratégicas que, a buen seguro, van a contribuir a sentar las bases para el desarrollo de la medicina personalizada a nivel estatal y regional, respectivamente. Se trata, por un lado, de la Infraestructura de Medicina de Precisión asociada a la Ciencia y Tecnología (IMPaCT), y, por otro, de la Estrategia Navarra de Medicina Personalizada de Precisión, las cuales han sido detalladas por sus protagonistas en esta cuarta jornada de BIOSPAIN 2021, el evento de referencia para el sector biotecnológico que se ha celebrado en Pamplona esta semana y cuyo programa ha acabado este jueves

Cristóbal Belda, director del ISCIII, ha sido el encargado de presentar IMPaCT durante su intervención en la mesa ‘Harnessing the opportunities of a new era in medicine: Personalized Medicine Strategies’. El director del ISCIII ha confirmado que la dotación asignada a la infraestructura es de 25,8 millones de euros, que servirán para construir “una sólida base científica en red que facilite el despliegue progresivo de actuaciones”. Además, ha explicado que de ella se derivan tres programas: Medicina Predictiva, Ciencia de Datos y Medicina Genómica, “estrechamente relacionados entre sí, y que reúnen las capacidades y recursos de la mayor calidad disponibles a nivel estatal”. Por último, ha avanzado que, desde la base de IMPaCT, está previsto realizar convocatorias para proyectos de I+D en medicina personalizada de precisión que ayuden a fomentar su despliegue progresivo en todo el sistema sanitario, la primera de las cuales se resolverá en este 2021 y estará dotada con unos 29,5 millones de euros.  

Con respecto a la medicina de precisión, ha opinado que “implica una transformación en la forma en la que se toman decisiones, con efecto directo en la práctica clínica y en las medidas de salud pública”, cuyas potencialidades podrán ser plenamente aprovechadas si se consigue una adecuada “coordinación con las administraciones sanitarias que posibilite una transferencia efectiva del conocimiento generado”. Belda ha querido poner el acento también en la necesidad de “considerar criterios de equidad para el acceso a los servicios de alta especialización disponibles”.

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