Appointment of Alfredo Adán, Group leader (R4)
Joint basic and clinical research on the mechanisms that cause inflammatory diseases of the retina will allow us to provide more and better cures for our patients
IDIBAPS researcher Alfredo Adán exp...

Current research

Problem

Ocular inflammation is the underlying cause of many highly prevalent eye diseases with a major socioeconomic burden, such as diabetic retinopathy (DR), age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), uveitis, scleritis, and even glaucoma. These diseases often cause irreversible loss of sight.

Approach

The group has a multidisciplinary profile and is made up of ophthalmologists, optometrists, biomedical researchers, etc. to tackle this problem from a translational perspective: i.e., in the laboratory, it studies the pathophysiologic mechanisms involved in ocular inflammation and the immune response, and develops new tools that it applies in patients. There is considerable interaction between basic and clinical research, and clinical practice. The cycle of patient-problem-research-therapy feeds back on itself to provide patients with a better diagnosis and the most appropriate treatments.

Impact

The principal objective of the group is to promote research on inflammatory ocular diseases, especially the pathophysiologic mechanisms, the immune response and the development of new therapies.

The group has taken part in the creation of new biological therapies for treating uveitis and aims to transfer this experience to other inflammatory eye diseases.