A breakthrough in understanding age-related disease
Researchers at IBEC have made an important leap towards understanding the second most common neurodegenerative illness, Parkinson’s disease (PD), which affects around 5% of the population by age 85.
Previously, it wasn’t clear whether induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) – adult cells genetically reprogrammed to an embryonic stem cell-like state, which offer an unrivalled opportunity to understand many human diseases – were able to shed any light on illnesses which are age-related.
We’ve all eaten rich meals or fatty foods and joked that we can feel our ‘arteries hardening’. However, the reality of atherosclerosis – when fat, cholesterol, and other substances build up in the artery walls and form solid structures called plaques – is no joking matter. The consequences of this disorder can include stroke and coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death in many developed countries.
This week’s 5th Annual Conference of the Biomedical Research Technology Platforms in Barcelona, which IBEC is attending in its capacity as coordinator of the Spanish Nanomedicine Platform (NanoMed Spain), is the subject of an article in Spanish healthcare magazine Redacción Médica today.
