- 2018
-
Press releases - 04.09.2018
To Vaccinate is to Protect
Epidemics have no concept of borders! That is why, via Inserm, France is making a commitment to the health of European citizens by creating a European platform to intensify national responses to the challenges posed by vaccination. This European Joint Action on Vaccination (EU-JAV), coordinated by Inserm and backed by the French health ministry, was launched on September 4 with the participation of 19 other European countries.
-
Press releases - 31.08.2018
A brain mechanism involved in mediated learning is identified
Imagine that you are eating a Granny apple under a red parasol on the terrace of a public garden. The next day you eat another Granny apple at home in your kitchen, but soon afterwards find yourself ill. The next time you go back to the public garden, you avoid sitting under that red parasol. While there may not seem to be a link between the parasol and the fact that you were ill, there actually is! This is an example of the mediated learning process, and researchers from INRA and INSERM have just identified the brain mechanism involved in it. Their results, published online on 30 August 2018 in Neuron, show that cannabinoid receptors in the hippocampus play a key role in establishing these types of associations.
-
Press releases - 31.08.2018
Novel brain network linked to chronic pain in Parkinson’s disease
Des chercheurs de l’Inserm et de l’Université Grenoble Alpes ont révélé un nouveau réseau cérébral qui relie la douleur ressentie dans la maladie de Parkinson à une région spécifique du cerveau. Ces travaux, paru dans la revue eLife, révèlent qu’un sous-ensemble de neurones situé dans une partie du cerveau appelée noyau sous-thalamique serait une cible potentielle pour soulager la douleur dans la maladie de Parkinson, ainsi que dans d’autres maladies comme la démence, la sclérose latérale amyotrophique, la maladie de Huntington, et certaines formes de migraine.
-
Press releases - 30.08.2018
An artificial intelligence predicts therapeutic response in patients with advanced rectal cancer treated with preoperative radiochemotherapy
The digestive oncology teams from European Georges Pompidou Hospital, Cochin and Ambroise Paré AP-HP, and laboratory “Information Sciences and personalized medicine” of 1138 Unit Research Center Cordeliers INSERM and Paris-Descartes University, have developed an artificial intelligence system that predict therapeutic response to preoperative chemoradiotherapy in patients monitored for rectal cancer. The work, coordinated by Dr. Jean-Emmanuel Bibault of oncology radiotherapy European Hospital Georges Pompidou AP-HP, would propose a conservative treatment rather than full rectal ablation patients complete therapeutic response.
-
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.