Las fanerógamas marinas como archivos paleoambientales

Las fanerógamas marinas como archivos paleoambientales Posidonia oceanica genera una gran cantidad de restos de materia orgánica que quedan soterrados, formando lo que se conoce como mata muerta, en condiciones anóxicas. Esto provoca que la descomposición de las vainas, raíces y rizomas sea muy lenta, permaneciendo casi inalterada durante milenios (Mateo et al., 1997). La prolongada permanencia de estos restos, en forma de turba, posibilita el estudio de su estratigrafía que, en definitiva, si las condiciones posibilitan una adecuada resolución espacial, refleja la cronología de la formación de la mata. Por lo tanto, si se cumplen estas características, la mata representa un registro paleo-ecológico, paleo-biogeoquímico y paleo-ambiental sin precedentes (Serrano et al., 2011). Entre algunas de estas variables cabe destacar la acumulación de (1) metales pesados, tales como Fe, Mn, Ni, Cr, Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn, As y Hg (Serrano et al., 2011, 2013); (2) polen de plantas terrestres (López-Sáez et al., 2006); (3) Glomalina (López-Merino, et al., 2015), etc. La información obtenida sobre los cambios que han sufrido estas variables a lo largo del tiempo es susceptible de compararse con otro tipo de registros (fósiles, históricos, etc.) para determinar qué cambios ambientales han podido provocar esas alteraciones. Tal es el caso del estudio realizado en la bahía de Portlligat (NE de la Península Ibérica) donde se observa que el inicio de la contaminación por metales pesados en esa localidad corresponde con el asentamiento de las civilizaciones greco-romanas, tecnológicamente más avanzadas que el resto, hace 2680 años (Serrano et al., 2011). Es de resaltar que le registro de la mata de P. oceanica en esta localidad se remontaba al Holoceno Medio (4470 años AP). Se discute la importancia de estos estudios a la hora de facilitar la elaboración de modelos de predicción sobre las consecuencias que tendrían impactos similares futuros sobre estas comunidades. En concreto, podrían posibilitar la obtención de modelos de predicción para los diferentes escenarios de cambio climático elaborados por el Grupo Intergubernamental de Expertos sobre el Cambio Climático (IPCC). Por lo tanto el estudio de la mata de Posidonia oceanica supone una importante herramienta de conservación y gestión para estas comunidades. Referencias López-Merino L, Serrano O, Adamed MF, Mateo MA, Martínez Cortizas A (2015) Glomalin accumulated in seagrass sediments reveals past alterations in soil quality due to land-use change. Global and Planetary Change, 133: 87–95 López-Sáez JA, López-García P, Pozuelo R, Mateo MA, Renom P, Garrido D (2006) Non-pollen palynomorphs from organic deposits of Posidonia oceanica: a new tool for palaeoenvironmental studies in marine peat-like deposits. Palyno-Bulletin, 2 (1-4): 38-40. Mateo MA, Romero J, Pérez M, Littler MM, Littler DS (1997) Dynamics of millenary organic deposits resulting from the growth of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science, 44: 103-110. Serrano O, Martínez-Cortizas A, Mateo MA, Biester H, Bindler R (2013) Millennial scale impact on the marine biogeochemical cycle of mercury from early mining on the Iberian Peninsula. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 27: 21-30. Serrano O, Mateo MA, Dueñas-Bohórquez A, Renom P, López-Sáez JA, Martí¬nez Cortizas A (2011) The Posidonia oceanica marine sedimentary record: A Holocene archive of heavy metal pollution. Science of the Total Environment, 409: 4831-4840.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research

Successful Optimization of Adalimumab Therapy in Refractory Uveitis Due to Behçet's Disease.

To assess efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of adalimumab (ADA) therapy optimization in a large series of patients with uveitis due to Behçet disease (BD) who achieved remission after the use of this biologic agent. Open-label multicenter study of ADA-treated patients with BD uveitis refractory to conventional immunosuppressants. Sixty-five of 74 patients with uveitis due to BD, who achieved remission after a median ADA duration of 6 (range, 3-12) months. ADA was optimized in 23 (35.4%) of them. This biologic agent was maintained at a dose of 40 mg/subcutaneously/2 weeks in the remaining 42 patients. After remission, based on a shared decision between the patient and the treating physician, ADA was optimized. When agreement between patient and physician was reached, optimization was performed by prolonging the ADA dosing interval progressively. Comparison between optimized and nonoptimized patients was performed. Efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness in optimized and nonoptimized groups. To determine efficacy, intraocular inflammation (anterior chamber cells, vitritis, and retinal vasculitis), macular thickness, visual acuity, and the sparing effect of glucocorticoids were assessed. No demographic or ocular differences were found at the time of ADA onset between the optimized and the nonoptimized groups. Most ocular outcomes were similar after a mean ± standard deviation follow-up of 34.7±13.3 and 26±21.3 months in the optimized and nonoptimized groups, respectively. However, relevant adverse effects were only seen in the nonoptimized group (lymphoma, pneumonia, severe local reaction at the injection site, and bacteremia by Escherichia coli, 1 each). Moreover, the mean ADA treatment costs were lower in the optimized group than in the nonoptimized group (6101.25 euros/patient/year vs. 12 339.48; P ADA optimization in BD uveitis refractory to conventional therapy is effective, safe, and cost-effective

Comparative Study of Infliximab Versus Adalimumab in Refractory Uveitis due to Behçet's Disease: National Multicenter Study of 177 Cases.

To compare the efficacy of infliximab (IFX) versus adalimumab (ADA) as a first-line biologic drug over 1 year of treatment in a large series of patients with refractory uveitis due to Behçet's disease (BD). We conducted an open-label multicenter study of IFX versus ADA for BD-related uveitis refractory to conventional nonbiologic treatment. IFX or ADA was chosen as the first-line biologic agent based on physician and patient agreement. Patients received 3-5 mg/kg intravenous IFX at 0, 2, and 6 weeks and every 4-8 weeks thereafter, or 40 mg subcutaneous ADA every other week without a loading dose. Ocular parameters were compared between the 2 groups. The study included 177 patients (316 affected eyes), of whom 103 received IFX and 74 received ADA. There were no significant baseline differences between treatment groups in main demographic features, previous therapy, or ocular sign severity. After 1 year of therapy, we observed an improvement in all ocular parameters in both groups. However, patients receiving ADA had significantly better outcomes in some parameters, including improvement in anterior chamber inflammation (92.31% versus 78.18% for IFX; P = 0.06), improvement in vitritis (93.33% versus 78.95% for IFX; P = 0.04), and best-corrected visual acuity (mean ± SD 0.81 ± 0.26 versus 0.67 ± 0.34 for IFX; P = 0.001). A nonsignificant difference was seen for macular thickness (mean ± SD 250.62 ± 36.85 for ADA versus 264.89 ± 59.74 for IFX; P = 0.15), and improvement in retinal vasculitis was similar between the 2 groups (95% for ADA versus 97% for IFX; P = 0.28). The drug retention rate was higher in the ADA group (95.24% versus 84.95% for IFX; P = 0.042). Although both IFX and ADA are efficacious in refractory BD-related uveitis, ADA appears to be associated with better outcomes than IFX after 1 year of follow-up