Cardiovascular Diseases

Research Coordinator

Dr. César Trigueros Fernández

Description

Cardiovasular disease is as of today the first cause of death in developed world. Acute miocardial infarction (AMI) alone counts for 1,5 million cases per year in the US and Europe toghether, with stent implantation as the treatment of choice for successful recovery. The cost for AMI treatment in Europe alone raises to 105 billion euros annually which represents as much as 12,5% of total health care expenditure (aproximately 14% of gross domestic product -GDP-), 2/3 dedicated to hospital care and the rest used for drugs and medical devices.

However the short term success of these approaches has led to what has been considered a cardiac insufficiency epidemy estimated in 11 million patients and enormous healthcare problem. Cronic cardiac insufficiency does not have an effective cure so far with an 18% mortality rate and representing the biggest contribution to the health care cost of cardiovascular disease.

The replacement of heart muscle damaged during cardiac infarction may be the sole curative treatment for cronic cardiac insufficiency either through a heart transplant or through the novel treatment options provided by heart regeneration. Prevention of cronic cardiac insufficiency might become only possible through regenerative therapies that repair the damaged tissue.

Inbiomed is currently focused on the development of cell therpies based on the use of stem cells found in the normal heart tissue to be applied locally into the heart lession in order to trigger heart regeneration.

Research agreements and special collaborations

The Cardiovascular program hold active collaboration with:

Dra Pilar Sepúlveda, Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe/Fundación la Fe (Valencia).
Dr Dan Pennington. Blizar Institute of Cell and Molecuallr Science. Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry.
Dr Antonio Bernad. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares. Regenerative Cardiology deparmment.
Dr Felipe Fernández. Hospital León/Facultad de Veterinaria de la Universidad de León