José Antonio del Río interviewed at “La Marató dels investigadors” TV program
Jose Antonio del Rio
Group leader
A mechanism has been discovered that could improve spinal cord injuries
A study led by researchers from IBEC and Imperial College London has identified a mechanism that regulates the regenerative failure in lesions of the central nervous system. For the first time, experts have also proven how the genetic or pharmacological inhibition of the new therapeutic target could overcome regeneration failure following spinal cord injury
Will I recover from this injury? Answering this question that many patients ask themselves after a fall or any other type of accident or disease is still a major challenge. And the fact is that the molecular mechanisms that discriminate between regeneration success or failure remain a mystery to science. Although lesions of the peripheral nervous system may be partially reversible, lesions of the central nervous system cannot regenerate themselves in the same way. This lack of regenerative capacity is mainly responsible for the functional deficits that appear after a spinal cord injury, for example.
José Antonio del Río presents the results about his research at the 20th Symposium of “La Marató de TV3”
José Antonio del Río, group leader of the Molecular and cellular neurobiotechnology group at IBEC, presented at the 20th Symposium of “La Marató de TV3”, the results of his research on neurodegenerative diseases boosted by the funds of “La Marató” in 2013.
During the event, which took place this weed at the “Institut d’Estudis Catalans”, it has been made public the results of the 79 research teams that have carried out the 44 financed projects by the 2013 edition of this program. A set of achievements targeted to design new tools of prevention and diagnostic, as well as new therapeutic approaches to improve the quality and life expectancy of the patients that suffer a neurodegenerative disease. .
“Cuestionan el uso de antioxidantes para tratar las lesiones medulares”
Yesterday’s press release about Arnau Hervera and José Antonio del Río’s work, together with Imperial College, that was published in Nature Cell Biology and described their discovery that oxidizing species regulate the regeneration of damaged neurons after spinal cord injuries, was covered in ABC and El Progreso today.
A mechanism that regulates neurogenesis in the adult brain
Scientists from IBEC’s Molecular and Cellular Neurobiotechnology group have discovered a protein and its receptor that control the spread of adult stem cells in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory.
The discovery could shed light on the mechanisms involved in memory, the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers, or in the development of brain tumors caused by the uncontrolled proliferation of various cell types.