Scientists at research center Applied Medicine (CIMA) of the University of Navarra have received the award for the "Best Spanish work presented in Hepatology in 2008 and published in journals with a high impact factor". The award, awarded by the Spanish Foundation for the Study of the Liver (FEEH), recognizes a study developed at the laboratory de Genetics Molecular and published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

The origin of primary biliary cirrhosis, which mainly affects middle-aged women, is currently unknown. This pathology is associated with autoimmunity phenomena, damages the bile ducts of the liver and reduces bile production. In Spain more than 1,000 cases are diagnosed each year and the issue total number of patients exceeds 15,000. Researchers at CIMA have described the role of the AE2 protein in combining an already known treatment, ursodeoxycholic bile acid (UDCA) and glucocorticoids, which improves the disease in a certain population of patients.

According to Dr. Juan Francisco Medina, director of laboratory of Genetics Molecular CIMA, "the diagnosis of the disease, usually early, allows early initiation of treatment with UDCA. However, almost 40% of patients do not respond satisfactorily to UDCA monotherapy".

The novelty of this study consists in linking for the first time the combined treatment of UDCA and glucocorticoids with an increased amount of bicarbonate in the bile and an improvement in bile production by the liver. Specifically, experiments in animal models and in cell culture demonstrate that "only the combined treatment of UDCA and glucocorticoids increases gene expression of the human AE2 protein in the liver". This study is part of the doctoral thesis of Fabián Arenas, who has obtained the award Extraordinary of doctorate in the area of Biochemistry 2008/2009, awarded by the School of Sciences of the University of Navarra. In the research, directed by Dr. Medina, Isabel Herviás, Miriam úriz, Ruth Joplin and Dr. Jesús Prieto, director of the area of Gene Therapy and Hepatology of CIMA have also participated.