7 February, 2019
Devicare participated in the National Meeting of the Lithiasis, Endourology, Laparoscopy and Robotics Groups (LELR), held on 24 and 25 January in Palma de Mallorca. The plenary sessions focused on the medical and surgical handling of urinary lithiasis which affects 10% of the Spanish population. The final results of the “Double J” clinical trial led by specialists from nine leading Spanish hospitals renowned for urology care and sponsored by Devicare were also presented during the event.
The opening ceremony was led by Dr Joan Benejam, president of the organising committee and director of the Urology Department of Manacor Hospital; Dr Carlos Torrecilla, coordinator of the National Lithiasis Group of the Spanish Urological Association and director of the Lithiasis Department of Bellvitge University Hospital, and Dr Antonio Rosales, National Coordinator of the Endourology, Laparoscopy and Robotics Group.
“Urologists are the surgeons for lithiasis, but also the physicians. Metabolic studies and medical treatment are required to prevent the disease from recurring, which is what our patients need” explained Dr Miguel Ángel Arrabal, director of the Urology Department of San Cecilio University Hospital in Granada.
In addition to Arrabal, the plenary session concerning the medical handling of lithiasis featured prestigious specialists such as Dr Carlos Torrecilla, Dr Oriol Angerri, director of the Urolithiasis Unit of the Puigvert Foundation; Antonio Conte, honorary president of the Congress; Antonia Acosta, department chair and researcher of the Renal Lithiasis Research Laboratory of the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB); Yumaira Hernández, of Manacor Hospital; and Fèlix Grases, director of the Renal Lithiasis Research Laboratory of the UIB, who all spoke about morphoconstitutional analyses, metabolic studies, the influence of the diet and the latest news concerning medical treatment.
Dr Angerri presented the National Registry of Cystinuric Patients, a pressing need for these patients with rare illnesses.
30th Anniversary for Dr Grases' Laboratory
The meeting of the LELR Groups coincided with the 30th anniversary of the group led by Dr Fèlix Grases. Grases, the honorary president of the event, recounted the laboratory's numerous contributions to improve the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of renal lithiasis.
“Dr Grases and his team have done impressive work over the years studying 14,000 calculi. Thanks to their research and the close collaboration with our company, today we are able to offer the only medical solution in the entire world that can prevent the recurrence of urological diseases such as lithiasis through an innovative approach which involves patients monitoring their urinary pH” noted Rosendo Garganta, CEO of Devicare, during the congress.
One of the most recent is the study to evaluate the effects of theobromine as a crystallisation inhibitor of the uric acid in urine, which is being conducted on 60 patients in Manacor Hospital with the collaboration of Devicare, which has returned positive preliminary results.
Results of the Double J clinical trial
As Devicare reported a few weeks ago, this was the first congress where the final results of the “Double J” clinical trial were presented. The trial confirms the efficacy of the combined use of a medical device (Lit-Control® pH Meter) and a nutraceutical to prevent the calcification of double J stents through the monitoring urinary pH and the contribution of crystallisation inhibitors.
More than 300 urologists attended the meeting and gave high praise to the study since it provides a response to an unmet medical need which affects an important part of the patients with urolithiasis.
“We have the solution to prevent double J stent calcification” concluded Dr. Carlos Torrecilla, the principal investigator of the trial. You can find more information in this interview.
During the time in Palma de Mallorca, the group of researchers from the "Double J" study held a closed door work session with Dr Jordi Cuñé, the Medical director of Devicare.
