- 2022
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Press releases - 09.11.2022
Long COVID: A Dysregulated Immune Response Could Explain Symptoms Persistence
In a new study, scientists from Inserm and Université de Montpellier at the Montpellier Cancer Research Institute, in collaboration with Montpellier University Hospital, have highlighted the possible role of the dysregulation of a part of the innate immune defense. They suggest that the production of “extracellular neutrophil traps”, a first-line defense mechanism against pathogens, could play a role in the persistence of symptoms six months later in patients having developed a severe form of COVID-19.
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Press releases - 24.10.2022
Efficacy of a Meningococcal B Vaccine and a Preventive Antibiotic in Reducing the Risk of Sexually Transmitted Infections
The ANRS DOXYVAC trial, conducted by a research team from the Paris public hospitals group (AP-HP), Université Paris Cité, Inserm and Sorbonne Université in collaboration with AIDES and Coalition PLUS, demonstrates the efficacy of both a meningococcal B vaccine in reducing the risk of gonorrhea infection and the use of doxycycline as preventive intervention for sexually transmitted infections when taken within 72h after sexual intercourse.
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Press releases - 10.10.2022
Preventing dementia in seniors: meditation still under investigation
Meditation as a tool to prevent dementia and improve the mental health and well-being of elderly people is one of the avenues explored by the European Medit-Ageing research program, coordinated by Inserm. As part of this program, researchers from Inserm and Université de Caen Normandie, in collaboration with French and European teams, observed the impact of 18 months of meditation training on certain brain structures involved in regulating attention and emotions in healthy people over 65. While their findings, to be published in JAMA Neurology, show a positive impact on attentional and socio-emotional regulation capacities, they do not show any significant benefits of meditation on the volume and functioning of the brain structures studied, in comparison to control groups. However, they do call for further research to study the brain as a whole, over longer time periods, and with more participants.
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Press releases - 05.10.2022
New Avenues to Reduce Long-Term Complications in Preterm Infants
Children born prematurely have a higher risk of not just cognitive and sensory disorders, but also infertility in adulthood. In a new study, a team of researchers from Inserm, University Hospital Lille and Université de Lille at the Lille Neuroscience and Cognition laboratory has opened up interesting avenues for improving their prognosis. By conducting research into a rare disease known as congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, the scientists have discovered the key role of an enzyme and the therapeutic potential of the neurotransmitter that it synthesizes – nitric oxide – in reducing the risk of long-term complications in the event of prematurity.
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Press releases - 01.09.2022
A Therapy Found to Improve Cognitive Function in Patients with Down Syndrome
An Inserm team at the Lille Neuroscience & Cognition laboratory (Inserm/Université de Lille, Lille University Hospital) has joined forces with its counterparts at Vaudois University Hospital (CHUV, Lausanne) to test the efficacy of GnRH injection therapy in order to improve the cognitive functions of a small group of patients with Down syndrome. First the scientists revealed a dysfunction of the GnRH neurons in an animal model of Down syndrome and its impacts on the cognitive function impairment associated with the condition.
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Press releases - 30.08.2022
New therapeutic prospect for preeclampsia
Preeclampsia is a condition that affects the placenta during pregnancy and is dangerous for both the fetus and the mother. Scientists from the Institut Pasteur, Inserm and the CNRS have proposed a new therapy, tested in two rodent models, that corrects the defects identified in placental cells, and restores placental and fetal weight. The treatment […]
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Press releases - 24.08.2022
High Temperatures Have Short-Term Impact on All Major Causes of Death, Including Suicide
Temperature and mortality are linked. There is a short-term increase in mortality when temperatures are at their hottest or coldest – a phenomenon known as a “U-shaped relationship”. Inserm researchers at the Institute for Advanced Biosciences (Inserm/Université Grenoble Alpes/CNRS) and the Inserm Epidemiology Center on Medical Causes of Death (CépiDc) have sought to determine the […]
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Press releases - 28.07.2022
A “Nano-Robot” Built Entirely from DNA to Explore Cell Processes
Mieux comprendre divers processus invisibles à l’œil nu, qui ont lieu à l’échelle de nos cellules, grâce à un minuscule robot construit à base d’ADN… Si cela s’apparenterait presque à un projet de science-fiction, il s’agit en fait de travaux très sérieux menés par des scientifiques. Ce « nano-robot », très innovant, devrait permettre d’étudier de plus près des forces mécaniques qui s’appliquent à des niveaux microscopiques et qui sont cruciales pour de nombreux processus biologiques et pathologiques. Le dispositif est décrit dans une nouvelle étude, publiée dans la revue Nature Communications.
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Press releases - 19.07.2022
Questioning the Universal Application of Neurocognitive Tests
A research team from Inserm, University Hospital Lille, and Université de Lille within the Lille Neuroscience & Cognition laboratory looked at the impact of cultural differences on the performances on two of the neurocognitive tests most used worldwide, comparing the results of around 600 healthy participants across 12 countries.
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Press releases - 18.07.2022
Inserm and CNRS to Lead Large-Scale Program on Psychiatry Research
On July 18, 2022, France’s minister for Higher Education and Research Sylvie Retailleau announced an unprecedented psychiatry research effort in the form of 80 million euros allocated over five years to the precision-psychiatry project-program PROPSY, led by Inserm and CNRS as part of the Priority Research and Resources Programs (PEPRs).