Scientists from the Institut Pasteur, Inserm, the Collège de France and Pierre & Marie Curie University have recently demonstrated that mutations in three genes responsible for Usher syndrome – a hereditary condition that affects both hearing and sight – influence not only the workings of the ear, specifically the function of sensory cells in the cochlea, but also the development of the auditory cortex. Their discovery could explain why...
Physical activity in adulthood is not associated with a reduced risk of developing dementia. However, a decline in this activity is observed during the decade preceding its diagnosis. If this decline in activity cannot be considered as an early sign of dementia, it could be one sign - among others - to be taken into account by the attending physician. This is demonstrated by a study conducted by an...
Multidisciplinary teams from the AP-HP Paris public hospitals network (SAMU75 emergency response dispatch centers and Hôpital européen Georges-Pompidou), as well as from Inserm, the Université Paris-Descartes, and the Paris BSPP medical emergency service, compared, in the French capital, two strategies of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) used in patients suffering refractory cardiac arrest (defined as lack of return of spontaneous circulation after 30 minutes of resuscitation). The results of this study,...
JUMODA, a prospective study sponsored by the Paris public hospitals (AP-HP) and conducted between 2014 and 2015 by teams of researchers and clinicians from Inserm, Université Paris Descartes and AP-HP, has shed new light on the mode of delivering twins. According to the coordinators of JUMODA ("MOde D’Accouchement des JUmeaux"), Professors Thomas Schmitz and François Goffinet, vaginal delivery is associated with decreased neonatal morbidity and mortality rates for both...
Known to be a possible cause of certain chronic diseases, vitamin D deficiency is also believed to lead to a high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, especially where the diet is also poor in 'good fats' and antioxidant carotenoids. This is what two studies led by Catherine Féart and Cécilia Samieri, researchers at Inserm unit 1219 Bordeaux Population Health (BPH) (Inserm/ Bordeaux University), have shown. The research was published...
The hypothesis that cannabis consumption has a direct effect on concentration, motivation, and the academic success of young people in the long-term is supported by neuroscience research data which demonstrates specific lesions in teenage users. Maria Melchior, Inserm Research Director (Pierre Louis Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health, Inserm-Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris), and her French and North American colleagues wished to study the possible existence of a...
A team of researchers from Prof. Robert Barouki's Inserm unit (Inserm Unit 1124/Université Paris Descartes), led by Prof. Xavier Coumoul, has recently shown that the Seveso dioxin, an organic pollutant found in our food and in the atmosphere, causes liver damage in mice fed a high-fat diet. This effect is related to its action on a signaling pathway also activated by diesel and tobacco particles. The results were published...
Teams from AP-HP, INRA, Gustave Roussy and Inserm can demonstrate the role of microbiota in the response of immunotherapy for cancer. They show that in man, the composition of gut microbiota can help to identify the patients who will respond favourably or not to treatment for melanoma, with Ipilimumab. This clinical study, carried out in 26 patients, suggests that a modification of the composition of gut microbiota could improve...
The French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), in collaboration with health authorities in Guinea and Liberia, are launching a large clinical trial of candidate Ebola vaccines under the aegis of the PREVAC international consortium (Partnership for Research on Ebola VACcination).
Le rôle des facteurs nutritionnels (alimentation et activité physique) dans le développement du surpoids et de l’obésité et dans la survenue de nombreuses maladies chroniques telles que les cancers, les maladies cardiovasculaires, le diabète et l’arthrose est à ce jour scientifiquement bien établi. Ces maladies constituent la première cause de mortalité à l’échelle de la planète et le nombre de patients concernés ne cesse d’augmenter.