Inserm Newsroom - Press room of the French national institute of health and medical research

Rare Disease Day 2018: Show Your Rare. Show You Care.

February 28, 2018, marks the eleventh annual world Rare Disease Day, which carries the slogan “Show your rare. Show you care.” and the #ShowYourRare hashtag. World Rare Disease Day was created in 2008 by EURORDIS and the Council of National Alliances. Ninety countries will be participating in 2018. Orphanet: a Portal for Rare Diseases and […]

Rare Disease Day 2018: Show Your Rare. Show You Care.

February 28, 2018, marks the eleventh annual world Rare Disease Day, which carries the slogan “Show your rare. Show you care.” and the #ShowYourRare hashtag. World Rare Disease Day was created in 2008 by EURORDIS and the Council of National Alliances. Ninety countries will be participating in 2018. Orphanet: a Portal for Rare Diseases and […]

A new gene implicated in hypertension

A team of researchers led by Maria-Christina Zennaro, Inserm research Director at the Paris Cardiovascular Research Center (Inserm/ Paris-Descartes University), in collaboration with German colleagues , has identified a new gene implicated in hypertension. This study has been published in Nature Genetics.

These new findings highlight the role of genetic predisposition in the onset of common diseases and the importance of the French Plan for Genomic Medicine 2025. A plan in which one objective is to enable access to genetic screening, even for common diseases, in order to provide personalized medical care.

Type 1 diabetes: the role of the thymus is not what we thought!

A small revolution has taken place in the world of type 1 diabetes research. A study conducted by an Inserm team led by Roberto Mallone at the Cochin Institute (Inserm, CNRS, Paris Descartes University) is calling into question the role long attributed to the thymus in selecting and eliminating white blood cells associated with type 1 diabetes and reveals that we are all auto-immune. Discoveries which change our understanding of the mechanisms of type 1 diabetes and point to new therapeutic strategies in fighting this disease. 

This research has been published in Science Immunology. 

Consumption of ultra-processed food and risk of cancer

A new study bringing together researchers from Inserm, Inra and University of Paris 13 (Center of Research in Epidemiology and Statistics Sorbonne Paris Cité, EREN team) suggests a link between the consumption of ultra-processed food and the additional risk of developing cancer. In total, 104,980 participants from the French NutriNet-Santé cohort were included. During the follow-up period (8 years), 2,228 cases of cancer were diagnosed and validated. A 10% increase in the proportion of ultra-processed foods in the diet was associated with a greater than 10% increase in the risk of overall cancer and, more specifically, breast cancer. Out of the various hypotheses which could explain these findings, the generally poorer nutritional quality of ultra-processed food may not be the only contributing factor, thereby pointing to mechanisms involving other compounds (additives, substances formed during industrial processes, materials in contact with food, etc.). These findings, which must therefore be considered as an initial avenue of investigation in this area, need to be confirmed in other study populations. The causal relationship in particular remains to be proven. This study was published on February 15, 2018 in the British Medical Journal.

A novel high-performance and non-invasive hybrid medical imaging technique

The rapidly-developing medical imaging field could well have found a novel technique in which multiple facets of a living being can be observed in real time and non-invasively. Teams from the Langevin Institute (ESPCI Paris – PSL University / CNRS), the biomedical ultrasound Technology Research Accelerator (Inserm A.R.T.) and the Paris-Cardiovascular Research Center (Inserm / Paris Descartes University) have developed a new medical imaging instrument which combines positron emission tomography – Pet-scan* – with ultrafast ultrasound imaging. Named PETRUS, the acronym of Positron Emission Tomography Registered Ultrafast Sonography, it has obtained 3D images in which organ anatomy, metabolism, function and even elasticity are perfectly superimposed. This research made the cover of the February 6 issue of Nature Biomedical Engineering.

The Biological Clock Sets a Different Rhythm for Each Organ

A team of Inserm researchers led by Howard Cooper (Inserm Unit 1208 “Stem Cell and Brain Institute”) in collaboration with their colleagues in the U.S. have for the first time established a reference map of gene expression, by organ and time of day. A mammoth task that began a decade ago and has required two years of analysis. These results, published in Science, show just how important it is to consider the biological clock in order to administer medication at the right time for optimized efficacy and minimal side effects. The researchers are now preparing an atlas which will be available for use by the entire scientific community.

Migraine: Regions of the Brain We Thought Felt No Pain

Could we have been wrong over the past 70 years in thinking that certain regions of the brain are insensitive to pain? This is what the findings of a team of researchers from Inserm, Nice University Hospital, Université Côte d’Azur and St Anne Hospital in Paris would suggest. By collecting observations of brief painful events occurring during brain surgery in awake patients, they found that certain structures – hitherto considered not to feel pain – were at the origin of pain sensations when stimulated mechanically. These findings, to be published shortly in Brain, open up new avenues for research into the treatment of headache and, in particular, migraine.

French Estates General 2018 on Bioethics

Prévus par la loi de bioéthique de 2011 et en amont de sa révision en 2018, les Etats généraux de la bioéthique se tiendront du 18 janvier au 7 juillet 2018. Ils ouvrent, à l’échelle nationale, un débat public organisé par le CCNE (Comité national d’éthique pour les sciences de la vie et de la santé).

French Estates General 2018 on Bioethics