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Cardiovascular diseases represent the leading cause of death worldwide . Preventing cardiovascular risk by identifying the people most susceptible to these diseases is a major public health challenge. In a new study in this field, researchers from Inserm, Université de Lorraine and Nancy Regional University Hospital opted to focus on arterial stiffness and how it changes with age, given that ageing is associated with a loss of arterial flexibility.

Because of their cyclical rhythm and similar durations, the menstrual and lunar cycles have often been assumed to be linked, despite no solid evidence so far to support this. To gain a better understanding of the origin of the rhythmic regularity of the menstrual cycle, an international research team involving Inserm, CNRS and Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 compared a large amount of data on cycles collected from studies conducted in Europe and North America.

Inflammation plays a major role in allergic diseases, affecting at least 17 million people in France, including 4 million asthmatics. One of the molecules that initiates this process in the respiratory tract has just been identified. This molecule, a member of the alarmin family, is a major therapeutic target for the development of new treatments for respiratory allergies.

In order to implement suitable public health policies, it is crucial to know the health status of the population and its evolution over time. This knowledge is all the more important given the severe disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to healthcare systems worldwide.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Charcot's disease is a neurodegenerative disease that results in progressive paralysis and subsequent death. Diagnosing it is difficult and no curative treatment exists to date, making these challenges for research. In a new study, Inserm researcher Caroline Rouaux and her team at the Strasbourg Biomedical Research Centre (Inserm-Université de Strasbourg), in collaboration with researchers from Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, CNRS and Sorbonne Université, show that electroencephalography could become a diagnostic and prognostic tool for the disease.

The WHO recently classified the Nipah virus (NiV) as one of the eight main emerging pathogens likely to cause major epidemics in the future. In a context where no treatment or vaccine is yet available, a team comprising researchers from Inserm (Unit 955-VRI) and from the Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC) is presenting the preclinical results of an innovative vaccine against this virus.

Why does some music make us want to dance more than others? This is the question that a research team from Inserm and Aix-Marseille Université tried to answer by studying the desire to dance (also called the 'groove') and the brain activity of 30 participants who were asked to listen to music. Their findings show that the groove sensation is highest for a moderately complex rhythm and that the desire to move is reflected in the brain by an anticipation of the music's rhythm.

Anemia is a major public health problem worldwide, affecting around a third of the population. There are many causes of anemia, but the most common are a defect in the production of red blood cells, a lack of iron in the blood or genetic diseases such as thalassemia. A better understanding of iron metabolism is essential to improve management of the many patients affected.

An essential component of the haemoglobin in red blood cells, iron is crucial to many biological processes - including the transport and storage of oxygen in the body. © Inserm/Claude Féo Anaemia is a major public health problem worldwide, affecting around one third of the population. Its causes are multiple, but the most common are a lack of red blood cell production, a lack of iron in the blood, and genetic diseases such as thalassaemia.

In yellow, microglia (immune cells of the brain) activated by the pro-inflammatory nature of a sunflower oil-enriched diet (fluorescence microscopy). Clara Sanchez/Inserm Obesity is a major public health problem, affecting around 650 million adults worldwide , and is often associated with systemic and cerebral inflammation as well as anxiety and cognitive disorders, such as memory deficits.

An increase in glycerol kinase (GK) enzyme activity on its own is capable of halting cell proliferation and initiating a programme of senescence. The blue staining of the cells is a biomarker of senescence. This image shows cells overexpressing the GK enzyme. Khaled Tighanimine/team Mario Pende. Cell senescence is a physiological process that has been associated in many studies with age-related diseases.

By studying for the first time the effects of chemotherapy on certain cells in the tumor microenvironment , a team from the Institut Curie and Inserm, led by Dr. Fatima Mechta-Grigoriou, has taken a major step towards understanding the mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer patients.

Emulsifiers are among the additives most widely used by the food industry, helping to improve the texture of food and extend its shelf life. Researchers from Inserm, INRAE, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Université Paris Cité and Cnam, as part of the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (CRESS-EREN), have undertaken to study the possible links between the dietary intake of food additive emulsifiers and the development of cancer.

Scientists from Inserm, Université Paris Cité and CNRS at the Necker Enfants Malades Institute in Paris have identified a new prognostic marker for cardiovascular risk in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Led by Inserm researcher Nicolas Venteclef, the team has shown that the number of white blood cells circulating in the blood, as well as certain subtypes, is associated with stroke or myocardial infarction risk over the next ten years.

People living with HIV need to take antiretroviral treatment for life to prevent the virus from multiplying in their body. But some people, known as "post-treatment controllers,- have been able to discontinue their treatment while maintaining an undetectable viral load for several years. Starting treatment early could promote long-term control of the virus if treatment is discontinued.

Inserm's Centre d'épidémiologie des causes médicales de décès (CépiDc-Inserm), the Direction de la recherche, des études et de l'évaluation des statistiques (DREES) and Santé Publique France are analyzing the medical causes of death of people living and dying in France in 2021. Two complementary studies, which present these results, are published jointly in études et Résultats (DREES) and in the Bulletin épidémiologique hebdomadaire (Santé publique France).

Freepik A study led by scientists from INRAE, the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Inserm, and the Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, has revealed that the time at which we eat could influence our risk of developing cardiovascular disease. This study, carried out on a sample of over 100,000 people from the NutriNet-Santé cohort, followed between 2009 and 2022, suggests that eating a late first or last meal is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects many children and is often accompanied by other conditions, such as metabolic disorders, asthma and dental caries. However, uncertainties remain as to the chronology of onset of such conditions, particularly when it comes to knowing which are linked with ADHD over time or, on the other hand, which increase the risk of developing ADHD symptoms.

Contrary to all expectations, GluD1 - a receptor considered to be excitatory - has been shown in the brain to play a major role in controlling neuron inhibition. Given that alterations in the GluD1 gene are encountered in a certain number of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders, such as autism (ASD) and schizophrenia, this discovery opens up new therapeutic avenues to combat the imbalances between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmissions associated with these disorders.

3D light-sheet microscope image of a lacrimal gland of a tissue-cleared 12-week-old human embryo. The different elements of the gland were coloured using virtual reality software.