Research Into Chronic Pain, The Winning Project Of The Pharmacology Award Presented By Almirall And The Spanish Pharmacology Society

The 9th Pharmacology Award, given jointly by Almirall and the Spanish Pharmacology Society (SEF) was presented today. The award aims to promote research in the Pharmacology area and is the only award in Spain that recognises the quality of a future research project in this field rather than an already completed work. The award was announced during the 32nd SEF Congress, which was held in León from 15 to 17 September.

The winning project this year was "Mechanisms involved in the protective action of citoquines belonging to the family of Transforming-beta growth factors in the development of chronic pain", by Dr. María Amor Hurlé from the University of Cantabria. The prize, of 9,000 euros, is for research in the project during the period 2010-2011.

The jury was made up of doctors Teresa Tejerina (President of the SEF and Professor of Pharmacology at the University Complutense Madrid), Pilar D'Ocon (Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Valencia and member of the Board of Directors of the SEF) and Amadeu Gavaldà (Head of Integrative Pharmacology at Almirall). Dr. Gavaldà commented: "After nine years this award has become a reference point in the Pharmacology area in Spain. It has facilitated important contributions to treat pathologies such as Parkinson's disease, hypertension or hyperlipidemia, which affect a large number of people in our society. This year the winning project by Dr. Hurlé will study progress in the treatment of chronic pain, which has a negative impact on all vital aspects of sufferers. It is estimated that around 19-37% (1) of the Spanish population experiences moderate to severe chronic pain".