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With summer comes the festival season, which begins in France on June 21, with the traditional Music Day.

It is also an opportunity to inform festival goers, and young people in particular, about the risk of hearing loss involved, especially at concerts with amplified music.

Hearing is a partnership between the ear and the brain. The ear captures sound waves and transmits the vibrations to the cochlea. The hair cells transform them into electrical signals that are transmitted to the brain via the cochlear nerve. This is where sound is processed, interpreted, and memorized.

The human ear captures sound intensities ranging from 0 to 120 dB, the level at which the structures of the inner ear can be damaged. Very high sound levels can therefore destroy the hair cells and damage the fibers of the cochlear nerve, leading to irreversible hearing loss.

There is, however, a wide range of individual tolerance to noise, with some genes in particular apparently influencing sensitivity to acoustic trauma.

This is why it is highly advisable to wear earplugs and to limit your exposure to high-intensity sounds.

The Inserm researchers working on this topic are available to answer your questions.

On Friday, June 16, 2017, the French Minister of Solidarity and Health said, in an interview with French daily Le Parisien, that she was considering “making the eleven vaccines intended for children mandatory, for a limited period of time”. Today, only childhood vaccinations against diphtheria, tetanus and poliomyelitis are mandatory and eight others (against whooping cough, hepatitis B and measles, among others) are recommended.

Vaccination involves protecting an individual against a disease by stimulating his or her immune system. It is the most effective means of preventing and even eradicating many infectious diseases. However, in France, skepticism is gaining ground and we see certain diseases reappearing that up until now had virtually disappeared. This is particularly the case for measles, of which 189 cases were reported between January 1 and April 30, 2017, according to French health surveillance institute InVS.

Should we get vaccinated? Should we get our children vaccinated? How does a vaccine work? Does vaccination really protect us?

The book “Vaccination : agression ou protection ? [Vaccination: aggression or protection?]” (published in French), as part of the “Choc Santé” collection, answers these questions and many others. It is written by Annick Guimenazes, Inserm researcher at the Marseille-Luminy Immunology Center (CIML) and Marion Mathieu, PhD in biology and ESPCI-ParisTech engineer.

© Copyright Inserm/Decrouy, Xavier

Numerous light-related technological innovations were presented at the Onlylight trade fair, which took place in Lyon from June 13 to 15. This year a number of public health issues were discussed, including “illuminating for health”, how to implement “good light habits”, and how to “illuminate for learning without risking myopia”.

Claude Gronfier, an Inserm chronobiologist who participated in the exhibition, carries out research into light as a regulator of biological rhythms. He emphasized the need to control “poor light exposure habits”, like the light generated by screens, in particular, and that can upset the biological clock.

Read the press release “Dimly lit working environments : correcting your body clock is possible!”

Another topic discussed during the exhibition was “illuminating for learning”. At a time when the number of nearsighted people aged 12 to 54 is doubling in Europe, and tripling among young people in some Asian countries, Vincent Daien, an Inserm researcher (Inserm Unit 1061) and ophthalmologist at the University Hospital of Montpellier, is investigating the risk factors associated with myopia. Beyond the genetic factors associated with myopia, the environment—more precisely, prolonged exposure to natural light—may also play a role. It is thought to activate the retina’s production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that controls eye growth.

Read the article [in French] “Myopia: how to stop the epidemic ” published in Science&Santé no. 25.

Finally, as part of the “healing with light” topic, optogenetics, which first emerged in the 2000s, appears to be a promising method for restoring vision in patients with retinal degeneration. This technique consists of inserting a gene into the neurons to make them more sensitive to light.

Eric Burguière, an Inserm researcher (Inserm Unit 1127, Brain and Spinal Cord Institute), also uses this technique for treating OCD.

See [in French]: “Optogenetics, from algae to the retina“.

Also read the press release “Optogenetics is proving to be highly promising in the treatment of OCD“.

© Copyright Inserm/Decrouy, Xavier

Numerous light-related technological innovations were presented at the Onlylight trade fair, which took place in Lyon from June 13 to 15. This year a number of public health issues were discussed, including “illuminating for health”, how to implement “good light habits”, and how to “illuminate for learning without risking myopia”.

Claude Gronfier, an Inserm chronobiologist who participated in the exhibition, carries out research into light as a regulator of biological rhythms. He emphasized the need to control “poor light exposure habits”, like the light generated by screens, in particular, and that can upset the biological clock.

Read the press release “Dimly lit working environments : correcting your body clock is possible!”

Another topic discussed during the exhibition was “illuminating for learning”. At a time when the number of nearsighted people aged 12 to 54 is doubling in Europe, and tripling among young people in some Asian countries, Vincent Daien, an Inserm researcher (Inserm Unit 1061) and ophthalmologist at the University Hospital of Montpellier, is investigating the risk factors associated with myopia. Beyond the genetic factors associated with myopia, the environment—more precisely, prolonged exposure to natural light—may also play a role. It is thought to activate the retina’s production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that controls eye growth.

Read the article [in French] “Myopia: how to stop the epidemic ” published in Science&Santé no. 25.

Finally, as part of the “healing with light” topic, optogenetics, which first emerged in the 2000s, appears to be a promising method for restoring vision in patients with retinal degeneration. This technique consists of inserting a gene into the neurons to make them more sensitive to light.

Eric Burguière, an Inserm researcher (Inserm Unit 1127, Brain and Spinal Cord Institute), also uses this technique for treating OCD.

See [in French]: “Optogenetics, from algae to the retina“.

Also read the press release “Optogenetics is proving to be highly promising in the treatment of OCD“.

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With exam time looming, a certain number of students with intense workloads are succumbing to the use of stimulants to boost their intellectual capacities.

Classified as psychotropics, stimulants are medicinal doping agents that boost the brain’s function by increasing its capacity for alertness and performance.

A study by Inserm published in April 2016 showed that one third of the 1,700 medical students questioned were taking stimulants. Among them, 29.7% were consuming readily-available products (energy drinks, caffeine tablets), 6.7% prescribed stimulants, and 5.2% illicit drugs.

Used to enhance memory and concentration at exam time, the consumption of readily-available products such as caffeine tablets or energy drinks is a predictor of the use of medically-prescribed stimulants at a later date.

According to the French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety (ANSM), the number of users of one such prescribed stimulant, methylphenidate (Ritalin), saw a 20% increase between 2008 and 2014. Prescribed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, this drug has proven extremely dangerous in patients with heart malformations or depression.

For Inserm researchers, this issue presents a new public health challenge.

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.

According to the French National Cancer Institute (INCa), the number of new skin cancer cases had more than tripled between the years of 1980 and 2012.

There are two main types of skin cancer: Basal and squamous cell carcinomas, which represent 90% of skin cancers, and melanomas, which are rarer but also more dangerous due to their strong potential to spread to other areas of the body.

It is estimated that 65 to 95% of melanomas are caused by exposure to the sun. In 20% of cases, they develop from an existing mole (nevus).

With 11,176 new cases of melanoma in metropolitan France in 2015, improvements in screening have led to a 0.8% reduction in annual melanoma mortality in women (INCa).

Read the latest Inserm news in this category:

“Skin cancer: a team synthesises new drugs with surprising powers”, published May 25, 2016.

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Wednesday 1 March 2017 will see the unveiling of the interministerial plan for “mobilisation and action on violence against children” by Laurence Rossignol, Minister for Families, Children and Women’s Rights.

Since early this year, the news has been marked by a series of infanticides in France. Although child abuse affects children from all backgrounds, official statistics are lacking. The French National Authority for Health (HAS) recalls that over 80% of child abuse is inflicted within the family.

Anne Tursz, an Inserm Researcher and abuse specialist, participated in the review group on the conclusions of the government report, particularly on the child mortality figures and statistics in France, and on the best course of action in the event of a suspicious child death.

She conducted a study, covering the 1996-2000 period, which estimated the number of homicides of children under the age of one year at 255, compared with 17 according to official statistics, indicating the underestimation of the phenomenon in France.

This abuse specialist has published a study covering the 1996-2000 period, which indicates the underestimation of the societal phenomenon in France. In an interview granted to AFP, she underlines “the primordial role of the medical sector, from the standpoint of prevention as well as care,” and proposes the creation of an “abuse officer” role in the medical setting.

In their work titled “Enfants Maltraités” (Abused Children), published by Éditions Lavoisier, in partnership with Inserm, authors Anne Tursz and Pascale Gerbouin-Rérolle conclude :

“As long as we fail to recognise the problem of abuse, or even give it a name (…), as long as we do not use validated tools to detect, in the general population (without class bias), the suffering of certain children, crushed by psychological violence for which there is no words, we continue to engage in a discourse devoid of a scientific basis (…). The philosophy of non-stigmatisation results in the neglect of thousands of children abandoned in their silence, and in the repetition, in a family, of the same serious consequences for subsequent children…”

See the file “Enfants maltraités. Les chiffres et leur base juridique en France” (Abused children: the figures and their legal basis in France” on the Inserm website.

Almost 15,000 cases of cancer could be prevented in France each year by improving living conditions and promoting health among the most vulnerable populations. These were the conclusions of a study published in the weekly epidemiological report Bulletin épidémiologique hebdomadaire (BEH), and coordinated by Inserm Unit 1086 “Cancer and Prevention” located in Caen.

A growing statistically significant incidence rate among socially deprived populations was observed for stomach cancer, liver cancer, cancer of the lips-mouth-pharynx, and lung cancer in both genders, as well as for laryngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and bladder cancer in males, and cervical cancer in females.

Read the entire BEH

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While the “Crit’Air” air quality sticker came into force in Paris on 16 January 2017, several physicians, scientists and NGOs launched an appeal for urgent action on air pollution, recalling that it causes 48,000 premature deaths a year in France.

While France has just endured several prolonged episodes of severe particulate pollution, leading the public authorities to restrict car traffic in Paris, Lyon and Grenoble, Prof. Isabella Annesi-Maesano, Inserm Research Director, points out that pollution enters the body not only by inhalation, but also by ingestion and through the skin.

Children, who are particularly vulnerable, are the most affected, because of their immature respiratory system.

Finally, background pollution, much more than pollution spikes, is a risk factor or aggravating factor for respiratory diseases such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

To find out more:

See the press release from 17 March 2014

Atmospheric pollution: what are the impacts on health?

Read the file in Science et Santé magazine

Notre environnement, une menace pour notre santé (Our environment, a threat to our health)

See the press release from 15 October 2013

Large European study finds exposure to even low levels of air pollution during pregnancy increases risk of lower birthweight babies

Read the article in What’s on? from 10 April 2015

The cost of atmospheric pollution to health estimated at 1-2 billion annually

Read the Asthme (Asthma) file on Inserm.fr

Read the file Bronchopneumopathie Chronique Obstructive (BPCO) (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, COPD) on Inserm.fr

For the first time in France, a couple has just been given authorisation to entrust a private company with the storage of umbilical cord cells from their unborn child, in view of a potential therapeutic need.

In its Order dated 21 November 2016, the Grasse court authorised the couple to “take and store haematopoietic cells from the umbilical cord and from the placental blood, along with cells from the cord and placenta (…) in light of duly justified therapeutic needs.”

Winner of the 2010 Inserm Honorary Prize, Eliane Gluckman, a haematologist at Saint Louis Hospital, Paris, an Inserm researcher, and a specialist in blood stem cell transplantation, was the first to have performed, in 1987, an umbilical cord blood transplant in a 6 year old child.

See press release from 30 November 2010

Cord blood is currently used to treat patients with blood diseases (leukaemias and lymphomas), and, for certain indications, replaces bone marrow.