- 2017
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News in brief - 24.05.2017
MS : using MRI to predict relapse
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. It generally affects young people, in whom it is the leading cause of non-traumatic motor disability. This disability develops either progressively or in the form of relapses interspersed with periods of remission. At present, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely used to […]
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Press releases - 22.05.2017
Healing a mother’s skin lesions using her fetal cells?
Since the end of the 20th century, it has been proven that women who have been pregnant (including those who have miscarried or aborted) store the fetal cells of their children in their bone marrow for at least 50 years. The team of Professor Selim Aractingi – Paris Descartes Faculty of Medicine, Cochin Hospital (Paris hospital group) Dermatology Department, “Saint Antoine Research Center” Inserm joint research unit, and Université Pierre et Marie Curie – have recently proven that it is possible, in mice, to mobilize these fetal cells to accelerate the healing of chronic skin wounds. These results were published in Nature Communications on May 18, 2017.
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Press releases - 22.05.2017
From context to cortex: Discovering social neurons
The existence of new “social” neurons has just been demonstrated by scientists from the Institut de neurosciences des systèmes (Aix-Marseille University / INSERM), the Laboratoire de psychologie sociale et cognitive (Université Clermont Auvergne / CNRS), and the Institut de neurosciences de la Timone (Aix-Marseille University / CNRS). Their research on monkeys has shown that when these animals are made to perform a task, the presence or absence of a conspecific—that is, another monkey—determines which neurons are activated. Published in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, these findings broaden our knowledge of the social brain and help us better grasp the phenomenon of social facilitation.
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Press releases - 22.05.2017
Men/Women: not all equal in the face of allergic asthma
Researchers led by Jean-Charles Guéry of the Centre for Pathophysiology Toulouse Purpan (Inserm/Université Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier/ CNRS) are providing new insights into the possible link between male hormones and differences in gender in susceptibility to allergic asthma. This study demonstrates that hormones such as testosterone act on the immune system. The results are to be published in the scientific review The Journal of Experimental Medicine on 1 May 2017.
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Press releases - 19.05.2017
Vitamin D, a New Avenue in the Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease?
Known to be a possible cause of certain chronic diseases, vitamin D deficiency is also believed to lead to a high risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, especially where the diet is also poor in ‘good fats’ and antioxidant carotenoids. This is what two studies led by Catherine Féart and Cécilia Samieri, researchers at Inserm unit 1219 Bordeaux Population Health (BPH) (Inserm/ Bordeaux University), have shown. The research was published recently in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
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Press releases - 18.05.2017
Is the Link Between Early Cannabis Use and Academic Performance Becoming Clearer?
The hypothesis that cannabis consumption has a direct effect on concentration, motivation, and the academic success of young people in the long-term is supported by neuroscience research data which demonstrates specific lesions in teenage users. Maria Melchior, Inserm Research Director (Pierre Louis Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health, Inserm-Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris), and her French and North American colleagues wished to study the possible existence of a causal relationship between early cannabis consumption (before age 17) and the level of education completed later on. Their study, which involved more than 1,000 people, is being published today in the International Journal of Epidemiology.
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What's on? - 18.05.2017
Tuesday May 23: European Obesity Day
Obesity is an excess of body fat that leads to health problems – principally type 2 diabetes and hypertension, and reduces life expectancy. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines obesity as ”abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health”. According to WHO, 13% of adults worldwide were obese in 2014, a figure […]
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Press releases - 17.05.2017
Does our childhood shape our political choices?
Do our childhood experiences shape our political attitudes? A team of Inserm researchers from Unit 960 “Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory” (Inserm/ENS) have discovered the answer to this question, the results of which have recently been published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior. Childhood poverty is associated with stronger adherence to authoritarian political attitudes in adulthood, not only in the French population, but also in a sample of 46 European countries.
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News in brief - 16.05.2017
Malaria: new insights into the mechanisms of parasite entry into liver cells
Malaria remains a major cause of mortality in the world, especially in Africa. The disease is caused by Plasmodium parasites, which are transmitted by mosquitoes. In the first hours following infection, parasites injected by the mosquito migrate from the skin to the liver, where they initially multiply before infecting red blood cells. Until now, the […]
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Press releases - 16.05.2017
May 15 to 19: French skin cancer prevention and screening week
The French Federation of Dermatologists-Venereologists (SNDV) is proposing an information week on the precautions to take in the sun, along with free skin cancer screenings, to take place across the country. This initiative is also an opportunity to raise public awareness of the risk factors that can lead to skin cancer.