What are the molecular and genetic characteristics that distinguish patients with critical forms of COVID-19 – and particularly acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)? Researchers have investigated the biological and genomic data of a targeted cohort of young patients. Patients hospitalized in intensive care with ARDS were compared with COVID-19 patients hospitalized in a non-critical care ward. As part of a Franco-US collaboration, the scientists have succeeded in identifying a...
La dysplasie fibromusculaire artérielle (DFM) est une anomalie de la paroi de certaines artères entraînant une augmentation du risque cardiovasculaire chez les personnes qui en sont atteintes. 3% de la population générale pourrait en être affectée et au moins 80% des personnes atteintes de cette maladie sont des femmes. Des chercheurs sont parvenus à décrire la composante génétique de la maladie, premier par vers l’identification de nouvelles cibles thérapeutiques....
Long considered an unnecessary organ, the appendix is now the focus of several studies that aim to better understand its role. Present in many mammals, including humans, it appears to have developed at least 16 times over the course of the evolutionary history of mammals, suggesting that its function must confer a positive selective advantage on those that have it.
Good gut microbiota function has an impact on our general physical and psychological health. Understanding how the architecture of the microbiota and the function of the bacteria that inhabit it affect the body has become a key research focus in recent years.
Teams of researchers studied the presence of self-reactive memory B lymphocytes before and after treatment with rituximab in adult patients with thrombocytopenia immunologic disease (ITP), a rare autoimmune disease. The results of this study show that a fraction of memory B lymphocytes self-reactive towards platelet antigenesist treatment with rituximab, persist in the spleen for several months and participates in relapses. The discovery of these cells could open up new...
Urinary tract infections affect over 50% of women, in some cases recurrently. E. coli bacteria are very often implicated in their development.
A commonly used treatment in some forms of breast cancer, tamoxifen acts on the cancer cells by blocking the estrogen receptor (ER)a and thereby inhibiting their proliferation. However, the action of this drug appears to be more complex than that, with the addition of protective effects on the arteries that could reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
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.
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...
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.
