IIBB-CSIC
If you are the contact person for this centre and you wish to make any changes, please contact us.
Senior scientist at the Institute for Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB-CSIC), principal investigator at CIBERSAM and head of the Systems Neuropharmacology group at IDIBAPS-Fundació Clínic.
Neuroscientist researcher in physical exercise and memory at the Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (CSIC)
One of the best-known genetic risk factors for developing Parkinson’s disease is carrying variants of the GBA1 gene. A new study published in the journal Nature Medicine compared the microbiomes of 43 carriers of this gene who had not developed the disease with those of 271 Parkinson’s patients and 150 healthy individuals. The results showed, in addition to alterations in the microbiome in the patient group, that 25% of the microbiome of carriers of this gene exhibited alterations, representing an intermediate profile between the other two groups. The results were validated using independent cohorts from the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Turkey. According to the authors, “alterations in the gut microbiome can identify individuals with both genetic and non-genetic risk in the general population who may be progressing toward Parkinson’s disease.”
Various studies have shown that exercise benefits the brain. Now, an international team has studied in mice how physical activity affects the brain and how these changes influence the effects of exercise. The research, published in Neuron, has shown that physical activity causes brain changes in a region of the hypothalamus involved in how the body uses energy and in regulating blood sugar. If these neurons were blocked immediately after exercise, the animals showed no improvement in endurance or metabolism with training. The authors suggest that activating these neurons may help the body recover faster, allowing other parts, such as the muscles, lungs, and heart, to adapt more quickly to more intense workouts.
A study led by Spanish researchers and published in Science Advances has tested a new technique to improve gene therapy treatments for Parkinson's disease. Using ultrasound, they have managed to open the blood-brain barrier in specific areas, allowing the viruses used in the therapy to pass through and better reach the desired brain areas. After testing it on monkeys and three patients -patients were not given gene therapy, but the efficacy of the technique was tested using a radiotracer that does not normally cross the blood-brain barrier-, their conclusions are that the technique is safe and feasible and "could allow early and frequent interventions to treat neurodegenerative diseases".