Some cancer cells are resistant to treatment and persist. If they are capable of proliferating again, even a very small number of these cells may be enough to reconstitute a tumour after or despite treatment. Various approaches to eliminate these “cancer stem cells” (CSCs) have been tried in recent years: targeted therapies, vaccination and tumour starvation. In an article published in the journal Cell Reports, Christophe Ginestier, Inserm Research...
Wednesday 1 March 2017 will see the unveiling of the interministerial plan for “mobilisation and action on violence against children” by Laurence Rossignol, Minister for Families, Children and Women’s Rights.
A team led by Prof. Marina Cavazzana, working at Necker Hospital for Sick Children, AP-HP, and the Imagine Institute (AP-HP/Inserm/Paris Descartes University) performed gene therapy on a 13-year-old patient with severe sickle cell anaemia in October 2014 as part of a phase I/II clinical trial. Conducted in collaboration with Prof. Philippe Leboulch (CEA/Faculties of Medicine at Paris-Sud and Harvard Universities), who developed the vector used, and supervised the preclinical...
Why does multiple sclerosis progress more rapidly in some patients than others? Why do some patients with MS manage to regenerate their myelin, while others do not? Inserm researchers at Unit 1127, “Brain and Spine Institute” (Inserm/CNRS/UPMC) have demonstrated that lymphocytes play a major role in the remyelination process, and that they could possibly be exploited to develop new myelin regeneration strategies.
The 28 February 2017 marks the 10th edition of World Rare Disease Day, with the slogan “Join us in making the voice of rare diseases heard.” While there are 7,000 known rare diseases, 80% of them genetic in origin, new rare diseases are regularly discovered.
Inserm and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) are holding a large conference entitled "Vaccines Against Emerging Infections – a Global Insurance" on 21 and 22 February 2017. It is especially aimed at emphasising the urgent need for action and the potential for developing vaccines in the area of world epidemic crises. François Hollande, President of France, attended this conference today, along with Yves Levy, Chairman and CEO...
On April 22, Earth Day 2017, the citizens of the world are invited to participate in a massive “March for Science.” The initiative was launched by US scientists in response to “new policies [that] threaten to further restrict scientists’ ability to carry out research and communicate their findings.”
Scientists estimate that approximately 95 percent of adults around the world are infected with the Epstein-Barr virus. In rare cases, an infection with this virus causes cancer. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), at the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), and at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) have now discovered that a component of the Epstein-Barr virus infectious particle promotes carcinogenesis....
Almost 15,000 cases of cancer could be prevented in France each year by improving living conditions and promoting health among the most vulnerable populations. These were the conclusions of a study published in the weekly epidemiological report Bulletin épidémiologique hebdomadaire (BEH), and coordinated by Inserm Unit 1086 "Cancer and Prevention" located in Caen.
World Cancer Day, which will take place on 4 February next, will be an opportunity to make the general public aware about prevention, detection and treatment of this disease.