
The research into a powerful drug against diabetes and obesity bears the Teruel seal
22 July 2022
What is dyspnea, a symptom in those affected by the new variants of covid
26 July 2022“Raising awareness among adolescents to maintain a healthy brain should be a priority and, however, we see a lot of passivity in the face of obesity, tobacco or alcohol at that age”
- What are Neurosciences?
Neurosciences are the set of areas of knowledge that study the brain and its functioning. This includes disciplines ranging from genetics and biochemistry to biocomputing, including biology, psychology, neurology and psychiatry. When that name was chosen for the IIS Aragón research group, we wanted to make it explicit that we were interested in collaborations with other disciplines, medical and non-medical, such as engineering, psychology or veterinary medicine.
- And the Neuroscience Research Group?
We are a group of doctors, the vast majority of whom are neurologists from the Miguel Servet University Hospital in Zaragoza. We work as clinical neurologists, that is, directly caring for patients, but we believe that it is also important to do applied research, that is, research that asks questions related to the diseases we treat and how they affect people. Most of these questions have to do with frequency (epidemiology) or with alternatives for the best treatment, evolution or prevention. We have been working as a group since 2014, until 2020 under the direction of Dr. José Ramón Ara. We are now focused on clinical research on stroke, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis.
- What message would you like to convey on World Brain Day?
The brain is a wonderful organ. It makes us be who we are, recognize ourselves and represent the world in which we live, relate, learn and create new ideas. That is the key to human evolutionary success. However, possibly due to its complexity, it has been very little understood scientifically until recently. The study of human evolution gives us the framework to understand how we got here. Although there is still a long way to go, we are now beginning to understand a little how we work. This opens up the possibility for us to better develop our potential or, at least, avoid things that harm it. It is easy to see the implications that this has in fields such as health or education.
- In health it is easy to understand, but in education...
The human brain can be easily modeled. Every time we learn a skill or acquire a memory, there has been a small change in our neural networks. But throughout our lives there are critical periods during which changes (learning) are simpler and necessary to continue growing in a harmonious way. Each age is optimal for learning certain things, and the best example is learning a language. We build ourselves like a stone wall, one piece on top of another, and having a good foundation is very important. Straightening a mature brain is almost as difficult as straightening a crooked tree. Knowing how and what we can learn best in each period of our lives is very important.
- And in health, what are the most important problems that affect the brain?
Diseases of our brain can be addressed in two complementary ways: those that affect its structure (physical diseases) and those that affect its content or functioning. That has been the classic approach that has led to the existence of two medical specialties focused on it, such as Neurology and Psychiatry. That is why we talk about neurological (brain) diseases and mental illnesses. That distinction is increasingly blurred and we are aware that only a complementary approach from both visions makes sense. The most important health problems, due to their impact on the burden of disease for the individual and society, are depression, dementia, schizophrenia, stroke, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis or epilepsy. All of them are very frequent and have high social impact. Cancer, vascular diseases, including stroke, and dementia are the great health challenges in a society like ours.
- What advice would you give to achieve and maintain a healthy brain?
Our role as doctors, even as citizens and social agents, cannot be to dedicate all our efforts and money to treating people who already have a problem with their brain. Treating the already sick is much less effective, more painful and much more expensive than preventing the disease. Periodically, for some years now, recommendations have been published based on the most recent studies for neurological diseases as important as dementia and stroke that have been shown to have an impact on health. For example, in some recommendations of the American Stroke Association, coordinated by Gorelick, convincingly demonstrates that the same risk factors that cause cerebral vascular problems are also the main contributors to cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. Thus, the priority would be to avoid obesity and a sedentary lifestyle from childhood and adolescence; avoiding drugs, including tobacco and alcohol, in youth; control blood pressure and excessive consumption of sugars and industrial fats, in middle ages (50 years); and lead a cognitively, physically and socially active life, at any age. Likewise, it is very important to improve the quality and quantity of sleep, since poor sleep quality is related to neurodegenerative diseases and is a vascular risk factor, and society still does not give it the importance it has, in addition to the fact that during Sleep consolidates learning. By following these tips, strokes and dementia would be reduced and, above all, they would occur later. We find it very serious that 30% of strokes occur in people under 65 years of age.
- We return, then, to the importance of education and the responsibility of each person with their own health.
Our brain is for life. At each age we should focus more on some aspects or others. We cannot tell a 20-year-old that they should control their blood pressure, because that matters from the age of 40, but it is time to avoid alcohol and tobacco, to lead an active life and to integrate sport and leisure. healthy diet in your life. Likewise, the challenge for those over 50 is to control their blood pressure and cholesterol; For those over 70, it may mean staying socially active, correcting vision or deafness problems, maintaining active lifestyle routines... Adolescents should be a priority group in which to act: they have time for everything and, yet, we see a lot passivity in the face of obesity, tobacco or alcohol at that age.
- A few weeks ago, the group was awarded the Aragonese of the Year award from El Periódico de Aragón. What has it meant for you?
First of all, a surprise, since we did not expect the nomination. Surely there are research groups of a higher level than ours, but that doesn't make us any less grateful to those who nominated us and voted for us. For us it means that many people see the group with interest and sympathy and that can only encourage us to continue. I want to believe that a portion of those votes came from patients and families who value what we strive for every day. Another part came, surely, from many health workers, doctors and nurses who identify with us, since more than 80% of health research in Aragon is done by professionals who are not professional researchers, but healthcare researchers.