He has just entered the Academy of Medicine for his fight against type 2 diabetes, caused by obesity.Precursor of the first major study of the disease in Spain, prepares the second part.
Twenty years of investigation of Diabetes Mellitus have earned Elías Delgado Álvarez (Riolago de Babia, 1964) the entry into the Principality Academy of Medicine as a corresponding member.
This Leonese who develops his work at the Central University Hospital of Asturias (HUCA) and is a professor of the Faculty of Medicine of Oviedo, maintains a crusade against the disease of the 21st century.He has led the first great study on the disease in Spain, a multidisciplinary work.
The collaborating team of thirty specialists check the health of 5,000 people for four years.The results showed that 14% of the population in Spain suffer from the disease and only 7% know it."These data evidences that more 5.3 million people suffer from the disease in Spain and 2 million are unplayed."
The result evidenced the ignorance about a ailment that is closely related to habits and lifestyle.In the multicentric study it was also observed that 28% of the population are obese.
Now he wants to go further and, in collaboration with other hospitals, he undertakes the second part of the project.For the one in mind to have the specialists of Endocrinology and Nutrition at the Lion Hospital.
"The most important thing is translational medicine, which is taken to basic research after the clinic."He is currently preparing the documentation to publish the results of an investigation that relates the incidence of a cytquine, irisina, in the control of diabetes.«Irisina is a cyt corner that releases the muscle that converts white adipose tissue into brown, which is lost over time.People who live in rural areas have more irise than those living in cities ».
His team works on the study of epigenetics - markers who will show the risk of suffering from the disease - and has developed projects with the specialist of the University of Illinois Yong Zhao, discoverer of the immunomodulatory properties of the stem cells of the umbilical cord
Studies have already given surprising results.He has discovered the relationship that a hypermetilado gene has in the appearance of diabetes, a study funded by the Carlos III Institute that will publish in the next dates and that will open new advances to cure the disease.«This will allow us to apply a personalized medicine.Our obligation is to keep curiosity to abuse new approaches in prevention and for that multidisciplinary teams are needed that help us find solutions to difficult problems ».In his investiture speech at the Academy of Medicine, he claimed changes in lifestyle to prevent his appearance and complications.Diabetes mellitus.The epidemic of the 21st century.From epidemiology to epigenetics, it was the title of his speech.
