- 2018
- Press releases - 30.08.2018
Metformin Improves Motor Skills in Patients with Steinert Myotonic Dystrophy, the Most Common Adult Neuromuscular Disease
Inserm researchers at I-Stem – the Institute for Stem Cell Therapy and Exploration of Monogenic Diseases – report encouraging results with metformin, a known diabetes drug, for the symptomatic treatment of Steinert myotonic dystrophy. A phase II trial conducted in 40 patients at Henri-Mondor Hospital AP-HP has shown that, after 48 weeks of treatment at the highest dose, patients treated with metformin (versus placebo) gain in motor skills and recover a more stable gait. The results of this trial, which received 1.5 million euros in funding from AFM-Téléthon, are published today in Brain.
- Press releases - 27.08.2018
Predicting The Response To Immunotherapy Using Artificial Intelligence
A study published in The Lancet Oncology establishes for the first time that artificial intelligence can process medical images to extract biological and clinical information. By designing an algorithm and developing it to analyse CT scan images, medical researchers at Gustave Roussy, CentraleSupélec, Inserm, Paris-Sud University and TheraPanacea (spin-off from CentraleSupélec specialising in artificial intelligence in oncology-radiotherapy and precision medicine) have created a so-called radiomic signature. This signature defines the level of lymphocyte infiltration of a tumour and provides a predictive score for the efficacy of immunotherapy in the patient.
- Press releases - 27.08.2018
Mechanism of Repression: Can a Person’s Memories be Altered Without Their Knowledge?
In recent years, the cognitive neurosciences have shown that it is possible to use conscious effort to alter memories. Researchers from the Inserm Center for Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Sainte Anne Hospital and Université Paris Descartes now show that it is possible to unconsciously alter memories. This experimental demonstration of the unconscious manipulation of memories, which is similar to the psychoanalytical concept of repression, has been published in the journal Cognition.
- Press releases - 27.08.2018
A Hormone Produced During Exercise Could Improve Muscle Capacity in the Elderly
How can we limit age-related decrease in muscle capacity (sarcopenia), which is a major cause of loss of autonomy in the elderly? Researchers from Inserm, Université Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier and the Gérontopôle of Toulouse University Hospital might have found, within the muscles themselves, a formidable ally in fighting this disease: apelin. This hormone, whose production decreases with age, is secreted during physical activity and improves muscle capacity. This research published in Nature Medicine makes it possible to envisage apelin both as a diagnostic tool for sarcopenia and as a solution for its treatment.
- Press releases - 22.08.2018
Maintaining Good Cardiovascular Health Reduces the Risk of Dementia and Cognitive Decline in Older Age
Researchers from Inserm at the Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, the Paris Cardiovascular Research Center, the University of Bordeaux and the Three-City Cohort have demonstrated that combining several factors and behaviors beneficial for the heart and maintaining them at optimal levels is associated with a reduced risk of developing dementia and cognitive decline after the age of 65. The researchers used the concept of optimal cardiovascular health as defined by the American Heart Association in its 2020 Impact Goal concerning cardiovascular disease prevention. This study has been published in JAMA.
- Press releases - 22.08.2018
Chronic Malnutrition In Children: A New Gut Microbial Signature
Chronic malnutrition, usually associated with an inflammation of the small intestine, affects one in every four children under the age of five. It is the leading cause of child mortality in low-income countries and is also responsible for severe stunting. The Afribiota project, led by the Institut Pasteur in Paris, the Institut Pasteur in Madagascar and the Institut Pasteur in Bangui, in collaboration with the University of British Colombia, Inserm and the Collège de France, was set up to advance our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of chronic malnutrition and improve treatment. A first study recently demonstrated microbiota disorders in malnourished children, revealing the existence of a surprising microbial signature in the gut, characterized by the widespread presence of bacteria that are normally found in the nose and mouth. The findings were published in the journal PNAS on the 20th of August, 2018.
- Press releases - 14.08.2018
2018 Ebola Epidemics: What is the Latest in Vaccine Research?
Since July, a new outbreak of Ebola virus disease was identified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – the second since May. In an attempt to halt the outbreak, a new vaccination campaign has begun in the affected region of North Kivu. It is against this background that researchers from the consortium PREVAC (Partnership for Research on Ebola VACcination) take stock of advances in Ebola vaccine research in The Lancet and point to the necessity to continue clinical trials.
- Press releases - 06.08.2018
Mice’s individuality is influenced by their relations
Individuality exists in all animals, and a number of factors shape it over time. For mice, one of those factors is the social environment, as researchers at CNRS, INSERM and Sorbonne Université have just shown. In this species, some stable character traits may even be inscribed in an individual’s neuron activity and change when the group’s composition changes. These results are published on August 6, 2018 in Nature Communication.
- Press releases - 02.08.2018
Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Dementia
The conclusions of a new study coordinated by Inserm show that excessive long-term alcohol consumption is linked to an increased risk of dementia. The results also suggest an increased risk among those who abstain, even if the underlying mechanisms in the two groups are very likely to differ. With those consuming to excess, the cases of hospitalization for chronic alcohol-related disease were linked to a four times higher risk of dementia, while in the abstainers this risk is only 1.5 times higher and can be explained in part by an increased risk of cardiometabolic disease. These results were published in British Medical Journal based on data from the British Whitehall II cohort.
- Press releases - 25.07.2018
Resistance to Antidepressants: the Ability of Neurons to Self-regulate
Why are some depressed patients more or less totally resistant to the most commonly-prescribed antidepressants? This question was addressed by researchers from Inserm