Andalusian public health researchers present their work on diabetes to patients and families

Scientists from the Progreso y Salud Foundation and health professionals have presented the research they carry out on type 1 diabetes during an event held in CABIMER

Researchers from the Public Health System of Andalusia have presented their work in the field of type 1 diabetes to representatives of the DiabetesCERO Foundation and Diabetes Lucena during a visit to CABIMER, a thematic research center in Seville.

Specifically, the research group of the Progreso y Salud Foundation led by Benoit Gauthier, as well as the director of the Andalusian Diabetes Plan; Maria Asunción Martínez Brocca; and the coordinator of the Seville Provincial Node of the Biobank of the Public Health System of Andalusia, María Isabel García Sánchez; have presented and updated the state of their research and the collaborative work they carry out on type 1 diabetes, one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood and which is estimated to be suffered by between 5 and 10% of people who have diabetes. .

In this sense, Gauthier has given details about the study they are developing and which focuses on validating the antidiabetic efficacy of a molecule called BL001, which is patented by the research group itself. Currently, this molecule is being tested and evaluated in preclinical experimental models (mice) and in human cells and “it is giving good results, which is why it is conceived as a potential treatment against type 1 diabetes,” explains Gauthier. This project, which is led by Nadia Cobo Vuilleumier, a researcher on Gauthier's team, also has the collaboration of the research group of Decio Eizirik, a scientist at the Center for Diabetes Research at the Free University of Brussels. Both have also participated in this meeting with family members and patients

During the event, attendees learned about CABIMER in more detail from Pilar Cebolla, its manager, who explained that it is a pioneering multidisciplinary research space in biomedicine in Spain, since it integrates basic and applied research with the purpose of translate the results of scientific work into direct improvements in the health and quality of life of citizens. It is made up of the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs; the Department of University, Research and Innovation; the CSIC; the Pablo de Olavide University; and the University of Seville.

Support for families and patients

This meeting included the participation of relatives and patients from the DiabetesCERO Foundation, a non-profit organization made up mainly of parents of children with type 1 diabetes and with a presence in 15 points in the national territory. This foundation has maintained a stable and solid collaboration for several years with Gauthier's group, allocating funds for the development of their research.

Representatives of the Lucena Diabetes Association and members of the Lucena City Council were also present at this event, led by the mayor of the town, who also wanted to learn first-hand about the research being carried out by scientists and the CABIMER facilities.

Support from regional, national and international organizations

The line of research developed by Gauthier's group has been, for years, the subject of funding in regional competitive calls (from the Junta de Andalucía, specifically, from the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs) and national (from the State Research Agency). . But, in addition, it has achieved the support for three consecutive times from the main international association to fight type 1 diabetes, JDRF ( Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation ) with which the DiabetesCERO Foundation is twinned.