The international consortium A-PARADDISE (Anti-Parasitic Drug Discovery in Epigenetics), coordinated by Inserm, has just obtained funds of €6 million from the European Commission to conduct large-scale testing of innovative therapies against four neglected parasitic diseases: schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease and malaria.
A team of researchers directed by Frédéric Coin, Inserm Research Director at the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC) in Strasbourg (a Joint Inserm/CNRS/University of Strasbourg Research Unit), has discovered a new drug that inhibits repair: spironolactone, which seems likely to be used in the very short term as an adjuvant to chemotherapy.
A team of researchers has succeeded in culturing the dormant hepatic stage of the malaria parasite, previously inaccessible to researchers. The initial results from this technical breakthrough have enabled the development of a new concept for the elimination of malaria relapse due to the activation of these dormant forms.
Some people remember their dreams every morning, whereas others rarely remember them. A team led by Perrine Ruby, an Inserm Researcher has studied the brain activity of these types of dreamers in order to understand the differences between them.
European cutting-edge research will be attended at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Chicago.
A research team led by Giovanni Marsicano has succeeded in elucidating how the endocannabinoid system controls food intake through its effects on the perception of smells.
In an article published in Science, the researchers demonstrate that chloride levels are elevated in the neurons of mice used in an animal model of autism, and remain at abnormal levels from birth.
In France, the levels of use of some psychoactive substances, especially alcohol, tobacco and cannabis, remain high among adolescents, despite progress in regulatory efforts to limit access to these products by minors, and regular prevention campaigns.
The European Research Council (ERC) has just awarded Consolidator Grants to 19 French projects in life sciences, thereby placing France at the head of European countries submitting proposals in this area.
A team of French researchers, led by Dr. Anna Buj-Bello (Genethon/Inserm) and teams at the University of Washington and Harvard Medical School in the United States, have demonstrated the efficacy of gene therapy in models of myotubular myopathy, an extremely severe neuromuscular disease in children.