CRG group leader Gian Gaetano Tartaglia, is part of “Catalan Network of Multiple System Atrophy: biomarkers and pathophysiology” project, coordinated by IDIBAPS researcher Dr. Josefa Maria Martí.

“La Marató” is an annual telethon organised on Catalan TV to raise funds for scientific research into diseases. Last year it was focused on neurodegenerative disorders, it raised more than 11 milion euros that will fund 44 research projects.

Gian Gaetano Tartaglia, CRG group leader of the Gene Function and Evolution laboratory, is part of the “Catalan Network of Multiple System Atrophy: biomarkers and pathophysiology” project, coordinated by Dr. Josefa Maria Martí Domènech, from the IDIBAPS biomedical institute (Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica August Pi i Sunyer).

The purpose of the project, which has received 299,611.25€ in funding, is to build a Catalan registry of Multiple Systems Atrophy (MSA) patients to enable better clinical and neuropathological characterisation of this neurodegenerative disorder.  MSA is a neurodegenerative disorder Hopefully they will be able, for the first time, to provide a national registry of MSA patients together with a repository of biological samples. This will allow scientists to identify the proteins and microRNAs involved in this disease and study these elements as possible diagnostic biomarkers.