Inserm Newsroom - Press room of the French national institute of health and medical research

Pier-Vincenzo Piazza receives the Inserm Grand Prix 2015

On 8 December next, at Collège de France, the Inserm Prizes for 2015 will be awarded to eight outstanding researchers and research engineers. The Inserm Grand Prix 2015 will be awarded to Pier-Vincenzo Piazza, in recognition for his body of work on the physiopathology of psychiatric illnesses, in the presence of Marisol Touraine, Minister of Social Affairs and Health, Thierry Mandon, Secretary of State for Higher Education and Research, Professor Yves Lévy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Inserm, and Jean-Yves Le Déaut, Member of Parliament.

A new neural circuit involved in the control of movement

The team led by Claire Wyart, an Inserm researcher at the Brain and Spine Institute, has just demonstrated the ability of sensory neurons located in the spinal cord to modulate movement. In the zebrafish, the researchers have shown that activation of these neurons triggers locomotion when the animal is at rest, and inhibits it when the animal is moving. These results offer hope that it will one day be possible to specifically stimulate these circuits in order to generate movement in patients with spinal cord injuries. This work is published in Current Biology.

Inserm goes into space with Thomas Pesquet

In one year’s time, French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet will take off for the International Space Station (ISS), on board which he will conduct scientific experiments prepared by researchers from Inserm. The scientific and technical programme for this ESA (European Space Agency) mission includes significant participation by France, managed by CNES (National Centre for Space Studies). Research projects from 3 Inserm laboratories will be conducted in orbit. Their purpose will be to study the effects of space on bone density, blood pressure and sleep. Data collected before, during and after the 6-month mission will be analysed by the researchers back on earth to obtain a better understanding of the related pathologies.

An indicator for predicting emergence from coma

Researchers from Unit 825, “Brain imaging and neurological handicaps” show that the quality of communication between two structures in the brain predicts patient recovery at 3 months.

November 14th 2015: world diabetes day

Initiated by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization, World Diabetes Day, which takes place next Saturday, 14 November, is aimed at sensitising and informing the general public about diabetes prevention and management.   Diabetes, type 1 or type 2, is a chronic disease characterised by insufficient production of insulin, or by poor […]

November 14th 2015: world diabetes day

Initiated by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization, World Diabetes Day, which takes place next Saturday, 14 November, is aimed at sensitising and informing the general public about diabetes prevention and management.   Diabetes, type 1 or type 2, is a chronic disease characterised by insufficient production of insulin, or by poor […]

Fatty acids, essential for the nervous system… of the gut (as well)

Two Inserm research teams have just shown that failure of the intestine to produce a lipid “messenger” is associated with Crohn’s disease, a common and highly disabling inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

THE INTESTINAL FLORA AS A COMPLEMENT TO IMMUNOTHERAPY IN ONCOLOGY

The vital role of the intestinal flora in successful immunotherapy has just been revealed in a study published in the journal Science. Intestinal bacteria have been identified that can improve the therapeutic response to this drug and reduce a side-effect, “inflammatory colitis,” regularly encountered with this treatment.

This research implies that the efficacy of immunotherapy in oncology might in future be dictated by the composition of the patient’s intestinal flora. The researchers hope to develop a test for predicting the response to these treatments by analysing the intestinal flora. They also hope to offer those patients who need it the opportunity to reconstitute a flora which will restore the anti-tumour effect of the immunotherapy.

Inserm at COP21

L’Inserm s’engage dans le cadre de la COP21 : symposiums scientifiques, conférences pour le grand public.

An anti-diabetic drug corrects dyspraxia associated with neonatal diabetes

Researchers from Inserm and physicians from the Department of Paediatric Endocrinology, Gynaecology and Diabetology at Necker Hospital for Sick Children (AP-HP, Inserm U1016, Paris Descartes University, Imagine Institute) have developed an improved treatment for a rare form of early childhood diabetes associated with cognitive disorders. Their work, conducted in collaboration with the Neurophysiology Department of Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, AP-HP, shows that a drug used for decades to treat type 2 diabetes in older subjects acts on the brain of these children. It reduces their hyperactivity and improves their ability to perform precise movements such as writing. The work has recently been the subject of a publication in the journal Diabetes Care.