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Objective. Basic and translational research in pediatric cancer are essential to improve patient care. To critically assess the developments achieved in these areas in Latin America, we systematically reviewed information published between 2013 and 2023. Methods. Studies of basic and translational research performed by investigators in Latin America evaluating pediatric malignant solid and central nervous system tumors were retrieved from PubMed. Original articles published in English between 2013 and 2023 were included. Collaborations among Latin American authors or among Latin American authors working with researchers from other continents were also included. Studies were excluded if they focused only on adults or on basic research in tumor biology not specifically related to the tumor types analyzed in this review. Results. A total of 550 articles were retrieved, but after removal of duplicates, 514 articles were included in the analysis, the majority of which were authored by researchers affiliated with institutions in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. These countries also had the highest number of collaborations on original articles published with authors from Europe and North America. Argentina had the highest number of collaborations on original publications, with coauthors from Brazil and Uruguay. The median impact factor of the 244 journals in which articles were published was 3.5. The most commonly studied tumors were osteosarcomas, neuroblastomas and medulloblastomas; the most commonly studied areas were molecular analysis, tumor cell biology and biomarkers. Conclusions. In Latin America, research in pediatric oncology is on the agenda, despite a notable disparity in publication rates and frequency of collaboration between countries. There is a need to strengthen scientific collaboration within Latin America and with countries from other continents to promote research and to develop novel treatment strategies that reflect the local needs of children in Latin America who have solid tumors and brain cancer.

Bronchiectasis, particularly in children, is an increasingly recognised yet neglected chronic lung disorder affecting individuals in both low-to-middle and high-income countries. It has a high disease burden and there is substantial inequity within and between settings. Furthermore, compared with other chronic lung diseases, considerably fewer resources are available for children with bronchiectasis. The need to prevent bronchiectasis and to reduce its burden also synchronously aligns with its high prevalence and economic costs to health services and society. Like many chronic lung diseases, bronchiectasis often originates early in childhood, highlighting the importance of reducing the disease burden in children. Concerted efforts are therefore needed to improve disease detection, clinical management and equity of care. Modifiable factors in the causal pathways of bronchiectasis, such as preventing severe and recurrent lower respiratory infections should be addressed, whilst also acknowledging the role played by social determinants of health. Here, we highlight the importance of early recognition/detection and optimal management of bronchiectasis in children, and outline our research, which is attempting to address important clinical knowledge gaps discussed in a recent workshop. The research is grouped under three themes focussing upon primary prevention, improving diagnosis and disease characterisation, and providing better management. Our hope is that others in multiple settings will undertake additional studies in this neglected field to further improve the lives of people with bronchiectasis. We also provide a resource list with links to help inform consumers and healthcare professionals about bronchiectasis and its recognition and management., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Historically, advances in our knowledge of neuro-oncology and improvements in the survival of patients with brain tumours have been relatively scarce. One of the main turning points can be established from 2005 onwards, when the potential therapeutic role of cytostatics in these tumours was confirmed, thus changing the standard of treatment. Up until that date, only radiation therapy and surgery were considered truly effective treatments. This shift has contributed to the development of new systemic therapies and to an in-depth study of gliomagenesis. Advances in the knowledge of the basic fields of brain tumours have helped improve the design and results of new clinical trials, while clinical outcomes provide feedback and new data to further the understanding of these tumours. However, these promising advances open up new unresolved questions and offer a critical approach to the interpretation of past studies. This review mainly updates the results of trials that changed or modified the clinical practice of the treatment and management of gliomas. Commenting on relevant basic research papers that have not yet been translated into the implementation of changes in the treatment of these patients is excluded.

CONICET's Translational Health Research Network is coordinating efforts to advance in translational medicine. Health researchers initiate and focus their research with the aim of improving the health and quality of life of the population. An efficient research system should address health problems relevant to the population resulting in interventions and outcomes important for patients and health professionals. Recommendations to achieve this involve large thematic areas like (a) to set research priorities; (b) to improve research methodology; (c) to make research management and regulation transparent; (d) to increase accessibility to all results; and (e) to improve research dissemination. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has been a clear demonstration of how the country's research system has united the most diverse disciplines to jointly provide solutions to address it. An active and transparent mechanism to identify priorities in the country and to unite funding and research efforts to provide solutions to those priorities is proposed. Translational health research means the joint work of the most diverse health research disciplines in order to jointly obtain efficient and effective interventions to improve the health and quality of life of the population.

The transfer of technology from health research institutions to businesses that develop new medical treatments has generated great benefits for public health at a global level. Mexico however, is lagging in innovation indicators. There are important cultural, regulatory, and financial barriers that limit innovation in Mexico. However recent years have seen the appearance of several useful initiatives that constitute progress in the right direction. This work provides a brief overview of the current situation of innovation in Mexico, describes the main barriers and gives recommendations that can promote health innovation in Mexico, which can contribute to improvements in public health., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflict of interests. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

The most important challenge faced by human beings is health. The only way to provide better solutions for health care is innovation, true innovation. The only source of true innovation is research, good research indeed. The pathway from a basic science study to a randomized clinical trial is long and not free of bumps and even landmines. These are all the obstacles and barriers that limit the availability of resources, entangle administrative-regulatory processes, and restrain investigators' initiatives. There is increasing demand for evidence to guide clinical practice but, paradoxically, biomedical research has become increasingly complex, expensive, and difficult to integrate into clinical care with increased barriers to performing the practical aspects of investigation. We face the challenge of increasing the volume of biomedical research and simultaneously improving the efficiency and output of this research. In this article, we review the main stages and methods of biomedical research, from nonclinical studies with animal and computational models to randomized trials and clinical registries, focusing on their limitations and challenges, but also providing alternative solutions to overcome them. Fortunately, challenges are always opportunities in disguise., (Copyright © 2017 Sociedad Española de Cardiología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Ischemic heart disease continues to cause high morbidity and mortality. Its prevalence is expected to increase due to population aging, and its prevention is a major goal of health policies. The risk of developing ischemic heart disease is related to a complex interplay between genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. In the last decade, considerable progress has been made in knowledge of the genetic architecture of this disease. This narrative review provides an overview of current knowledge of the genetics of ischemic heart disease and of its translation to clinical practice: identification of new therapeutic targets, assessment of the causal relationship between biomarkers and disease, improved risk prediction, and identification of responders and nonresponders to specific drugs (pharmacogenomics)., (Copyright © 2017 Sociedad Española de Cardiología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To understand the barriers to implementing nursing research findings into practice, as perceived by the nurses working in Osakidetza and to analyze if the workplace factor and time worked affect the perception of these barriers., Methods: Cross-sectional study. BARRIERS Scale questionnaire was given to a representative sample of 1,572 Basque Health Service nurses, stratified and randomized, according to scope of work and job responsibility (response rate: 43.76%)., Results: According to the research results, the first important barrier was "insufficient time on the job to implement new ideas". Nurses have perceived the organizational factor as the most important barrier in their practice. Nurses in "Special hospital departments" perceived more barriers in the "quality of research" factor than those working in "Primary Care". Years of service showed a slight influence., Conclusions: The nurses stated that external factors related to the organization principally interfered in implementing results into clinical practice. They placed lack of critical reading training second. Working environment and seniority mark differences in the perception of barriers. This study may help to develop strategies for planning training programs to facilitate the use of research in clinical practice, in order to provide quality care., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Knowledge translation (KT) in Public Health involves the use of scientific evidence by decision makers when generating health policies directed to accelerate the benefits resulting from research and innovation in health system and ultimately people´s health. In this paper we review the definitions and conceptual frameworks related to systematization of KT processes. The different approaches to KT share the concept that KT is composed by two main elements: a product (information) developed through scientific method with a friendly format for the target public and an action devoted to support or promote a health related practice using the aforementioned product. The understanding and application of KT is a key element for effective use of knowledge in decision making.

One of the greatest achievements in gastroenterology and surgery of the last 50 years has been the capability to transplant different abdominal organs of the digestive system separately or as a whole. The complexity of the intestinal transplantation demands a multidisciplinary team engaged in the management of patients with intestinal failure responsible for defining the need for nutritional support, rehabilitation, or intestinal transplantation. This team should include a basic research area to provide answers to unresolved clinical problems. The aim of this work is to update the current status of intestinal transplantation, and to show the progress and results of our center; emphasizing our achievements in the clinical area, and the contributions of the translational research and mucosal immunology studies as part of the integral unit of intestinal failure, rehabilitation and transplantation. The data reported here demonstrate that the intestinal transplantation has been established as a therapeutic option in our country and Latin America, with long term results that have ranked our service at the level of the best centers in the world positioning us as referent in the specialty.

This article describes the experience of knowledge translation between researchers of the ITSAL (immigration, work and health) project and representatives of organizations working with immigrants to discuss the results obtained in the project and future research lines. A meeting was held, attended by three researchers and 18 representatives from 11 institutions. Following a presentation of the methodology and results of the project, the participants discussed the results presented and research areas of interest, thus confirming matches between the two sides and obtaining proposals of interest for the ITSAL project. We understand the process described as an approach to social validation of some of the main results of this project. This experience has allowed us to open a channel of communication with the target population of the study, in line with the necessary two-way interaction between researchers and users., (Copyright © 2013 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)

Sudden unexplained death is defined by death without a conclusive diagnosis after autopsy and it is responsible for a large percentage of sudden deaths. The progressive interaction between genetics and forensics in post-mortem studies has identified inheritable alterations responsible for pathologies associated with arrhythmic sudden death. The genetic diagnosis of the deceased enables the undertaking of preventive measures in family members, many of them asymptomatic but at risk. The implications of this multidisciplinary translational medical approach are complex, requiring the dedication of a specialized team., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.)

This article constructs a map on the translation of knowledge concerning cervical cancer, based on citation networks analysis and the use of Gene Ontology terms and Medical Subject Headings. We identified two areas of research that are poorly interconnected and differ in structure, content, and evolution. One focuses on causes of cancer and the other on patient care. The first research area showed a knowledge translation process where basic research and clinical research are communicated through a set of articles that consolidate human papillomavirus infection as the necessary cause of cervical cancer. The first area aims to prevent HPV infection and the development of cervical cancer, while the second aims to stage and treat the disease.

Radiation Oncology is a clinical speciality supported by technological development including biomedical imaging, ionizing radiation generators and radiobiology of cancer and normal tissues. Translational research and development opportunities incorporate clinical models available in hospital practice with academic interest in health care innovative approaches. Examples of mature research projects in translational radiation oncology are described: a) molecular imaging and expression for radioresponse assessment; b) oligorecurrent cancer results after rescue surgery and intensified radiotherapy; c) stereotactic surgical navigation for intraoperative radiotherapy.

Tacrolimus (FK-506) is an immunosuppressant widely used to prevent kidney transplant rejection. Patients receive an initial standard dose and tacrolimus levels are measured in blood. If necessary, the dose is adjusted to reach a blood concentration within the accepted range. There is great interindividual variability in the dose required to achieve the target blood level, and many patients require multiple modifications of the dose to reach the range. One of the main determinants of these differences is a CYP3A5 gene polymorphism that determines that about 80% of Caucasians are poor metabolisers and require lower doses compared to the extensive metabolisers. It has been proposed that transplanted patients could receive an initial Tacrolimus dose based on the CYP3A5 genotype. This could reduce the time to achieve the optimal blood level, reducing the number of dose modifications. However, to be accepted by clinicians and translated to the clinical practice this adapted dose procedure should give additional advantages such as a significant reduction of the rates of nephrotoxicity and rejection, or a lower cost due to less dose modifications of Tacrolimus and less antibody induction therapy.

Human resources education for health workers has been predominantly discipline-oriented and fragmented, influencing research design and, in turn, scientific output. Several authors argue that university education should transition from disciplinarity to transdisciplinarity. To gather the theoretical underpinnings for this subject of international interest, a literature search was conducted in the PubMed, EBSCO, and SciELO databases in 2012, using the terms "transdisciplinary and translational research" in Spanish and English. The majority of authors believe that identifying problems from different perspectives by specialists and community members and leaders will be conducive to more effective intersectoral interventions. They suggest undertaking organizational change to reshape reshaping work styles and self-organizational forms of scientific activity. Finally, a transdisciplinary model for public health research has been proposed that is based on traditional project design tools, but with variations borrowed from a complex systems approach.

This chapter intends to introduce the new concepts that have been established in molecular biology over the last years and are being applied in translational research. The chapter is divided in four big blocks, which treat the molecular biology concepts and techniques in relation to DNA, RNA, proteins and metabolites, respectively. Moreover, we give examples of translational application of these new methodologies described.

Objectives: The advances in cancer translational research, as well as the study of its changes and interactions, depend basically on the procurement of case series (individuals affected and non affected controls) which supply high quality samples and other associated data. Biobanks have shown they are indispensable tools for the advance of uro-oncological research., Methods: Bibliographic review based on biobanks with focus on Urology., Results and Conclusions: Well-organized, large biobanks are a key element in research in Uro-oncology. The integration of theses resources with molecular sciences and various "omics", together with powerful available bioinformatic tools enable the advance in the knowledge of development of uro-oncological diseases, with strong implications at the time of very advanced therapeutic strategies. However,in Spain, these valuable collections of tissue material and biological fluids are usually not much in use, mainly due to fragmentation, low accessibility, lack of proper management strategies (such as lack of consensus about standard operative procedures), limited specific policies of use and distribution, as well as lack of a comprehensive base in which the research needs are reflected under interdisciplinar and multi-institutional focus. We must add the frequent ignorance of the high scientific potential of these institutions in the urological world. The development of the Spanish National Plan of Biobanks brings light for the better use of these materials by the uro-oncological community. We present a general view on the biobank topic, which may serve as a model for future debates about their use in uro-oncology. This approach is based in data from the literature and results of discussions in various international forums.

Intravitreal ranibizumab (Lucentis®) injections are the treatment of choice in patients with exudative macular degeneration. In the last few years, several treatment and follow-up strategies have been evaluated with the aim of optimizing the safety and efficacy of this drug. In routine clinical practice, the Pro Re Nata (PRN) and treat-and-extend protocols or variants of the FUSION regimen have been used. PRN protocols are based on regular patient follow-up and on retreatment when there is evidence of reactivation of the lesion, basically determined by loss of visual acuity and persistent or recurrent macular fluid on optical coherence tomography. Treat-and-extend or FUSION protocols are based on early retreatment of the lesion before reactivation occurs with the aim of avoiding the irreversible visual loss that can occur in disease recurrences. There is no ideal treatment and follow-up protocol that could be used as an alternative to the monthly regimen and be applied and reproduced in all patients. Consequently, intravitreal ranibizumab therapy should be individualized in each patient., (Copyright © 2012 Sociedad Española de Oftalmología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The consolidation of breast cancer screening programs, with full coverage of the target population in all Spanish regions, has encouraged the beginning of a joint research strategy. This strategy aims to improve the effectiveness of breast cancer screening by gathering information from distinct screening programs., Methods: A retrospective cohort with information on over 1.5 million screened women was constructed to evaluate risk factors for a false-positive result. The impact of the change from digital mammography to screen-film mammography was evaluated, while results for interval cancers and false negatives are currently being studied., Results: The results are highly useful from the perspective of public health, as they can be used to identify and improve the information provided to women with a higher risk of experiencing an adverse effect. These results will also be helpful to identify screening program-related characteristics and women's personal characteristics, which will allow better prevention strategies to be developed., Conclusions: The results obtained will be included in mathematical models currently under development to evaluate the efficiency of breast cancer screening. These models could be highly useful to provide information and guide clinical and health policy decisions on cancer prevention and control., (Copyright © 2011 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: New lines of translational, interdisciplinary research are emerging among different fields of the neurosciences, which often point at clinical neuropsychology as the hinge discipline capable of linking the basic findings with their clinical implications and thereby endow them with some meaning for phenomenological experience., Aim: To establish the great lines of progress made in the fields of neuroscience and neuropsychology in recent years, so as to be able to foresee the strategic lines and priorities of neuroscience in the near future., Development: To achieve this aim, the first step will be to identify the changes of paradigm that have taken place in the areas of neuroscience and psychology in the last two decades. The next step will be to propose new topics and fields of application that these changes in paradigm offer and demand from neuroscience., Conclusions: The false dichotomies of genes versus environment, mind versus brain, and reason versus emotion are considered, as are the new applications of neuropsychology to the understanding of psychopathological disorders, from the neurodegenerative to neurodevelopment, from 'dirty' drugs to cognitive and affective enhancers.

Glucocorticoids are anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressant and anti-allergic drugs derived from hydrocortisone. Their widespread use was originated from Hench's observations in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. These drugs are examples of translational medicine and they can be envisaged as one of the most prescribed and feared drugs. The objective of this review is to highlight their pharmacological properties and thus, allow a more suitable prescription.

Recently, the translational research model (TR) has been established as a key feature in health worldwide. The objectives of this review are: (1) to define the TR and describe its complex nature; (2) to identify the components of the TR; (3) to link the TR to the decision-making process in health policies; (4) to recognize frequent obstacles and challenges of the association between the TR and the decision-making process in health policies. A systematic literature review was conducted in scientific databases and selected grey literature was done including TR and health policy as key words. We found 60 papers. Results show that the concept of TR and its theoretical formulation has evolved over time and has only recently incorporated the complexity that exists in the transference of scientific knowledge to health. International literature shows different applications of the TR in both research and clinical practice. The application of the TR to public health and health policy decision making is relatively new but necessary and could become a priority for health policies in the countries.

In the first part of the present paper the basis and importance of translational medicine (TM) on the current status of quality of health care is discussed. This is exemplified by the application and benefit of translational oncology and personalized oncology in cancer patients as a model of TM. The second part of this article discusses the processes that have allowed the expansion of TM in developed countries and, likewise, the global conditions that have disabled the installation and expansion of TM in Mexico. The author suggests the establishment of translational research (TR) units in third-level hospitals, which will allow the formal initiation of TM in Mexico. The author concludes that the policy of TR in regard to national public health care is currently necessary. This policy requires the participation of government, national medical academies and societies, health sector medical centers, medical and research educators, centers of investigation, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, medical and biomedical physicians, and any other persons or entities who participate in the implicit improvement of the level of medical care. The installation of TR units located in hospitals represents a common benefit for the entire society and, specifically, for patients through the generation of a health care system with a higher scientific level, as well as higher quality of care.

Clinical research involves studying patients with a view to improving their care. It enhances the health system, benefits both patients and physicians, and represents the "natural" form of investigation for physicians. It can be conducted at both large and small sites. On initiating a line of research, a specific question should be formulated in terms of PICO (patient, intervention, comparison, and outcome). Each of these components should be precisely defined.The question will subsequently be assessed using the FINER mnemonic (that is, whether it is feasible, interesting, novel, ethical, and relevant). If shortcomings are detected, the research question can be refined or rejected directly. When we have an appropriate question,the next step will be to write our protocol with the assistance of someone trained in clinical research methodology.