The ERC Starting Grants are issued every year by the European Research Council. They are intended for excellent young researchers with 2-7 years’ experience in a European research structure following their PhD. This year, 99 projects were selected by ERC in the life sciences field, including 9 conducted by researchers or lecturer-researchers working at […]
In an attempt to respond to this problem, the research programme Silver Santé Study was launched in January 2016. This European project, coordinated by Gaël Chételat at Inserm Caen, is aimed at evaluating the impact of meditation on the well-being and mental health of older people. A first clinical trial will be conducted in […]
In order to study the potential autoimmune aetiology, Inserm researchers at Unit 1043, the “Toulouse Purpan Pathophysiology Center” (Inserm/University of Toulouse/CNRS), have developed a mouse model that mimics narcolepsy. They thus generated mice expressing an autoantigen, haemagglutinin, specifically in the orexinergic neurons (Orex-HA mice). The mice were injected with effector T cells specific for this […]
Researchers are aiming to produce flexible and malleable substitute materials to replace defective small blood vessels. The team led by Didier Letourneur, in Inserm Unit 1148, took inspiration from the composition of algae when designing polysaccharide-based vessels. Read the whole article in Science & Santé magazine issue no. 31 (April/May 2016) These synthetic vessels have […]
POMC (proopiomelanocortin) deficiency obesity is an orphan disease which has been described in 50 patients to date, although it is estimated to affect 100–500 people worldwide. Although there is currently no specific treatment, a publication in NEJM reports promising results from a phase 2 clinical trial that led to considerable weight loss in female […]
According to a few studies, when their brain suffers from a lack of oxygen, babies born by caesarean section are more likely to develop some mental disorders including schizophrenia. Researchers from Inserm compared two populations of patients with schizophrenia – delivered vaginally or by caesarean section – in order to determine the particular characteristics associated […]
Previous studies have essentially demonstrated that, from the age of 40, and depending on the sport, performances decline steadily by 7–14% every 10 years. Using data from websites of sports associations and federations, Romuald Lepers and his colleagues identified 60 performances by 19 centenarians, in 3 disciplines: athletics, swimming and cycling. Generally, and although they […]
Many people are now arriving in France, after leaving their country of origin, fleeing war or extreme poverty. Whether they are migrants or immigrants, these populations are exposed to precarious circumstances and difficult living conditions. What does this mean for their health? The latest issue of Science & Santé magazine dedicates 2 pages to this subject: […]
Under severe pressure owing to an intense workload, medical students are attempting to boost their performance by any means. An Inserm study has revealed possible psychostimulant use among a third of these students. A population of 1,718 French medical students (average age 27 years, 37% male) was interviewed on the subject of psychostimulant use. Inserm researchers […]
Inserm reports a French study conducted on 750 women which shows that this neglected gynecological disorder significantly increases the risk of miscarriage. > Read the whole news item on the Inserm.fr website