The Southern Catalonia Biomedical Research Institute – IRB CatSud
was present in Japan at a conference focused on the understanding and treatment of liver diseases. Jordi Gracia-Sancho, head of the Hepatology Research Group at IRB CatSud, took part as an invited speaker at the 62nd Congress of the Japan Society of Hepatology, held in Niigata, Japan, on 18 and 19 June.
During the congress, Gracia-Sancho gave a lecture on the pathophysiological mechanisms of portal hypertension and the therapeutic basis of emerging treatment strategies for this condition, which is one of the main complications of chronic liver diseases. His presentation allowed him to share the latest advances in this field and led to an enriching scientific discussion with leading international researchers and clinicians.
According to the researcher, this activity “strengthens the international visibility of IRB CatSud and reinforces its presence in Japan, a country with a long tradition of excellence in biomedical research and with which the institute maintains increasingly strong scientific links”.
On August 12, one of the most remarkable astronomical events of recent years will take place. The darkness created by the eclipse may give a false sense of safety, yet solar radiation continues to reach the eye during the partial phases. Throughout the eclipse, therefore, looking directly at the sun without protection can cause retinal damage and, because the retina has no pain receptors, the injury may occur without causing any immediate discomfort. In fact, symptoms may appear hours later, manifesting as blurred vision or a dark spot in the center of the visual field. Given these risks, prevention is crucial. Pere Romero, head of the RETIPROGRAM Ophthalmology Group at IRB CatSud and chief of the Ophthalmology Department at Hospital Universitari Sant Joan de Reus, highlights the following recommendations to avoid endangering our eyesight:
CHILDREN: CONSTANT SUPERVISION
It is essential to ensure that they always look through the filter and do not attempt to observe the sun above or around the edges of the glasses. They should also not walk around while wearing them.
When should you consult a specialist?
After the eclipse, if blurred vision, image distortion, or a fixed spot in the center of the visual field appears, an ophthalmological assessment is required. It should be noted that symptoms may emerge between two and six hours after exposure. In any case, to prevent injury, it is essential to keep the recommended precautions in mind in order to enjoy this phenomenon safely. In this regard, IRB CatSud will distribute certified eclipse glasses among its staff so that everyone can experience the event safely. Details on how these glasses will be provided will be communicated internally.
Studying the effects of a physical exercise programme on people with schizophrenia or autism spectrum disorder has been the main objective of the VITACTIVA’T project, promoted by the Institut Pere Mata University Hospital (HUIPM) and the Institut de Recerca Biomèdica Catalunya Sud (IRB CatSud), in collaboration with Rovira i Virgili University (URV). The project results were presented this Thursday.
The findings were shared during an event held at Reus Deportiu, the venue where the VITACTIVA’T sports sessions took place. The event brought together more than twenty participants, family members and mental health professionals.
Regarding the study results, the research team explained that regular physical exercise can help improve several health indicators in this population. Some of the main findings include:
A significant improvement in cognitive performance, with positive progress in areas such as attention, memory, learning, reasoning and processing speed.
A significant improvement in physical fitness, particularly in aerobic capacity and muscle strength in both the upper and lower limbs.
An increase in the number of mitochondrial DNA copies, a biomarker linked to the cells’ ability to produce energy.
A significant improvement in psychosocial functioning, meaning a greater ability to manage everyday activities and social interactions.
The research team also found that participants consume a high proportion of ultra-processed foods. “This habit is associated with poorer metabolic health indicators and less favourable psychosocial factors, which reinforces the need to work on reducing its consumption in this population,” explains Bernat Ballvé, nutritionist and researcher in the project.
Overall, these results confirm the role of physical exercise, together with nutrition and other lifestyle factors, as a complementary tool with the potential to improve the physical and mental health of people with severe mental disorders. This has encouraged the team to continue this line of research through the launch of VITACTIVA’T 2.
A new phase focused on physical exercise
During the event, the team also presented the new edition of the project, VITACTIVA’T 2, which will begin a new exercise programme next October. This new phase will focus exclusively on physical activity and will be aimed at people with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders.
Alba Valiente, psychiatrist and researcher involved in the project, explained that “the physical exercise programme will now last six months and will include three sessions per week, increasing both the duration of the intervention and the frequency of the sessions to meet the recommendations of the World Health Organization.”
Regarding the expected outcomes, Lourdes Martorell, principal investigator of the project, said: “The researchers involved believe that this more intensive exercise programme will provide new evidence of its role as a complementary therapy to standard treatment for people with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders. The study will examine cognition, quality of life and several biomarkers. The project will also seek to identify specific genetic, clinical and metabolic factors that can help provide personalised recommendations.”
The event marked the end of the first edition of the project in a positive atmosphere of reunion and enthusiasm. The research team expressed their gratitude for the trust and commitment shown by all participants, as well as by their families and the professionals who helped make this initiative possible.
The team also expressed optimism about VITACTIVA’T 2 and highlighted their commitment to continuing to generate scientific evidence that supports physical exercise as a complementary strategy to improve the health, well-being and quality of life of people living with severe mental disorders.
Acting without sufficiently considering the consequences, making hasty decisions or being carried away by emotions of the moment are some of the behaviours associated with impulsivity. In the past, several studies have linked this psychological trait to unhealthy habits, such as tobacco consumption, harmful substances and unhealthy foods, among others. It has also been associated with mental health problems and poorer overall health status. However, there was no clear scientific evidence in older populations without any diagnosed psychiatric disorder.
Now, a research team from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), the Institut de Recerca Biomèdica Catalunya Sud (IRBCatSud) and the Biomedical Research Networking Centre for the Pathophysiology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN) has demonstrated that following a low-calorie Mediterranean diet, engaging in physical activity and receiving behavioural support reduce impulsivity. The results have been published in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, one of the scientific publications with the greatest international impact in the fields of psychology and psychiatry.
The team analysed data from 306 participants in the PREDIMED-Plus-Cognition study, which evaluates cognitive status and other factors related to the mental health of participants in the PREDIMED clinical trial. Volunteers were randomly assigned to two groups: one followed an intensive programme aimed at increasing adherence to a slightly calorie-restricted Mediterranean diet, increasing physical activity and reinforcing these changes through behavioural support; the other received only general recommendations to follow a Mediterranean diet. Impulsivity was assessed at the beginning of the study and during the three years of follow-up through personality questionnaires and cognitive tests.
Significant behavioural changes
After three years, participants who had followed the intensive lifestyle programme showed a significant reduction, between small and moderate, in impulsivity levels compared with the control group. More specifically, they improved impulsive personality traits, reducing tendencies such as acting without thinking about the consequences. Even more relevant was the change in their behaviour, as they improved their ability to make sound decisions, learning to prioritise long-term benefits over immediate rewards.
“This is the first time it has been shown that a multimodal intervention can regulate impulsivity in older adults, potentially helping to prevent the development of future chronic diseases,” states Carlos Gómez Martínez, postdoctoral researcher at Helse Vest and the University of Bergen (Norway). For Jordi Salas-Salvadó, Professor of Nutrition at the URV and co-leader of the study together with Gómez Martínez, adopting healthy habits not only improves physical health, but also promotes more reflective decision-making: “It could facilitate the maintenance of other healthy behaviours in the long term, contribute to preserving psychological well-being and foster a greater capacity for self-regulation.”
The study was carried out by researchers from the Human Nutrition Unit of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, the Institut de Recerca Biomèdica Catalunya Sud (IRBCatSud) and the Biomedical Research Networking Centre for the Pathophysiology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN). The research is part of the PREDIMED-Plus study, developed by several groups within the CIBER of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, and has received funding from the European projects Eat2BeNice and PRIME, as well as from various competitive projects of the ISCIII.
Reference: Gómez-Martínez C, Shyam S, Camacho-Barcia L, Margara-Escudero HJ, Babio N, Forcano L, Corella D, Cuenca-Royo A, de la Torre R, Jimenez-Murcia S, Pintó X, Fitó M, Fernández-Carrión R, Matura S, Franke B, Haavik J, Fernández-Aranda F, Salas-Salvadó J. Three-year effects of a multidomain lifestyle intervention on impulsivity: Results from a randomized clinical trial. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. 2026. doi: 10.1159/000550126.
Roger Martínez, a second-year Advertising Graphics student at the Tarragona Provincial Council School of Art and Design, is the winner of the ‘Olympus Scholarship’ 2026. The scholarship is based on the charity dinner that the Hotel Olympus Palace 4* in Salou organises every year and which this year is in support of the IRB CatSud for cardiology research.
Among the projects presented by the students within the Professional Project Management module, Roger Martínez’s poster was selected unanimously in first place by the jury. The 21-year-old student from Valls therefore receives a scholarship with a financial award of 500 euros and a full weekend stay for two people at the Hotel Olympus Palace 4*. Roger’s proposal is focused on “this poster represents a collage of the territory, where there are elements linked to the world of cardiology, healthy food and everything that helps to have a strong heart. All of this has helped me become aware of how important it is to have good health,” explained the winner.
Cardiology Research at IRB CatSud
IRB CatSud has more than 40 research groups. One of them is the Tarragona Translational and Clinical Cardiology Research Group, which carries out its activity at the Joan XXIII University Hospital in Tarragona and is the recipient of the funds raised in this year’s edition of the Hotel Olympus Palace charity dinner. Its mission is to investigate and innovate in the field of cardiovascular diseases in order to develop strategies that allow more personalised treatments and improve patients’ prognosis.
More specifically, this group studies how to identify and use molecules or genes that help detect and better understand heart diseases. It also works on evaluating patient characteristics that may contribute to increasing the severity of different cardiovascular diseases (myocardial infarction, heart failure, sudden death, etc.), with the aim of improving prognosis. In addition, it analyses why some people respond differently to certain medicines and how to improve treatment strategies so that they are more effective and safer. It also investigates minimally invasive techniques to treat coronary and valvular diseases, correct arrhythmias and optimise the functioning of pacemakers and defibrillators, among other lines of work.
Award Ceremony at the SUMMIT Rooftop
The panoramic terrace of the Hotel Olympus Palace 4* hosted the formal ceremony for the presentation of the ‘Olympus Scholarship’. The members of the jury, the Hotel Olympus Palace 4* team and the students, accompanied by friends and relatives, gathered to learn the final decision. In addition to the winner, it was also announced that the posters presented by Alba Pocurull and Andrea Hernández were finalists jointly. Both receive a one-night stay for two people at the Hotel Olympus Palace 4*. The hotel also rewarded the effort of the other students by giving them a day at SUMMIT for two people including a meal during this summer.
The representative of the ownership of Hotel Olympus, Gil Cristià, highlighted during his speech “our gratitude to the participating students for their work and dedication. I would also like to thank the management and teaching staff of the Tarragona Provincial Council School of Art and Design for their involvement and the dedication of the jury.”
The Tarragona Provincial Council School of Art and Design emphasised that “this project has been a real adventure, a process full of emotions. A challenge that we faced from the very beginning with shared enthusiasm. We felt very welcome and supported, and we want to thank you,” underlined Laura Casas, Itziar Solla, Silvia Iturria, Núria Anguren i Judith Guinovart, teachers from the Escola d’Art i Disseny of Diputació de Tarragona, of Pau Brull and Esther Fernández, on behalf of Rotary Club Tarragona, of Joan Vendrell, director from l’Institut de Recerca Biomèdica CatSud and of Maira Isaura Rojas, Beca Olympus 2024 winner.
The 2026 Charity Dinner will be held at Hotel Olympus Palace 4* on Thursday, 1 October at 7:00 p.m. All funds raised will be entirely allocated to research into the prevention of cardiovascular diseases conducted by the Institut de Recerca Biomèdica CatSud and Joan XXIII Hospital in Tarragona.
What a woman eats during pregnancy not only affects her own health, but also her child’s future development. In particular, the quality of carbohydrates in the diet —that is, how they affect blood sugar levels— may play a key role in children’s cognitive and motor development.
This is one of the main conclusions of two studies involving IRB CatSud, which suggest that diets with a higher impact on blood glucose levels are associated with poorer outcomes in different areas of child neurodevelopment.
Not all carbohydrates act in the same way in the body. Some cause rapid increases in blood glucose, while others do so more gradually. This difference is measured through the glycemic index and glycemic load. In general, fresh, fiber-rich foods —such as fruit, vegetables, legumes, or whole grains— have a more moderate effect, whereas more refined products tend to trigger faster responses.
In one of the studies, more than a thousand pregnant women and their children were followed during the first years of life. The results indicate that a higher intake of carbohydrates with elevated glycemic index and load during pregnancy is associated with lower scores in language and motor skills in young children.
A second study, with longer follow-up into the preschool stage, reinforces these findings. In this case, differences were observed in aspects such as processing speed, non-verbal skills, and visuomotor coordination depending on the quality of carbohydrates consumed during pregnancy.
The consistency between both studies highlights the need to pay greater attention to this factor in nutritional recommendations for pregnant women. Beyond the amount of carbohydrates, researchers emphasize the importance of prioritizing those with a gentler impact on blood glucose, with the aim of supporting optimal brain development from the earliest stages of life.
This research involved teams from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili and IRB CatSud, among other institutions, within the framework of mother–child cohort studies.
An international study finds epigenetic signals — chemical modifications that regulate gene activity without altering DNA, often influenced by environmental factors such as pollution or stress — associated with bipolar disorder, a mental illness characterised by extreme mood changes, alternating depression and euphoria, which could help to develop more accurate clinical prediction tools.
The study, published in the scientific journal EBioMedicine under the title DNA methylation signatures associated with bipolar disorder in peripheral blood improve prediction models, represents the largest meta-analysis on epigenetics in bipolar disorder carried out so far at an international level. The participation of researchers linked to the Hospital Universitari Institut Pere Mata (HUIPM) and the Institut de Recerca Biomèdica Catalunya Sud (IRB CatSud, formerly IISPV) has been especially relevant, as they have provided their own sample of participants, one of the 12 that have contributed to the study. The research has also included the participation of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) and the team from the Consorci Sanitari del Maresme — both integrated into the national network Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM) — and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB).
The research analysed a sample of 3,476 people in total — of whom 1,729 had the disorder and 1,747 were healthy — aged between 16 and 53 years, with 56% women, coming from 12 international samples from different countries. The objective was to identify epigenetic changes associated with bipolar disorder.
Among the most important results, the research team identified 47 regions with epigenetic modification associated with the diagnosis of bipolar disorder and, among these, several are genetic regions involved in processes related to neurotransmission, immune response and cell regulation. In addition, the study also shows that polymethylation scores, which are epigenetic indicators that integrate multiple chemical marks in DNA that can activate or deactivate genes, combined with current genetic models, can improve the predictive ability for bipolar disorder, especially in bipolar disorder type I.
“These results reinforce the idea that epigenetic factors, which are more influenced by environmental factors, can provide additional information to genetics (which is more stable) and contribute, in the future, to the development of useful biological indicators for diagnosis, as well as for clinical decision-making in mental health,” says Elisabet Vilella, one of the researchers involved in the study.
The study has also involved research centres and universities from Europe, North America and Australia, within a large international collaboration under the framework of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium Bipolar Disorder Working Group.
The publication represents a new recognition of research driven from the region in the field of psychiatry and mental health, and consolidates the position of the participating centres as references in translational research and biomedical innovation.
Bibliographic reference
Tesfaye, M., Stavrum, A. K., Höffler, K. D., O’Connell, K. S., David, F. S., Garrett, M. E., Hesam-Shariati, S., Overs, B. J., Pisanu, C., Spano, L., Watkeys, O. J., Weihs, A., Ardau, R., Ashley-Koch, A. E., Athanasiu, L., Beckham, J. C., Bourassa, K. J., Chillotti, C., Djurovic, S., Drange, O. K., … Le Hellard, S. (2026). DNA methylation signatures associated with bipolar disorder in peripheral blood improve prediction models. EBioMedicine, 128, 106284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2026.106284
IRB CatSud hosted a training session on June 11, focused on updating the new MRI equipment of the Clinical Research Unit (UiC). This activity allowed to publicize the technical characteristics of this infrastructure and its applications in the development of clinical studies.
The training was aimed at research staff, health professionals and research support teams, and combined theoretical content with the analysis of practical cases linked to the field of biomedical research. The session was given by the medical imaging specialist Gerard Blasco Solà, with experience in clinical applications and training in magnetic resonance, who shared applied knowledge about the possibilities of this advanced equipment.
With this initiative, IRB CatSud reinforced the training of professionals in the territory and promoted the use of cutting-edge technologies to promote the development of new clinical research projects.
Around sixty researchers from all over the country, from both basic and clinical research fields, have participated in the first national conference on genetics in psychiatry, held in Reus this Wednesday and organized by the Hospital Universitari Institut Pere Mata (HUIPM) and the Institut de Recerca Biomèdica Catalunya Sud (IRB CatSud), with the participation of the CIBERSAM network (Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Salud Mental). One of the main achievements of the meeting, held at the HUIPM facilities, has been the promotion of a shared proposal to create a stable network or working group in genetics in psychiatry, with a long-term vision and with the aim that it may evolve into a future scientific society.
During the conference, strategic lines were discussed, such as promoting collaborative work, sharing data and knowledge, or creating a repository of genetic data, as well as the need to strengthen the transfer of results to clinical practice and society.
The meeting has represented a turning point in the field of genetics in psychiatry, since until now researchers specialised in the genetics of psychiatric disorders in the country had never met in a specific forum. In recent years, the growth of research in this field and the emergence of results with potential clinical application have favoured the consolidation of a critical mass that has made it possible to promote this initiative.
“It is the first conference held by specialist researchers in genetics of psychiatric diseases, and the reason is that it is a relatively innovative field. Over the years, the researchers we met at conferences said we had to do something together and, at the end of last October, at an international psychiatric genetics conference in Mexico, we decided to do it and chose to hold the first conference in Reus,” said the research director of HUIPM and deputy director of IRB CatSud, Elisabet Vilella.
At the conference, the different participating teams also shared their lines of work and presented the latest advances in genetics in psychiatry, with the aim of generating synergies and exploring new ways of collaboration. “Our group presented work related to the development and characterisation of neuronal lines from patients with first psychotic episodes, where we look for biological signals to help find the best diagnosis so that there can be the most personalised treatment possible, for example in the development of schizophrenia,” explained the researcher from the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Valencia (INCLIVA), Ricardo Ruiz Miguel, one of the speakers at the conference.
The organisers also highlighted that initiatives like this help to accelerate the transfer of scientific knowledge into real applications and to promote collaboration between research groups, also incorporating work with patient associations as one of the key axes for the future.
With this first edition, the conference has laid the foundations to become a regular reference meeting at the national level, with the intention of continuing to strengthen scientific cooperation and to increase the impact of research in mental health for the benefit of society.
This week, from June 15 to 18, Montbrió del Camp hosts the 43rd International Symposium on Diabetes and Nutrition (abbreviated as DNSG from the English initials of the organizing body, Diabetes and Nutrition Study Group), which is currently chaired by Hana Kahleova, from the United States. This symposium is a global meeting point for research in diabetes and nutrition and at the local level, this year, it involves the participation of the Southern Catalonia Biomedical Research Institute – IRBCatSud and the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV).
The aim of this symposium is to share knowledge regarding research in nutrition, diabetes and the prevention of chronic diseases. It should be noted that the DNSG group is a reference when it comes to developing recommendations on nutrition at the European level and based on diabetes. “That DNSG 2026 is being held in our region and has reached full capacity is magnificent news for our scientific and healthcare institutions”, highlights the organizing committee, made up of the Vice-President of the Symposium and member of the local organizing committee of the congress Jordi Salas; the director of IRB CatSud, Joan Vendrell; and the professor of Nutrition and Food Science at the URV Nancy Babio.
This edition, on the other hand, features a record number of 118 scientific presentations, which address aspects to be considered in the fields of obesity, diabetes and precision medicine, among many other topics.
One of the elements that makes this edition stand out is the collaboration of a local Scientific Committee made up of representatives from the main Spanish scientific societies and research networks related to diabetes, nutrition, obesity and metabolic health. Another relevant factor is that, among the most prominent scientists participating in the congress, is Dr. Frank Hu, Chair of the Department of Nutrition and Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology at Harvard University.