The global burden of disease attributable to Mental Disorders and Addictions accounts for almost a quarter (23%) of years of disability, according to the Global Burden of Disease study (GBD, WHO, 2010; Lancet, 2013). The burden of these neuropsychiatric disorders has increased by 37,6% between 1990 and 2010, associated among other factors, with the aging of the population.
These figures point to the need to improve the health of the population by driving research and development of innovative strategies for the prevention and treatment of mental illness, based on the results of translational research in neuroscience.
The mental health and neurology professionals at the Par Taulí University Hospital, since 2010, have been working with basic researchers from the Institute of Neurosciences (INc) of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) to promote excellence research. excellence in neuroscience, a strategic and ethical priority.
In 2010, the Teaching Unit of the UAB School of Medicine was established at Parc Taulí Hospital, creating the necessary conditions to promote and consolidate mixed groups of clinical and basic research in neuroscience and to develop innovative projects that help improve the health of people.
The creation in 2017, as part of the Parc Taulí Research Institute (I3PT), of the Parc Taulí-INc-UAB Neuroscience Joint Unit-Laboratory is a clear example of the momentum of collaborative research in this area. The Parc Taulí-UAB Neuroscience mixed group was linked to the nation's largest mental illness research network, the Carlos III Institute of Health CIBERSAM network (CB19 / 09/00029).
From this platform, researchers at the Parc Taulí-UAB Neuroscience research group want, on the one hand, to improve communication and enhance the fluid connection between researchers and, on the other, to share with society, especially with scientific community, the main results of neuroscience research and their repercussions on people's health.