An imbalanced diet has been linked to a disruption of the gut microbiota, which promotes metabolic diseases such as diabetes. Researchers have shown, in a large European cohort, that changes in the composition of the gut microbiota lead to increased blood levels of the molecule imidazole propionate. A molecule known to render the body's cells resistant to insulin, thereby increasing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
A procedure that may help personalise anticancer therapies has just been developed by the CNRS, Inserm, and Aix-Marseille University scientists at the Centre d’Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy, in association with colleagues from the University of California San Francisco and the Marseille Public University Hospital System (AP-HM), with support from Canceropôle Provence–Alpes–Côte d’Azur.
Are our emotions innate or are they the product of our culture and environment? This question has long been the subject of debate in the field of neuroscience. Researchers provide robust clinical data in favor of the second hypothesis. Their work suggests that our ability to know and recognize emotions is built up gradually and depends on our knowledge of language.
Omega-3 fatty acids are essential, necessarily supplied by the diet and indispensable to brain development. Scientists have focused in particular on the impact of the maternal diet during gestation and lactation on the brain development of their offspring. They have thus shown for the first time in mice how an insufficient intake of omega-3 in the mother can alter the development of neuronal networks in the offspring, causing memory...
Dysfunctions of ion channels - or channelopathies - in the brain are today associated with more than 30 neurological diseases such as epilepsy or cerebellar ataxias. A study conducted at the Brain Institute (Sorbonne University / Inserm / AP-HP / CNRS) identified a new cerebral channelopathy originating from dominant mutations in the KCNN2 gene, encoding the SK2 ion channel.
Diet is believed to play a role in triggering intestinal inflammation that can lead to the development of certain conditions, such as Crohn's disease. Researchers from Inserm, CNRS and Université de Paris have shown that the emulsifiers present in many processed foods could have a harmful impact on specific bacteria in the gut microbiota, leading to chronic inflammation.
Type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for the development of a severe form of Covid-19. Identifying the immune- and inflammatory markers associated with these severe forms of the disease in this patient population would enable earlier and more appropriate care.
A new therapeutic target for type 2 diabetes has recently been identified by researchers from Inserm and Université de Strasbourg, in collaboration with several European hospitals.
Inserm was tasked by France’s Health Directorate with conducting a Collective Expert Review in order to take stock of the scientific knowledge on fibromyalgia in adults, and also to explore the potential existence of a similar syndrome in children and adolescents. The objective was also to recommend measures and establish research priorities in order to better understand fibromyalgia and improve patient care.
A study is showing for the first time that tobacco consumption, even when stopped before pregnancy, can have an impact on the placenta. Smoking not just during but also before pregnancy leads to epigenetic modifications (DNA methylation) which could have consequences on its course.
