How can a specialized cell change its identity? A team from the Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (CNRS/INSERM/Université de Strasbourg) investigated a 100% effective natural example of this phenomenon, which is called transdifferentiation. This process, by which some cells lose their characteristics and acquire a new identity, could be more generally […]
Consuming oils rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially 'omega 3', is good for our health. But the mechanisms explaining these effects are poorly understood. Researchers from the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology (CNRS/Nice Sophia Antipolis University), the Compartmentation and Cellular Dynamics Unit (CNRS/Curie Institute/UPMC) of Inserm and Poitiers University1 were interested in the effect of lipids carrying polyunsaturated chains when they are taken into cell membranes.
Researchers at Inserm, led by Claude Gronfier (Inserm Unit 846: Stem Cell and Brain Institute), have, for the first time, conducted a study under real conditions on the body clocks of members of the international polar research station Concordia. The researchers have shown that a particular kind of artificial light is capable of ensuring that their biological rhythms are correctly synchronised despite the absence of sunlight.
By combining fundamental research and monitoring a single cohort of kidney-transplant patients with antiphospholipid syndrome, the researchers have highlighted a beneficial effect of sirolimus, commonly used as an immunosuppressor in organ transplants, to prevent recurrence of vascular lesions on the transplanted kidney.
French investigators have discovered new resistance mechanisms to targeted therapies used for less than three years in the treatment of melanoma. This discovery enables us not only to better understand why these treatments become ineffective but also to reveal new avenues for the management of these aggressive tumours. These studies have been published in the review Nature and have the benefit of an early on-line publication.
Having proven effective in reducing the number of new HIV infections in men, circumcision also appears to play a role in the reduction of HIV incidence in women. These findings are from the study ANRS 12126 coordinated by Professor Bertran Auvert (Inserm U1018, Université de Versailles-Saint Quentin, Hôpital Ambroise Paré) and conducted in the township of Orange Farm in South Africa. They will be presented as an oral communication...
The risk of transmission of HIV and of hepatitis C virus in intravenous drug users can be reduced significantly by means of support and educational sessions delivered by their peers. This type of community intervention, which is easily transposable, has been evaluated in the framework of ANRS AERLI, a study conducted jointly by the nonprofit organizations AIDES, Médecins du Monde and by Inserm U912 (Marseille). The results were presented...
Launched in March 2012, the ANRS 12249 TasP (Treatment as Prevention) Trial is one of four international randomized trials designed to assess the efficacy of the TasP strategy in a large population. It is conducted the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, one of the highest prevalence areas in the world, and the highest in South Africa (16.9% in 2012 according to the latest national survey of the general population).
Treating hard and fast seems to be a good way to limit the side effects of radiotherapy. This is the discovery made by researchers at the Curie Institute, Inserm and the Vaud University Hospital, published in Science Translational Medicine on 16 July. Radiotherapy remains one of the benchmark local treatments for cancer patients: increasingly accurate, it consists of irradiating cancer cells to destroy them while preserving neighbouring healthy tissues and...
Under normal conditions and because it cannot store oxygen, the brain cannot withstand being deprived of oxygen for more than a few minutes without risking serious consequences. After an accident (cranial trauma or stroke), emergency teams therefore try to restore cerebral oxygenation as quickly as possible. The faster and more precisely physicians work, the greater the chances of recovery. A multi-disciplinary team at the Grenoble Institute of Neuroscience (GIN,...
The team of Emmanuel Lagarde, research director at Inserm's Research Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics (Inserm/University of Bordeaux) has studied the subsequent development of 1,300 people who were admitted to A&R between 2007 and 2009 for trauma.
