Stroke in neonates and children will be the subject of a unique research project in Spain led by Idisba, led by doctors Heine and Vives with the Predict project, which will study 500 cases of stroke in children.
The Regional Minister of Health, Manuela García, stressed that this is a demonstration of the excellent research being carried out in the Balearic Islands.
Doctors Damià Heine Suñer and Cristòfol Vives Bauzà, researchers at the Balearic Islands Health Research Institute (Idisba), have obtained funding of 2,832.610 euros to lead the PReDICT project. This grant comes from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of the Spanish Government, in the framework of the Call for Research Projects on Rare Diseases 2024.
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Idisba obtains almost three million euros to research the genetic causes of infant stroke
The PReDICT project focuses on investigating the genetic causes of early stroke, a condition that affects one in 2,500 to 5,000 newborns each year. This initiative is the largest personalised medicine project ever managed by Idisba, and represents both a scientific and management challenge, as Dr. Damià Heine points out.
The councillor for Health, Manuela García, who attended the presentation of the research project, stressed that it is a demonstration of the excellent research carried out in the Balearic Islands: ‘The issue that will be investigated, the genetic causes that may be behind stroke at an early age, is also an example of national scientific cooperation led from the Balearic Islands’.
The project involves the collaboration of 14 research teams from 11 autonomous communities. This structure allows for a multidisciplinary and pioneering approach to childhood stroke. PReDICT is led by two Idisba researchers, Dr. Damià Heine, head of Molecular Genetics at the Hospital Universitario Son Espases, and Dr. Cristòfol Vives, professor in the Department of Biology at the UIB and principal investigator in the Cellular Neurobiology Research Group at the University Institute of Health Sciences Research (IUNICS – UIB).
Pioneering research with four lines of action
The researchers plan to study 500 children affected by stroke at very early ages, including foetal, perinatal (between 27 weeks of gestation and 28 days postnatal) and paediatric cases. The project will follow four main approaches:
Clinical characterisation: the motor, cognitive and emotional consequences of the disease will be analysed to better understand the overall impact.
Advanced genomics: the underlying genetic causes of stroke at an early age will be sought through the latest genetic sequencing.
Neuroimaging and artificial intelligence: technology for predicting neuronal damage will be improved using artificial intelligence techniques to identify altered brain connection patterns.
Functional studies with human mini-brains: Brain organoids will be generated from patients’ cells, allowing the pathogenic mechanisms of identified mutations to be studied and possible therapies to be tested.
A step forward in personalised medicine
Drs Heine and Vives stress that this project opens up new avenues for developing targeted therapies to improve the quality of life of affected patients and their families. ‘With PReDICT we hope not only to better understand the genetic causes of childhood stroke, but also to lay the foundations for personalised treatments that can prevent or mitigate its effects,’ they emphasised.
Project context and funding
Predict is part of the Joint Missions of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, a programme designed to promote research on rare diseases in Spain. This grant represents recognition of the scientific capacity and national coordination of researchers in the Balearic Islands, who lead a network of experts with the common goal of addressing this little-studied problem, but with a high social and health impact.