Research the Basis of Prevention, Proper Healthcare

Q: How has the Integral Attention Center for Diabetes Patients (CAIPaDi) impacted the incidence of diabetes in Mexico?
A: As part of INCMNSZ, CAIPaDi provides comprehensive care with the help of various specialists in ophthalmology, psychology, orthodontics and many other areas. The center is also focused on newly diagnosed patients, meaning those who have been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus within the last five years. Over time, complications derived from diabetes increase and make treatments difficult, which is why it is more effective to target patients at early stages.
CAIPaDi’s focus is on adherence to treatment through a preventive and therapeutic approach. The center does not only treat diabetes but tries to prevent further complications. To help with this objective, INCMNSZ opened a Metabolic Disease Research Unit (UIEM) to generate knowledge on the pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus. The unit conducts research projects at CAIPaDi regarding the most important conditions related to diabetes. Both UIEM and CAIPaDi work together as a clinical and metabolic research unit that links prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes mellitus.
Q: What kind of partners supported the creation of UIEM?
A: UIEM wants to be recognized as a center of innovation and academic excellence in the study of metabolic disorders. INCMNSZ has several collaborators and academic partners but Monterrey Institute of Technology, in particular, collaborated in the creation of this new unit. Other universities, such as UNAM, have also joined the project due to its focus on research. INCMNSZ’s relationship with the best universities in the country is proof of the institution’s commitment to healthcare, education and research on metabolic diseases.
Q: How important is the Research Support Network in INCMNSZ’s research studies?
A: The Research Support Network gathers different specialists and researchers from the INCMNSZ in the areas of bioinformatics, biostatistics, computational biology, molecular biology, genomics, flow cytometry and metabolomics, among others, to support the institute in developing highly specialized studies on physiopathology issues, such as metabolomics and genomic studies to find alleles of susceptibility in the Mexican population. The Research Support Network is the third axis, together with INCMNSZ and UIEM, in the development of cutting-edge research in relation to diabetes mellitus and its complications. All three create the necessary conditions for professionals from the biomedical and academic fields to interact and offer solutions in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diseases.
Q: What is INCMNSZ’s approach to treating chronic degenerative diseases through genomics and nutrition?
A: Nutrition and genomics are key factors for the prevention of chronic degenerative diseases, such as diabetes. INCMNSZ works on identifying genes related to diabetes susceptibility and the metabolic-molecular conditions that can prevent contraction of the disease. Our approach combines genetics, nutrition and micronutrient studies to clarify all issues related to diabetes. The institute also performs metabolomics studies to know which genes establish a metabolic precondition to diabetes to look for new ways of treating patients. There are other diseases and conditions with a genetic or epigenetic component, such as fatty liver and bacterial resistance. INCMNSZ compares these to diabetes to determine if there is a difference in how different some people react genetically to the disease compared to others.
Q: What genetic particularities impact the Mexican population’s propensity to develop nontransferable diseases?
A: The human genome is divided according to ethnicities and Mexico is a mixture of Amerindian, Asia-Pacific and European gene variations. This combination leads to greater or lesser susceptibility to the development of certain diseases. Similarly, the possibility of harming the liver and other organs is different for each ethnicity. If other factors are added to these genetic conditions, such as food and pollution, there is greater understanding on the population’s susceptibility to certain diseases.