- 2014
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Press releases - 24.07.2014
Drug users : a new strategy to reduce infectious risk
The risk of transmission of HIV and of hepatitis C virus in intravenous drug users can be reduced significantly by means of support and educational sessions delivered by their peers.
This type of community intervention, which is easily transposable, has been evaluated in the framework of ANRS AERLI, a study conducted jointly by the nonprofit organizations AIDES, Médecins du Monde and by Inserm U912 (Marseille). The results were presented in an oral communication at the 20th International AIDS Conference organized by the International Aids Society and held in Melbourne (Australia) from 20 to 25 July 2014. -
Press releases - 23.07.2014
Repeated home-based HIV screening in South Africa : a strategy well accepted on a large scale
Launched in March 2012, the ANRS 12249 TasP (Treatment as Prevention) Trial is one of four international randomized trials designed to assess the efficacy of the TasP strategy in a large population. It is conducted the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, one of the highest prevalence areas in the world, and the highest in South Africa (16.9% in 2012 according to the latest national survey of the general population).
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What's on? - 23.07.2014
2014 World Hepatitis Day
28 July 2014 is World Hepatitis Day. Millions of people across the world are infected by one of the five known viruses (A, B, C, D, E). Nearly 1.4 million people die from it every year. Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. It can have a viral or toxic origin (when alcohol abuse or […]
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Press releases - 21.07.2014
Radiotherapy ‘flashes’ to reduce side effects
Treating hard and fast seems to be a good way to limit the side effects of radiotherapy. This is the discovery made by researchers at the Curie Institute, Inserm and the Vaud University Hospital, published in Science Translational Medicine on 16 July.
Radiotherapy remains one of the benchmark local treatments for cancer patients: increasingly accurate, it consists of irradiating cancer cells to destroy them while preserving neighbouring healthy tissues and organs as much as possible. By increasing the intensity of the irradiation 1,000 times over a very short time, the researchers have shown that the efficacy remains the same, but healthy tissues are better protected. -
Press releases - 18.07.2014
Working toward improved management of cranial trauma
Under normal conditions and because it cannot store oxygen, the brain cannot withstand being deprived of oxygen for more than a few minutes without risking serious consequences. After an accident (cranial trauma or stroke), emergency teams therefore try to restore cerebral oxygenation as quickly as possible. The faster and more precisely physicians work, the greater the chances of recovery. A multi-disciplinary team at the Grenoble Institute of Neuroscience (GIN, Inserm/ Grenoble-Alps University/Grenoble teaching hospital) comprising physicists, biologists and physicians (neurologists and anaesthetists) has developed a new method for measuring cerebral oxygenation using MRI. Besides being non-invasive, this technique identifies the least oxygenated areas of the brain with precision. Ultimately, it could be used to guide therapeutic interventions and make them more precise, less risky and more effective.
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What's on? - 17.07.2014
Chikungunya virus epidemic
The chikungunya virus is an infectious arboviral disease from the family Togaviridae. It comes from tropical regions and is transmitted by Aedes mosquitos. The virus is contracted by the mosquito when it bites an infected individual. It then becomes a carrier and can transmit the disease by biting a healthy person. There is no curative […]
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Press releases - 17.07.2014
What are the risks of post-traumatic stress disorder after an accident?
The team of Emmanuel Lagarde, research director at Inserm’s Research Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics (Inserm/University of Bordeaux) has studied the subsequent development of 1,300 people who were admitted to A&R between 2007 and 2009 for trauma.
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Press releases - 11.07.2014
100,000 women with breast implants monitored for 10 years
At the request of the Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médicament et des produits de santé (ANSM) [French National Agency of Medicine and Health Products Safety], a group of researchers managed by Florent de Vathaire in Inserm Unit 1018 Centre for epidemiology and population health research is launching a study entitled LUCIE.
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Press releases - 11.07.2014
Ultrasound tracks odor representation in the brain
A new ultrasound imaging technique has provided the first ever in vivo visualization of activity in the piriform cortex of rats during odor perception. This deep-seated brain structure plays an important role in olfaction, and was inaccessible to functional imaging until now. This work also sheds new light on the still poorly known functioning of the olfactory system, and notably how information is processed in the brain.
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News in brief - 04.07.2014
L-Dopa treatment alleviates sleep disturbances associated with Parkinson’s disease
Patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease complain of severe sleep disturbances such as inability to fall asleep or, in contrast, periods of drowsiness during the day. While dopaminergic treatment dramatically improves the disease’s motor symptoms (calming tremors, for instance), its effects on sleep continued to be challenged, suggesting that the alteration of other (non-dopaminergic) neurons might […]