- 2014
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Press releases - 12.06.2014
Mild hearing impairment may indicate greater underlying problems
Scientists from the Institut Pasteur, INSERM, Collège de France, and Pierre and Marie Curie University, in collaboration with a team from the University of Auvergne, identified mice models that mimic high-frequency hearing impairment in humans, with a strong low-frequency sound interference. Their work sheds light on the anomalies causing the hearing impairment and reveals cochlear defects that profoundly affect the way sound frequencies are processed. This work could explain the pronounced masking effect experienced by some hearing-impaired individuals when trying to discriminate high-frequency sounds in noisy environments. The scientists suggest that more substantial auditory assessments would enable clinicians to improve diagnosis of these auditory impairments and provide better care for individuals who, despite showing only a mild hearing impairment using standard audiometric evaluations, should be fitted with hearing aids that appropriately target the defective sound frequencies and correct the hearing impairment.
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What's on? - 12.06.2014
2014 World Blood Donor Day
Introduced for the first time in 2004, at the initiative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) takes place on 14 June each year. Organised in France by the French National Blood Service, WBBD pays tribute to the millions of anonymous volunteer blood donors throughout the world. This also helps to […]
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Press releases - 11.06.2014
Yves Lévy, new Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Inserm
Yves Lévy has just been appointed by the Council of Ministers as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm).
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Press releases - 11.06.2014
Epileptic seizure: a primitive brain activity with mechanisms that are conserved across species
Tout semble différencier une mouche d’un homme. Et pourtant, aussi étonnant que cela puisse paraitre, des chercheurs de l’Inserm dirigés par Christophe Bernard et Viktor Jirsa au sein de l’Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes (INS) – Inserm U1106 à Marseille viennent de montrer que les crises d’épilepsie suivent des règles mathématiques simples et conservées à travers les espèces. La crise d’épilepsie est une forme d’activité neuronale qui est encodée dans tout cerveau sain, mais qui ne s’exprime que dans situations pathologiques. Grâce à l’identification de ces principes de base, les chercheurs ont pu classer rigoureusement les crises en 16 types distincts ; une classification qui sera très utile aux cliniciens pour envisager des traitements de plus en plus personnalisés et rechercher de nouveaux médicaments. Ces travaux sont publiés dans la revue Brain
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Press releases - 10.06.2014
Cancer: life two years after diagnosis
L’Institut national du cancer (INCa) et l’Inserm présentent, lors d’un colloque de restitution le 10 juin, les résultats d’une enquête de grande envergure interrogeant 4349 personnes atteintes d’un cancer deux ans après le diagnostic. Appelée VICAN2 pour « Vie après le Cancer à deux ans du diagnostic », cette enquête menée en 2012 constitue l’unique travail national qui rend compte des conditions de vie des personnes atteintes de cancer.
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What's on? - 05.06.2014
World Day for Hidradenitis Suppurativa
Since 2012, the French Association for Research on Hidradenitis (AFRH) has organised the World Day for Hidradenitis Suppurativa, which will take place on Friday 6 June this year. The aim is to increase awareness of this disease, which is little known among the general public, and often misdiagnosed. Hidradenitis supporativa, also known as Verneuil’s disease […]
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Press releases - 02.06.2014
Elucidating the pathogenic mechanism of meningococcal meningitis
Neisseria meningitidis, also called meningococcus, is a bacterium responsible for meningitis and septicemia[1]. Its most serious form, purpura fulminans, is often fatal. This bacterium, which is naturally present in humans in the nasopharynx, is pathogenic if it reaches the blood stream. Teams led by Dr. Sandrine Bourdoulous, CNRS senior researcher at the Institut Cochin (CNRS/Inserm/Université Paris Descartes), and Professor Xavier Nassif, Institut Necker Enfants Malades (CNRS/INSERM/Université Paris Descartes/Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris), have deciphered the molecular events through which meningococci target blood vessels and colonize them. This work opens a path to new therapeutic perspectives for treating vascular problems caused by this type of invasive infection. The study was published on June 1, 2014 in Nature Medicine.
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Press releases - 02.06.2014
How does the brain adapt to different situations?
A team of scientists led by Etienne Koechlin, Director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory (Inserm/ENS), has just decoded the reasoning process behind the human ability to adapt.
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What's on? - 27.05.2014
2014 World Multiple Sclerosis Day
World Multiple Sclerosis Day takes place on 28 May. This year, the theme of the day is equality of access for patients with this disease:1 access to treatment, public transport, buildings, information, employment, etc. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease that affects the central nervous system. This autoimmune disease affects approximately 1 person in […]
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Press releases - 22.05.2014
Conferences for Novice Researchers, on the theme of “addiction,” in 5 French cities
Throughout the school year, 33 junior and senior secondary school students have been hosted each month in 9 neuroscience laboratories specialising in addiction studies. The aim: to change the views of the young “Novice Researchers” of the hidden face of drugs (alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, etc.) and addiction, and to facilitate contact between young people and the world of research. From 27 May next, the Novice Researchers will present their research at 5 conferences organised in Marseille (27 May), Amiens (3 June), Bordeaux (4 June), Paris (5 June) and Poitiers (10 June).