- 2023
- Press releases - 14.11.2023
A neural organoid with an immune environment
French, Singaporean and British researchers, led by Prof. Florent Ginhoux, head of a research team at Gustave Roussy/Inserm, have succeeded in demonstrating in a neuronal organoid the role of the brain’s immune environment in its formation and development. The development of these three-dimensional structures integrating neuronal cells and the immune environment is, to date, one of the most complete in vitro models of the human brain.
- Press releases - 06.11.2023
Major Breakthrough in the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease: A Neuroprosthesis Restores Fluid Walking
Neuroscientists from Inserm, CNRS and Université de Bordeaux in France, along with Swiss researchers and neurosurgeons (EPFL/CHUV/UNIL), have designed and tested a “neuroprosthesis” to correct the gait disorders associated with Parkinson’s disease. In a study published in Nature Medicine, the scientists describe the development process of the device they used to treat a Parkinson’s disease patient for the first time, enabling him to walk fluidly, confidently, and without falling.
- Press releases - 30.10.2023
In Primates, the Appendix Is Found to Have a Protective Effect Against Infectious Diarrhea
Although the cecal appendix is no longer considered a vestige of evolution with no particular role, its exact function remains to be discovered and several hypotheses are currently being explored. A research team from Inserm, CNRS, the French National Museum of Natural History (MNHN), Université de Rennes, Sorbonne Université and the Eugène Marquis Center looked at how the presence of an appendix affects the onset and severity of infectious diarrhea in primates, an animal order that is particularly affected by these diseases.
- Press releases - 23.10.2023
Diaper Packaging Conveys Pictures Inconsistent With Recommendations for Preventing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
In several European countries where the incidence rates of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) are high, a high frequency of unsafe parental sleep practices has also been observed. In addition, it is known that pictures conveying implicit or explicit health messages can lead to the modification of health practices. Researchers from Inserm, Université Paris Cité and HEC Paris, in collaboration with the Greater Paris University Hospitals (AP-HP), Nantes University Hospital and other European research structures, studied images shown on baby diaper packaging in 11 European countries, including France.
- Press releases - 20.10.2023
Improving Your Sleep Can Protect Your Cardiovascular Health
The association between sleep disorders and cardiovascular risk is already well documented. Apnea, sleep deficit, and insomnia are linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. A new study has now explored this association in much greater depth.
- Press releases - 12.10.2023
Asleep but Open to the World: We Can Still Respond to External Stimuli
When we sleep we are not completely cut off from our environment: we are still able to hear and understand words. These observations, resulting from the close collaboration between researchers from Inserm, CNRS, Sorbonne Université and AP-HP at the Brain Institute and the Department of Sleep Disorders at Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, call into question the very definition of sleep and the clinical criteria that distinguish between its different stages.
- What's on? - 02.10.2023
Nobel Prize for Medicine 2023
The winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine were announced on Monday October 2, 2023. They are American-Hungarian Katalin Karikó and American Drew Weissman. They are being rewarded for their discoveries concerning nucleic base modifications, which were essential to the development of effective messenger RNA vaccines against Covid-19. Their work has also fundamentally altered our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system.
- Press releases - 22.09.2023
Countering the effects of aging and the occurrence of cancers: new and promising results
Cancer and aging are closely linked processes, but the mechanisms underlying this relationship are still not well understood. By studying immune cells in the lung, researchers from Institut Curie and Inserm have provided new knowledge on the topic. They show that targeting ruptures of the nuclear envelope of these cells would represent a new opportunity for therapeutic intervention in age-related diseases, in particular cancer, thus improving the quality of life of the elderly in the long term.
- Press releases - 15.09.2023
Infection of Certain Neurons With SARS-CoV-2 Could Cause Persistent Symptoms
The brain impacts of infection with SARS-CoV-2, responsible for COVID-19, are increasingly well documented in the scientific literature. Researchers from Inserm, Lille University Hospital and Université de Lille, at the Lille Neuroscience & Cognition unit, in collaboration with their colleagues at Imperial College London, focused more specifically on the impacts of this infection on a population of neurons known for regulating sexual reproduction via the hypothalamus (the neurons that express the GnRH hormone). Their findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to the death of these neurons and cause certain symptoms that persist over time.
- Press releases - 13.09.2023
Screens and Child Cognitive Development: Exposure Time is Not the Only Factor to Consider
To what extent does early or excessive screen exposure affect children’s cognitive development? This is a question that is currently dividing scientists. A team led by Inserm researcher Jonathan Bernard at the Center for Research in Epidemiology and Statistics (Inserm/INRAE/Université Paris Cité/Université Sorbonne Paris Nord) studied the data of nearly 14,000 children from the French Elfe cohort for each child from the age of 2 to 5.5 years.