Cardiologist João Borges Rosa was awarded the Clinical Research Prize by the Central Regional Section of the Portuguese Medical Association (SRCOM), an award granted in partnership with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra.
This recognition highlights the excellence of the research carried out by Dr. João Borges Rosa in the area of molecular imaging applied to myocardial fibrosis. The award underscores the importance of research in clinical innovation and the development of new strategies to improve the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure.
The award-winning project, titled Molecular imaging of myocardial fibrosis: a pilot study with 68Ga-FAPI PET/CT in patients with heart failure, explores an innovative approach for early detection and monitoring of myocardial fibrosis, a key factor in the progression of heart failure.
Heart failure is a pathology with increasing prevalence and incidence, with significant morbidity and mortality and a high economic impact on health systems, despite therapeutic advances in recent decades. Myocardial fibrosis is a common final stage in different pathologies that cause heart failure, which is why myocardial fibrosis is an attractive therapeutic target, requiring non-invasive tests that allow its detection, monitoring and better understanding. Recent studies have shown that the identification of myocardial fibrosis through a non-invasive imaging test, PET/CT (positron emission tomography/computed tomography) with the radiopharmaceutical 68Ga-FAPI (fibroblast activation protein inhibitors labelled with gallium-68), could be more specific and identify myocardial fibrosis earlier, about findings suggestive of myocardial fibrosis detected by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR).
The primary objective of this pilot, observational, prospective, single-centre study is to evaluate myocardial fibrosis in two groups of patients with heart failure (reduced ejection fraction and preserved ejection fraction), using 68Ga-FAPI PET/CT, comparing the uptake of this radiopharmaceutical with changes in CMR. As secondary objectives, we aim to correlate the burden of myocardial fibrosis with serum markers of heart disease and cardiovascular events.
About the SRCOM Clinical Research Award – The Clinical Research Award of the Regional Section of the Center of the Order of Physicians aims to recognize and encourage research projects that contribute to the advancement of medical knowledge and the improvement of clinical practice. With the support of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra, this distinction reinforces the commitment to scientific excellence and innovation in the health sector.
About FMUC:
The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra (FMUC) has as its main mission to provide excellent academic and clinical training in Medicine and Dentistry, which has enabled, through an integrated and multidisciplinary training strategy, the training of highly qualified professionals. FMUC offers a strong and consolidated offering in different areas of Health Sciences at the 3rd cycle level (doctorate), integrated masters, advanced training courses and specialization masters. FMUC provides a stimulating scientific environment for conducting excellent biomedical research, promoting synergies between basic and clinical areas, and providing access to research infrastructure and cutting-edge technological platforms, which allows the development of highly differentiated and competitive research projects.
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