According to the French National Institute of Sleep and Alertness (InSV), 1 French person in 5 suffers from insomnia, and up to 9% of these insomniacs are badly affected (poor quality sleep, difficulty falling asleep, multiple awakenings or waking too early). Indeed, sleep is indispensable to the learning, memorisation, adaptation and growth functions, and is also […]
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 5% of the world population, i.e. 360 million people, suffers from disabling hearing loss (hearing loss greater than 40 decibels (dB) in the better hearing ear in adults, and 30 dB in the better hearing ear in children), or 328 million adults and 32 million children. […]
A disease is said to be rare if it affects fewer than 1 in 2,000 people, or, for France, fewer than 30,000 people for a given disease. Rare diseases are highly diverse, are found in all areas of medicine, and are often serious, chronic, and progressive. The theme chosen for this 8th World Rare Disease Day, “Living […]
Epilepsy is the spontaneous occurrence of epileptic fits, resulting from abnormal and simultaneous discharge of thousands of neurons[1]. Individuals affected by epilepsy can suffer severe physical and psychological side-effects, particularly caused by the unpredictability of the fits (injuries, problems of attentiveness, etc.). A large number of events have been organised for World Epilepsy Day, particularly […]
World Cancer Day takes place this Wednesday, 4 February. This international campaign is aimed at informing and sensitising the general public, as well as health professionals, about cancer prevention, screening, and management. According to a recent survey by Ipsos/French Foundation for Cancer Research[2] cancer is the disease most feared by French people today (86%), ahead […]
The human immunodeficiency virus, named HIV, is a sexually transmitted disease that targets the immune system and weakens body’s systems that detect and defend against infection and certain types of cancer (source: World Health Organisation). AIDS is the abbreviated term for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and is the most advanced stage of HIV infection. With more […]
Diabetes type 1 or type 2 is a chronic disease caused by an insufficient mass of pancreatic beta cells, which produce insulin, or by poor use of this hormone by the body. This results in an elevated level of glucose in the bloodstream (hyperglycaemia), and may lead to serious complications (infarct, impaired vision, blindness, stroke, […]
Commonly referred to as a “stroke”, a Cerebrovascular Accident results from the interruption of blood flow to the brain. The deprivation of oxygen and essential nutrients causes brain cells to die, leading to permanent damage (speech or writing difficulty, memory problems, bodily paralysis to a greater or lesser extent), or even sudden death. World Cerebrovascular […]
World Arthritis Day, which is held on 12 October every year, is aimed at raising awareness among the general public, health professions and public authorities, about the size of the burden generated by this disease. A leading cause of disability in the over 40s, rheumatic diseases are, for the most part, chronic inflammatory disorders. Collectively […]
This year marks the 10th edition of Pink October, a month of national mobilisation against breast cancer. An opportunity to recall that this disease remains a major public health challenge, despite the advances in treatment. Breast cancer is indeed the leading female cancer, and the leading cause of cancer deaths in women. In 2012, nearly […]