- 2018
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Press releases - 14.06.2018
Yellow fever: a new method for testing vaccine safety
Development of a cellular test to verify the safety of live vaccines, such as the yellow fever vaccine, without the need to use animal testing
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Press releases - 13.06.2018
A medical first: CLOVES Syndrome and overgrowth syndromes: remarkable improvement in the health of 19 paediatric and adult patients using a new therapeutic strategy
Dr Guillaume Canaud at the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital – AP-HP, the Paris Descartes University, Inserm (INEM Institute Necker Enfants Malades – Centre for Molecular Medicine) and his team recently demonstrated the efficacy of a novel medication, a specific inhibitor called BYL719, in a cohort of 19 patients treated at the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital – AP-HP and suffering from CLOVES Syndrome (Congenital Lipomatous Overgrowth, Vascular Malformation, Epidermal Naevi) or similar disorders. This medication is currently undergoing therapeutic oncology trials (phase I/II). No significant side effects have been observed 18 months after commencement of treatment. This study, published in the journal Nature, is an example of precision medicine and demonstrates the major benefits of this therapeutic strategy for these patients, who have seen their health and quality of life improve significantly.
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Press releases - 13.06.2018
Influence of the Gut Microbiota on Tryptophan Metabolism and our Health
Numerous compounds are involved in the complex interactions that exist between our body and its microbiota. One of these is the essential amino acid, tryptophan. On June 13, 2018, in the journal Cell Host and Microbe, a team from Inra, AP-HP, Sorbonne Université and Inserm gathered the most recent advances concerning the central role of tryptophan in the dialog with our gut microbiota. Data which opens opportunities for research and future therapeutic applications, particularly in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.
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Press releases - 13.06.2018
Hypertension at Age 50 is Said to Increase the Risk of Developing Dementia
And what if, depending on the age at which it develops, hypertension had more or less significant consequences on maintaining our cognitive function? This was suggested by a study conducted by an Inserm team in partnership with the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London which has been monitoring changes in blood pressure and the onset of dementia in more than 10,000 volunteers since 1985. This research, published in the European Heart Journal, suggests that, at the age of 50, high blood pressure, although still below the diagnostic threshold for hypertension, could be linked to a higher risk of developing dementia later in life, even for individuals with no other cardiovascular disorders.
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Press releases - 11.06.2018
Pandoravirus: giant viruses invent their own genes
Three new members have been isolated and added to the Pandoravirus family by researchers at the Structural and Genomic Information Laboratory (CNRS/Aix‐Marseille Université), working with partners at the Large Scale Biology Laboratory (CEA/Inserm/Université Grenoble‐Alpes) and at CEA-Genoscope. This strange family of viruses, with their giant genomes and many genes with no known equivalents, surprised the scientists when they were discovered a few years ago. In the 11 June 2018 edition of Nature Communications, researchers offer an explanation: pandoviruses appear to be factories for new genes – and therefore new functions. From freaks of nature to evolutionary innovators, giant viruses continue to shake branches on the tree of life!
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Press releases - 11.06.2018
A Computer Program Able to Automatically Detect and Identify Brain Lesions
Will the radiology of the future come from machine learning? That is the view of Inserm and Inria researchers working in collaboration at the Université Grenoble Alpes who have developed a program able to localize and diagnose various types of brain tumors via MRI image analysis. These analyses have produced highly reliable results, with tumor localizations and tumor-type diagnoses accurate in 100% and over 90% of cases, respectively. This innovative method and its results are the subject of a study published in IEEE-TMI.
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Press releases - 07.06.2018
Our Food Choices Predicted by our Brain Anatomy
Do you tend to go for cake or vegetables? If you sometimes find it difficult to eat healthily, a study conducted by a team of researchers from Inserm, CNRS and Sorbonne Université, including Liane Schmidt and Hilke Plassmann, at the Brain & Spine Institute (ICM) has established a link between the anatomy of certain regions of our brain and our ability to control our food choices. These results were published in The Journal of Neuroscience on June 4, 2018.
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Press releases - 04.06.2018
Reducing the Impact of Emergency Room Stress
A visit to the emergency room is no picnic. Irrespective of the reason for their consultation, around 1 in 5 people will experience various symptoms (headache, difficulty concentrating, irritability, sensory disturbances, etc.) for several months afterwards. To address this phenomenon, Inserm researchers from Unit 1219 Bordeaux Population Health Center have demonstrated the benefits of an EMDR session performed within 6 hours of the event responsible for the visit. Such sessions are effective in reducing post-concussion syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder by up to 75%. These results have been published in The Journal of Psychiatric Research.
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Press releases - 01.06.2018
Immunoscore: a test to improve the care and treatment of colon cancer
With Immunoscore, a test devised by a team of researchers from Inserm and Université Paris Descartes and doctors from the Paris AP-HP hospitals, disease progression in patients with colon cancer can now be defined more accurately. According to an international study conducted in more than 2,500 patients, Immunoscore has proved effective in predicting which patients are at high risk of tumor recurrence and, as such, would benefit from intensified treatment following surgery. These results have been published in The Lancet.
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Press releases - 01.06.2018
The search for the origin of mast cells
A team of researchers from CNRS, INSERM and Aix-Marseille Université (AMU) at the Centre of immunology (Marseille-Luminy (CIML), together with the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN)1, has proven that not all of the immune system’s important mast cells are produced in bone marrow, as was previously thought. Scientists found embryonic mast cells in mice with functions that are likely to be different than the mast cells found in adults. The study appears in the June 2018 edition of Immunity.