By the time he was nine, Darío had already visited several clinics throughout Valencia to treat the involuntary muscle contractions that limited his movement and almost prevented him from walking. This condition was worsening, and the professionals couldn't determine the appropriate treatment. Furthermore, the medications they prescribed caused side effects such as severe pain and even blindness. But in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Darío's family received a call: "It changed our lives," admits Jaime López, the boy's father. The caller was Dr. Belén Pérez, head of pediatric neurology at Vall d'Hebron Hospital, who offered them the opportunity to come to Barcelona to begin treatment. The neurologist determined that Darío suffered from dystonia, a condition that, along with Parkinson's disease and essential tremor, is characterized by a movement disorder. It is common for patients with this condition to visit the Neurology and Pediatric Neurology departments of the Germans Trias i Pujol and Vall d'Hebron hospitals. In fact, the Ministry of Health has designated them as the reference centers (CSUR) in Catalonia for the surgical treatment of patients with movement disorders, whether adult or pediatric.

An international team of scientists has visualized and quantified for the first time in human brain tissue the protein groups considered to be the triggers of Parkinson's disease, an advance that may help unravel the mechanisms by which this neurological disease spreads through the brain and may support the development of diagnostics and potential treatments in the future. This is an important milestone, as the factors responsible for Parkinson's disease beginning to develop in the brain had until now evaded direct detection. The results were published this Wednesday in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.

Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the progressive loss of neurons that produce dopamine. It is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease in Catalonia, affecting approximately 30,000 people, and it requires no care. Now, researchers from Kyoto University and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in the United States have demonstrated in two independent studies the safety of stem cell therapies for treating the disease, successfully transplanting stem cells into the brains of participants without dangerous adverse effects. The journal Nature publishes the results, which, although unprecedented, the authors warn that further research is needed to verify the efficacy and benefits of these cell therapies. Studies with few patients in which they have mainly evaluated their safety. Specifically, in one study they have demonstrated the safety of using cells created from adult cells from umbilical cord blood and known as human induced pluripotent stem cells. safe.

In 2050 there will be 25.2 million people with Parkinson's worldwide and the main cause will be the aging of the population. This is the conclusion of a study by German researchers published this Thursday in the journal The BMJ, which warns that cases will grow by 112% compared to 2021. This neurodegenerative disease seriously affects people's quality of life, for now it does not provide care and current treatments focus on mitigating symptoms. This is the first study to provide comprehensive projections of the global, regional and national prevalence of Parkinson's disease through 2050.