The final objective of this pilot proposal is none other than to provide a better service to all the patients in the area of influence of the A Coruña University Hospital, that is, around a population of 550,000 inhabitants, to which almost 200,000 more should be added of superspecialties in the Ferrol area (in addition to the CSUR and other references for complex pathologies), could benefit from a rapid diagnosis and optimized antibiotic therapies, as well as personalized therapies according to the composition of their microbiome. In this proposal we propose to study the evolution of the microbiome in patients with metabolic diseases (obesity or diabetes), cardiovascular, pulmonary and dementia, since the prevalence of these disorders is very high in Galicia. Cardiovascular diseases, mainly ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease, represent the leading cause of death in Spain. Obesity accounts for 24.9% of Galician adults and diabetes for 7%. Regarding lung diseases and, specifically, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, this has a prevalence of 494 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over 65 years of age. Taking into account that there are 151,000 people in this age group in our healthcare area, a considerable number of cases can be expected. Finally, cases of dementia are very high in the Galician community since the population is very old. At present, it is being studied that alterations in the microbiome are related to the development of this neurological disorder. Given the high prevalence of dementia in Galicia, we propose to add these patients to the proposal. The role of the microbiome in the development of these ailments could be key, so a very large number of people can benefit from this project. In case of success, Sergas could deploy the technology to the rest of the region, that is, for the benefit of approximately 2.7 million Galicians. There are also other groups (academic research groups, private hospitals, agri-food companies or pharmaceutical industries) that could potentially be interested in the results obtained from this project.
