Through bioinformatics applied to medicine, Utalina specialists seek to study different pathologies and develop new drugs.
Patricia Peñaloza, Journalist UTalca.- Through bioinformatics applied to medicine, a group of researchers from our University seeks to develop new therapeutic alternatives for the treatment of chronic diseases and some types of cancer.
For example, through bioinformatics analysis, academics from the Faculty of Engineering prepare the development of new drugs for the treatment of atrial or atrial fibrillation, a highly prevalent pathology worldwide.
This is achieved through Targeted Molecular Therapy (TMD), which is a technique for treating diseases based on knowledge of the structure of their proteins and the creation of a therapeutic alternative.
The director of the Center for Bioinformatics, Simulation and Modeling (CBSM) of the University of Talca and director of the initiative, Wendy González Díaz, explained that “bioinformatics tools are of great help in the development of new drugs and the genotyping of patients . They allow us to save effective time and costs in the laboratory, through the generation of models that allow us to simulate, through a computer, what happens inside an organism and to know the structural and functional properties that may be associated with a disease” .
The research is financed by the Regional Government of Maule, through the Innovation Fund for Competitiveness (FIC), support that allows the application of bioinformatics techniques in medicine, such as the creation of a line of own products called “new chemical entities”.
It should be noted that this project is currently in the validation stage at the Department of Cardiology of the University Hospital of Heidelberg, in Germany.
In this regard, Professor González specified that, “it is expected to promote the policy that exists in other countries, such as Germany, in which the industry acquires these potential drugs by investing resources in completing preclinical research. In this time of study we already have publications in common with the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Bayer, which makes the Maule region an interesting investment focus for said pharmaceutical companies or others, adding economic value to the region”.
Presentation at HRT
In order to disseminate the progress achieved in two years of the project, the academic made a presentation before the Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery team of the Regional Hospital of Talca (HRT). Among the points addressed in the presentation, the conversation arose about a potential collaboration with HRT specialists for the genotyping of patients with channelopathies.
From such a public entity, the head of the Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery unit, Constanza Castro, stated that, “for us it is common to detect genetic diseases and currently we do not have many tools for clinical and genetic follow-up. This support from the University would make a difference. I see it as very viable to generate a link”.
Health
Nearly 70% of deaths worldwide are caused by chronic non-communicable diseases (heart, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung diseases).
Particularly in Chile, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) continue to be the leading causes of death, mainly in women. In 2017, the Department of Health Statistics positioned CVD as the main cause of death in Chileans with 27.9%, followed by cancer (24.8%).
Therefore, this project can generate important scientific contributions to benefit the health of the community in order to reverse these unfavorable records.
