About the VHIR
Here at the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) we promote biomedical research, innovation and teaching. Over 1,800 people are seeking to understand diseases today so the treatment can be improved tomorrow.
Research
We are working to understand diseases, to find out how they operate and to create better treatments for patients. Get to know about our groups and their lines of research.
People
People are the centre of the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR). This is why we are bound by the principles of freedom of research, gender equality and professional attitudes that HRS4R promotes.
Clinical trials
Our work is not just basic or translational; we are leaders in clinical research. Enter and find about the clinical trials we are conducting and why we are a world reference in this field.
Progress
Our aim is to make the research carried out at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) a driving force for transformation. How? By identifying new channels and solutions for the promotion of people's health and well-being.
Core facilities
We offer specialist support for researchers, internal and external alike, ranging from specific services to preparing complete projects. All this, from a perspective of quality and speed of response.
News
We offer you a gateway for staying up to date on everything going on at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), from the latest news to future solidarity activities and initiatives that we are organising.
The Systemic Diseases group performs translational research based on at least 300 patients with systemic lupus erytomatosus (SLE), antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), systemic sclerosis, vasculitis, dermatomyitis, Sjörgen syndrome or autoinflammatory syndromes in order to better understand their pathogenesis (both at the immunological and genetic regulation level), study their clinical and biological expression (through the detection of new markers that help characterize each of the autoimmune diseases), study morbimortality (through epidemiological studies) and analyse patients' response to medications. With these goals in mind, we seek to improve the diagnosis, clinical monitoring, and prognosis of our patients.
Cells that are chronically exposed to inflammatory signals are more prone to aging than those which are not exposed to such signals. Human vascular endothelial cell (HUVEC) primary cultures activated with TNF-alpha probably increase the expression of ICAM and VCAM, synthesize ROS, and express senescence markers. It is not known what the principal intracellular pathway is (although it is thought that STAT may play a role) and it is unknown if one or more proinflammatory cytokines are needed to activate NF-KB. We are trying to find out the role that IFN-alpha and/or IL-6 and IL-1B may have on the aging inflammatory phenomena and we aim at detecting the intracellular signal pathways (STAT). We are also working on the characterization of the genes involved in these abnormal biologic responses.
IP: Jaume Alijotas Reig
This study, carried out along with researchers from the Hospital del Mar and from the "Institut Municipal d'Investigació Mèdica", aims at correlating the expression of SLRPs and MMP-13 with the severity of cutaneous involvement, hand dysfunctional capacity, capillaroscopy patterns, and cutaneous ultrasonography of patients affected with diffuse scleroderma in different evolutive stages of the disease.
IP: Carmen Pilar Simeón i Aznar, Vicenç Fonollosa Pla
This study aims at detecting the prevalence of specific IgE in polisensitized patients towards pollen in Barcelona by means of the "component resolved diagnosis" technique from ISAC® (IgE specific microarray).
IP: Victòria Cardona Dahl
The study aims to investigate the risk factors for ischemic complications in patients with GCA, and the role that some endothelial growth factors may play in its development. This study is coordinated by Dr. Gonzalez Gay from University Hospital of Valdecilla, Santander.
IP: Roser Solans Laque
The study describes the first documented case worldwide of hereditary angioedema transmission through assisted reproduction.
15 researchers from the Rheumatology, Systemic Diseases and the Physiology and Pathophysiology of the Digestive Tract groups gave around 25 presentations.
The new technology allows more sensitive detection of scleroderma patients' autoantibodies, which are related to the severity and progression of the disease.
