Recruitment continues for the project to improve the treatment of people with bipolar disorder financed by the 3Cat Marathon in Lleida

The 3Cat Marathon, in its edition dedicated to mental health in 2021, selected two projects that are currently being carried out at the University Hospital of Santa Maria (HUSM) and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRBLleida). These projects aim to improve the treatment of people with bipolar disorder and depression, two of the most prevalent and disabling pathologies in our society.

The first project, coordinated by the Hospital Clinic with the participation of the Vall de Hebron University Hospital and the University Hospital of Santa Maria, focuses on the study of bipolar disorder. It investigates the first episodes of this disorder with the aim of identifying clinical, neurobiological and genetic factors that can predict the evolution of the disease. The IRBLleida researcher and psychiatrist at the Mental Health and Addiction Services of the HUSM, Mar Mur, explains that this research will improve early diagnosis and develop personalised treatments to reduce relapses and improve the quality of life of patients. Currently, both patients and healthy controls who have agreed to participate in the study have already been recruited and evaluated and, in the coming months, a new evaluation will be carried out two years after the first episode, in order to know the subsequent evolution. "Once all the data is collected, analyses will be performed to help us identify those people who have been diagnosed with the disease.

Entries for the second edition of the Papageno Award for suicide prevention are open until 15 July

The Mental Health and Addictions Services of the University Hospital of Santa Maria has announced the second edition of the Papageno Award, which recognises the work of organisations, professionals and individuals who have played an important role in the prevention of suicide in Catalonia. The Papageno Award is a call for the active involvement of society as a whole in the prevention of suicide, highlighting innovative initiatives committed to mental health. Individuals or entities interested in the call can submit their candidacy through this registration link.

Proposals linked to the prevention of suicide will be valued both by local entities, the media, professionals and health institutions in Lleida and Catalonia, as well as anonymous people with a relevant role in this issue.

The call was made public in May 2025 and the deadline for submitting candidatures has been extended until 15 July 2025.

The jury will be made up of the Director of the Mental Health and Addictions Services of Gestión de Servicios Sanitarios, the person responsible for the suicide prevention programme and other members of both the technical and management staff of GSS. The prize, a sculpture by the artist Sara Pons Arnal, will be awarded on 19 September 2025.