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

Involvement of Inserm and its Aviesan partners in research on the ZIKA virus

In the last two years, nearly 2 million people have been infected with the Zika virus in Latin America and the Caribbean. At the end of 2015, REACTing and members of the Aviesan alliance immediately became involved, particularly Inserm, Institut Pasteur, the Institute for Development Research (IRD), the French Blood Transfusion Service and the associated university hospitals. Initial contact was made with Brazilian researchers from Fiocruz in November 2015. The international Zika Summit conference, taking place at Institute Pasteur on the 25 and 26 April 2016, will review ongoing research projects:

Monday 25 April 2016: World Malaria Day

Caused by a parasite of the genus Plasmodium, malaria is transmitted to humans through bites from the female Anopheles mosquito. World Malaria Day is held every year on 25 April and the theme for this year will be: “End Malaria For Good”. Advances in the prevention and treatment of malaria have led to a considerable […]

The origin of heart dysfunctions in myotonic dystrophy identified

An international team, including researchers in France at Inserm, CNRS and the University of Strasbourg, brought together at IGBMC[1] is lifting the veil on the molecular mechanisms causing heart dysfunctions in myotonic dystrophy, a genetic disease affecting one person in 8,000. This new study, published this week in Nature Communications, could contribute to discovering a treatment.

Recycling an anti-hypertensive agent to fight brain tumors

Treatments available for glioblastoma—malignant brain tumors—have little effect. An international collaboration[1] led by the Laboratoire Neurosciences Paris-Seine (CNRS/ INSERM/UPMC)[2] tested active ingredients from existing medications and eventually identified one compound of interest, prazosin, on these tumors. Not only did it seem to be effective in this type of cancer, but it also acted on a signaling pathway that is common with other cancers. These promising findings are available online (advance publication) in EMBO Molecular Medicine.

A quadriplegic man regains partial use of his right hand by means of a brain implant

A patient paralysed in his hands and legs is able to use his hand through a device able to restore communication between the brain and muscles, bypassing the spinal cord. According to the French Press Association, a chip containing 96 electrodes, implanted in the patient’s brain, transmits the quadriplegic man’s thoughts to a computer that decodes them and sends commands to a sleeve that stimulates the muscles in the arm electrically.

A quadriplegic man regains partial use of his right hand by means of a brain implant

A patient paralysed in his hands and legs is able to use his hand through a device able to restore communication between the brain and muscles, bypassing the spinal cord. According to the French Press Association, a chip containing 96 electrodes, implanted in the patient’s brain, transmits the quadriplegic man’s thoughts to a computer that […]

New scientific evidence of sexual transmission of the Zika virus

A study by researchers from Inserm, the Paris Public Hospitals (Bichat Hospital, AP-HP), Aix-Marseille University, and the National Reference Centre for Arboviruses confirms that the ZIKA virus can be transmitted sexually. Their analyses have shown 100% genetic correlation between the form of the virus present in a man who contracted the virus in Brazil and that of a woman who had never travelled in the epidemic area, but who had sexual relations with him.

These results are published in The New England Journal of medicine.

Sunday 17 April: World Haemophilia Day

Haemophilia is a hereditary disease characterised by bleeding due to a deficiency of coagulation factors. Haemophilia A is the most widespread form, affecting one in every 5,000 boys born.

Discover the new Inserm newsroom

The Inserm press room is updating its design, and continues to adapt to your needs and evolving practices. Now more ergonomic, its navigation has been reworked to make reading easier on mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. Presentation of content has been revised to make it easier to read, and to quickly find the […]

Sunday 17 April: World Haemophilia Day

Haemophilia is a hereditary disease characterised by bleeding due to a deficiency of coagulation factors. Haemophilia A is the most widespread form, affecting one in every 5,000 boys born.[1] The severity of the disease depends on the extent of the coagulation factor deficiency. It is described as severe when the level of coagulation factor is […]