- 2018
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Press releases - 17.09.2018
The FOReSIGHT project has been awarded University Hospital Institute status, reflecting the success of a long-term commitment by Inserm, Sorbonne Université, Quinze-Vingts National Ophthalmology Hospital and the Seeing and Hearing Foundation.
Le succès d’un engagement sur le long terme de l’Inserm, de Sorbonne Université, du Centre Hospitalier National d’Ophtalmologie des Quinze-Vingts et de la Fondation Voir et Entendre: ces partenaires fondateurs de l’IHU FOReSIGHT s’engagent dans un projet d’exception visant à relever les défis des maladies de la vision. Centré autour de l’Institut de la Vision dirigé par le Pr José-Alain Sahel, le projet intègre une recherche fondamentale et clinique d’excellence pour améliorer les connaissances et les traitements des malades atteints de DMLA, glaucomes, rétinopathies diabétiques et dégénérescences d’origine génétique. L’IHU, au-delà de la compréhension de ces pathologies est lui centré sur la restauration de la vision.
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Press releases - 13.09.2018
When Infection Strikes, Our Brain and Immune System Join Forces
When infection strikes, what if our immune system was not alone in the fight? What if its major ally was in fact the brain? Researchers from Inserm, CNRS and Aix-Marseille University (AMU) have observed mechanisms of cooperation between the nervous system and the immune system in the response to pathogenic aggressions. This research, published in Nature Immunology, reveals the role of the brain in regulating the inflammatory reaction induced by the immune system in the event of infection and its protective effect against a potential self-destructive exacerbation of that inflammation.
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Press releases - 12.09.2018
“Together against rheumatism day” returns for a 5th edition in October 2018
L’Inserm/Aviesan, la Société Française de Rhumatologie, la Fondation Arthritis et 17 associations partenaires s’associent pour la 5ème journée « Ensemble contre les rhumatismes » le 12 octobre 2018, sous le Haut patronage de Monsieur Emmanuel MACRON, Président de la République.
Cette journée s’inscrit dans un double objectif : répondre au besoin de communication entre les patients, les médecins et les chercheurs et faire “du buzz” autour de la nécessité de soutenir la recherche sur les rhumatismes et les maladies musculo-squelettiques en France. -
Press releases - 12.09.2018
One quarter of deaths and cases of serious after-effects related to meningitis in children can be avoided by applying the immunization schedule
In a context of increasing vaccine hesitancy, researchers from Inserm and pediatricians from the Nantes and Grand-Ouest university hospitals together with the Paris public hospitals (AP-HP) sound the alarm concerning the consequences of severe bacterial infections in children. In a study published in Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, the researchers showed, over a period of 5 years, that 25 % of deaths and 25 % of serious after-effects occurring in children with a severe bacterial infection (primarily meningitis) could have been avoided by simply applying the immunization schedule, notably against meningococcus and pneumococcus.
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Press releases - 11.09.2018
How the Zika Virus Persists in Semen and Alters the Spermatozoa
While we already knew that the Zika virus is sexually transmitted and that it remains in the semen for several months after infection, what we did not know was why it persists and why there is a decrease in the number of spermatozoa in infected men. A team of Inserm researchers led by Nathalie Dejucq-Rainsford (Unit 1085 “Research Institute for Environmental and Occupational Health”, Irset), has shown that the virus infects several types of testicular cells –including the germ cells responsible for spermatozoa– which could alter the process of sex cell production. In addition, the low levels of immune defense of the testicle against Zika could be detrimental to eliminating the virus in the organ and as such contribute to its persistence in semen. This research was published in Journal of Clinical Investigation.
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Press releases - 10.09.2018
Myositis: A New Classification Representing a Decisive Step Towards Improved Diagnosis and Personalized Treatment
Prof. Olivier Benveniste’s Inflammatory myopathies and innovative targeted therapies team at the Institute of Myology has produced a new classification of the different forms of myositis (rare inflammatory muscle diseases). Four new types of myositis taking into account the various clinical criteria of patients have now been defined. This research, involving teams from the Institute of Myology, Inserm, the Paris public hospitals system (AP-HP) and Sorbonne Université, was published in September in JAMA and paves the way for reliable diagnosis and personalized treatments.
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Press releases - 10.09.2018
Using Light to Switch Off Nicotine Addiction?
Researchers from Inserm, CNRS and Sorbonne Université at the Paris-Seine Neuroscience laboratory1 in collaboration with Institut Pasteur2, New York University (NYU) and University of California Berkeley (UC Berkeley) have succeeded in controlling the activity of nicotine receptors in the brains of mice. To do this, they developed an optogenetic pharmacology strategy in which light is used to block the nicotine receptors, with the result being the possibility to control the addictive effects of nicotine. This study was published in eLIFE on September 4, 2018.
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Press releases - 05.09.2018
Syndecan-1: A Candidate to Activate Neural Stem Cells and Regenerate the Brain
The adult brain has a very limited capacity for regeneration. However, researchers have updated the role of a key membrane molecule in the proliferation of stem cells in the adult mouse brain: Syndecan-1. CEA, Inserm and the Paris-Sud and Paris Diderot universities have joined forces to demonstrate that Syndecan-1, present in the membrane of the neural stem cells, permits their proliferation. Syndecan-1 therefore becomes a possible tracer of brain regeneration, opening up new perspectives in the field of regenerative medicine. This research, for which a patent is pending, was published on August 14 in Stem Cell Reports.
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Press releases - 05.09.2018
Genetic control of human thymic function: Needle in a haystack
A study conducted by a group of researchers from Paris Diderot University, INSERM and the Institut Pasteur reveals the existence of a genetic factor influencing the function of the human thymus. The results of the study, part of the Laboratories of Excellence project Milieu Intérieur coordinated by the Institut Pasteur, are published in the journal Science Translational Medicine on September 5, 2018.
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Press releases - 04.09.2018
Adolescent depression: early signs and changes in brain development underscore the need for new preventive approaches
Teams of AP-HP, Inserm and Université Paris Sud, studied as part of an international research group, depressions called “subsyndromal” among young teenagers as they have a high risk to progress to depression in adolescence and later in adulthood.