Research

Women and Perinatal Health

Translational Medicine
Elisa Llurba 25-3540 (1).jpg

This group is focused on the study of diseases derived from placental insufficiency, such as preeclampsia and growth restriction, and maternal cardiovascular risk later in life, alterations of the fetal heart, and neurodevelopment. The group is the coordinator of the national network RICORS-SAMID entitled “Spanish Network in Maternal, Neonatal, Child and Developmental Health Research” (RD24/0013/0001, ISCIII), following the previous RICORS-SAMID (RD21/0012/0001, ISCIII), and it was recognized as a consolidated group by the Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca, AGAUR Generalitat de Catalunya (2021 SGR 01002).

Main Lines of Research

  • Prediction and prevention of complications arising from placental insufficiency, intrauterine growth restriction/preeclampsia (IUGR/PE). (Llurba Olive, Elisa; Garrido Gimenez, Carmen)
  • Placental insufficiency and maternal cardiovascular risk later in life. (Llurba Olive, Elisa).
  • Development of predictive methods based on the integration of prenatal and postnatal factors for detection of abnormal neurodevelopment in congenital heart disease. (Llurba Olive, Elisa).
  • Toxic and air pollution effects on pregnancy and fetal programming. (Llurba Olive, Elisa; Garrido Gimenez, Carmen; Cruz Lemini, Monica Cristina).
  • Management of pelvic floor dysfunction: chronic pelvic pain, urinary incontinence, and pelvic organ prolapse. (Mora Hervas, Irene).
  • Maternal and fetal cardiovascular programming in assisted reproductive treatments (ART). (Llurba Olive, Elisa; Polo Ramos, Ana Maria).
  • Cardiovascular health and ART outcomes. (Llurba Olive, Elisa; Cruz Lemini, Monica Cristina; Polo Ramos, Ana Maria).
  • COVID-19 and gestation. (Medina Mallen, Maria Del Carmen).
  • Innovative methods in delivery care. (Cruz Lemini, Monica Cristina; Medina Mallen, Maria Del Carmen).

Scientific Challenges

  • To study new placental biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of preeclampsia (PE) and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), aiming to generate future hypotheses on prevention targets and therapeutic interventions for these diseases.
  • To determine the utility of new placental biomarkers (sFlt-1/PlGF ratio) in the diagnosis and prognosis of preeclampsia (PE) with the aim of changing existing healthcare policies and thus improving maternal and neonatal health.
  • To study new maternal cardiovascular risk biomarkers after experiencing placental insufficiency and explore preventive strategies to identify which mothers are at risk of long-term cardiovascular diseases.
  • To study the role of placental insufficiency and hypoxia in congenital heart diseases with the aim of increasing our understanding of the relationship between hypoxia-dependent placental morphogenesis, placental function, and effects on fetal oxygen metabolism.
  • To identify new biomarkers detectable during fetal and neonatal stages that help predict postnatal neurological risk in congenital heart diseases.
  • To evaluate the impact of maternal exposure to environmental factors on gestation, placental complications, and fetal neurodevelopment with the aim of generating evidence to support regulation and implementation of necessary interventions by health authorities.
  • To evaluate the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on gestation and the neonate.
  • To conduct clinical research focused on improving obstetric care by implementing innovative solutions in the labor and postpartum process.

Contact

Elisa Llurba
ellurba@santpau.cat

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