ScienHub

On November 13 and 14, the 10th edition of the Comprehensive Management of Aging in HIV Workshop took place at the Sant Pau Modernist Complex, co-organized with Fundación Huésped. The event brought together leading clinicians, researchers, and community organizations to address the challenges of aging in people living with HIV.

As part of the anniversary celebration, the conference opened a call for innovative projects under the theme “Community interventions to improve quality of life”, with the aim of supporting community-based solutions that have a direct impact on people aged 50 or older living with HIV.

During the project presentation session, attendees voted among the three selected proposals, and the project that received the most support was awarded a €3,000 prize to facilitate its implementation. The winning project of the 10th edition was “Driven Frailty Risk Prediction in Older Kenyans with HIV in Western Kenya”, presented by the South Rift Valley HIV Technical Working Group.

The main objective of the project is to develop an artificial intelligence–based model to predict the risk of frailty in Kenyans over the age of 50 living with HIV. Using electronic health data and patient-reported outcomes, the project enables early identification of high-risk patients and the development of personalized interventions to improve their quality of life and clinical outcomes.

This project combines technological innovation with a community-based approach and represents a clear example of how applied research can have a real impact on the lives of people aging with HIV, especially in resource-limited settings.

On September 18 and 19, ScienHub Education organized in Barcelona the 8th edition of the HIV Clinical Topics Workshop, a meeting established as a European reference in clinical training on HIV that brought together nearly 100 specialists. Unlike other conferences, this event focuses exclusively on clinical updates, designed for physicians who treat patients with HIV.

In an interview with Josep Maria Llibre, coordinator of the activity, he highlighted the elements that make the meeting unique:“It is the only meeting in Europe dedicated to clinical updates on HIV. Other meetings combine clinical epidemiology and basic science. Here, we wanted to focus solely on clinical aspects, over two days.”

The Workshop combines sessions on antiretroviral treatment with metabolic aspects and comorbidities, such as weight gain, liver disease, and cardiovascular risk. It also includes practical clinical cases and small groups of attendees to encourage interaction and discussion. Llibre adds: “We divide all participants into two groups so that attendance is smaller and everyone can interact. The only thing we want is for people to interact, and it’s not easy because English is not the native language of many of them.”

The Workshop continues to be an essential meeting point for HIV professionals, offering up-to-date, practical clinical training and reinforcing their commitment to excellence in patient care.

Spain has consolidated its position as the European country with the highest number of clinical trials initiated, surpassing Germany in 2023. This leadership is driven by the sustained growth of research and development (R&D) and by collaboration between industry, hospitals, universities, and both public and private centers. The Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS) authorized 930 new drug studies in 2024, and Spain coordinated 28% of multinational studies approved in Europe. Pharmaceutical companies established in the country are behind eight out of every ten trials, and for many multinationals, Spain is the main destination for studies outside the United States.

Clinical Trials Managed by ScienHub

The Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) at ScienHub is a specialized unit for conducting phase I, II, III, and IV clinical trials, as well as research projects, cohorts, and observational studies. In 2024, ScienHub managed more than 60 clinical studies (including 3 phase I and 8 phase II trials) in areas such as vaccines, dermatology, nephrology, urology, global health, and infectious diseases. The multidisciplinary team at ScienHub carried out more than 6,900 participant visits and processed over 1,600 biological samples, while maintaining a high level of sponsor satisfaction (4.84/5).

ScienHub remains committed to excellence, quality, and innovation in clinical research, supporting the scientific community throughout every stage of the process and ensuring the protection of participants’ rights and well-being.

Anna Castells Nobau has been awarded the Best Abstract Award at the international conference The Barcelona Debates on the Human Microbiome, thanks to her innovative research titled “Microviridae bacteriophages influence behavioural hallmarks of food addiction via tryptophan and tyrosine signalling pathways.”

Her study delves into the role of the gut microbiota in food addiction, a condition that affects approximately 16% of the general population and shares neurological mechanisms with substance abuse disorders. In her research, Castells identified a virus from the Microviridae bacteriophage family — harmless to humans but capable of infecting gut bacteria — as a key factor in altering brain circuits related to dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward.

“We observed that the presence of this bacteriophage altered neural pathways related to dopamine — the very ones that modulate addictive behaviours toward food. Moreover, when we transferred the microbiota from individuals with food addiction — which contained this virus — to healthy mice, those mice also developed food addiction behaviours,” she explained.

The research also identified a compound capable of blocking the effects of the bacteriophage, thereby preventing changes in the brain and offering a potential protective mechanism against food addiction.

This study provides a new perspective on the biological mechanisms involved in food addiction and opens the door to potential therapeutic strategies based on microbiota modulation.