- 2016
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What's on? - 09.03.2016
Brain Awareness Week 2016: 14–20 March
The 17th edition of Brain Awareness Week will take place from 14 to 20 March 2016, in 62 countries as well as France. During this week, the general public is invited to come and meet researchers in order to better understand the workings of the brain and to find out about advances in research. Researchers […]
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Press releases - 09.03.2016
Towards better understanding of the side effects of radiotherapy
Two studies, one theoretical and the other biological and clinical, conducted by Nicolas Foray, radiobiologist at the Combined Research Unit 1052 ‘Cancer Research Centre of Lyon’ (Inserm/CNRS/Centre Léon-Bérard/Lyon I University), have just been published in the International Journal of Radiation Biology and the International Journal of Radiation Oncology. These two studies allow a better understanding of the adverse side effects of radiotherapy. They propose a new theory about the cellular response to ionising radiation. This theory is based on having revealed a protein called ATM passing from the cytoplasm to the nucleus of irradiated cells. Once inside the nucleus, the ATM protein initiates repair of breaks in the DNA: the longer this transit is delayed, the greater the radio-sensitivity of the cells and the more marked the adverse side effects of the radiotherapy.
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Press releases - 08.03.2016
1st case of acute myelitis in a patient infected with Zika virus
A first case of acute myelitis following infection with Zika virus has been reported for the first time by a research team from Inserm Unit 1127 Brain and Spinal Cord Institute (Inserm/CNRS/Sorbonne University) and neurologists at Pointe-à-Pitre University Hospital and the University of the Antilles. A young patient in the acute phase of an infection by Zika virus presented motor deficiency in the 4 limbs, associated with very intense pain and acute urinary retention. The presence of the virus was confirmed in the cerebrospinal fluid, blood and urine.
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News in brief - 03.03.2016
Final results of JIKI trial
Ebola fever is an extremely lethal disease, for which there is no proven effective treatment. In September 2014, at the height of the epidemic, the World Health Organisation released a shortlist of drugs suitable for studies on Ebola virus (EBOV) disease, including favipiravir, an antiviral drug developed for the treatment of severe forms of […]
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Press releases - 01.03.2016
Intellectual Disabilities, a collective expert review by Inserm
According to the World Health Organisation and other recognised authorities, intellectual disability (ID) refers to an intelligence deficit (significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information and learning and applying new skills) as well as limitations in adaptive functioning[1]. These limitations appear during the developmental period. Intellectual disability is common and affects about 1 to 2% of the population. The recent knowledge explosion regarding the causes of ID, as well as the underlying cognitive and adaptive processes, provides a better insight into the ability of people with intellectual disabilities to functional and develops appropriate strategies for learning, care and support
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Press releases - 26.02.2016
International Rare Disease Day: The patients’ voice
On the 9th International Rare Disease Day, which will be held on 29 February next, many events will be organised in over 80 countries to raise awareness among the general public, health professionals and politicians about the characteristics of these diseases, their impacts and the means to manage and treat them.
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What's on? - 26.02.2016
International Rare Disease Day: The patients’ voice
On the 9th International Rare Disease Day, which will be held on 29 February next, many events will be organised in over 80 countries to raise awareness among the general public, health professionals and politicians about the characteristics of these diseases, their impacts and the means to manage and treat them. This year, the […]
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Press releases - 25.02.2016
Cancer metastasis: it all depends on the patient’s immune response
The researchers from Unit 1138, “Integrative Cancer Immunology,” (Inserm, Pierre and Marie Curie and Paris Descartes Universities) have analysed the tumours from 838 patients with colorectal cancer, in order to identify markers for their metastatic potential. The genomic characteristics of the cancer cells seem to have little relevance. Conversely, lymphatic vascularisation around the tumour and the intensity of the patient’s immune response appear to be crucial, and might be used as markers to predict the progression of the disease.
The article detailing these findings is published in Science Translational Medicine on 24 February 2016. -
Press releases - 22.02.2016
Action on Zika virus: In partnership with Brazil and the French Departments in the Americas, French research teams are taking action
Yves Lévy, President of Aviesan, the French National Alliance for Life Sciences and Health, met with his partners on 18 February 2016, at the headquarters of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), to deal with the research issues raised by the emergence and spread of the Zika virus. The French Ministries of Research, Health and Foreign Affairs were represented, together with ANSM (French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety), InVS (French Institute for Public Health Surveillance) and EFS (French National Blood Service).
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Press releases - 19.02.2016
The intestinal microbiota: a new ally for optimum growth
The intestinal microbiota is necessary to ensure optimum postnatal growth and contributes to determining the size of adult individuals, notably in the event of undernutrition. The key element in this relationship is Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1), whose production and activity are in part controlled by the microbiota. This has recently been demonstrated in mice by scientists at the Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon (CNRS/ENS Lyon/Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1), the Laboratoire CarMeN (INSERM/INRA/Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1/Insa Lyon)[1], and Unit BF2I (INRA/INSA Lyon)[2]. These findings, published on 19 February 2016 in Science, and obtained in collaboration with researchers from the Czech Academy of Sciences, also show that some strains of intestinal bacteria belonging to the Lactobacillus plantarum species may favor the postnatal growth of animals, thus offering a new opportunity to combat the harmful effects of chronic infantile undernutrition.