University of Lorraine

About: University of Lorraine is a education organization based out in Nancy, France. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Nonlinear system. The organization has 11942 authors who have published 25010 publications receiving 425227 citations. The organization is also known as: Lorraine University.

Myocardial fibrosis: biomedical research from bench to bedside.

Abstract: Myocardial fibrosis refers to a variety of quantitative and qualitative changes in the interstitial myocardial collagen network that occur in response to cardiac ischaemic insults, systemic diseases, drugs, or any other harmful stimulus affecting the circulatory system or the heart itself. Myocardial fibrosis alters the architecture of the myocardium, facilitating the development of cardiac dysfunction, also inducing arrhythmias, influencing the clinical course and outcome of heart failure patients. Focusing on myocardial fibrosis may potentially improve patient care through the targeted diagnosis and treatment of emerging fibrotic pathways. The European Commission funded the FIBROTARGETS consortium as a multinational academic and industrial consortium with the primary aim of performing a systematic and collaborative search of targets of myocardial fibrosis, and then translating these mechanisms into individualized diagnostic tools and specific therapeutic pharmacological options for heart failure. This review focuses on those methodological and technological aspects considered and developed by the consortium to facilitate the transfer of the new mechanistic knowledge on myocardial fibrosis into potential biomedical applications.

Imaging features and safety and efficacy of endovascular stroke treatment: a meta-analysis of individual patient-level data.

Abstract: Background: Evidence regarding whether imaging can be used effectively to select patients for endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) is scarce. We aimed to investigate the association between baseline imaging features and safety and efficacy of EVT in acute ischaemic stroke caused by anterior large-vessel occlusion. Methods: In this meta-analysis of individual patient-level data, the HERMES collaboration identified in PubMed seven randomised trials in endovascular stroke that compared EVT with standard medical therapy, published between Jan 1, 2010, and Oct 31, 2017. Only trials that required vessel imaging to identify patients with proximal anterior circulation ischaemic stroke and that used predominantly stent retrievers or second-generation neurothrombectomy devices in the EVT group were included. Risk of bias was assessed with the Cochrane handbook methodology. Central investigators, masked to clinical information other than stroke side, categorised baseline imaging features of ischaemic change with the Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) or according to involvement of more than 33% of middle cerebral artery territory, and by thrombus volume, hyperdensity, and collateral status. The primary endpoint was neurological functional disability scored on the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score at 90 days after randomisation. Safety outcomes included symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage, parenchymal haematoma type 2 within 5 days of randomisation, and mortality within 90 days. For the primary analysis, we used mixed-methods ordinal logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score at admission, intravenous alteplase, and time from onset to randomisation, and we used interaction terms to test whether imaging categorisation at baseline modifies the association between treatment and outcome. This meta-analysis was prospectively designed by the HERMES executive committee but has not been registered. Findings: Among 1764 pooled patients, 871 were allocated to the EVT group and 893 to the control group. Risk of bias was low except in the THRACE study, which used unblinded assessment of outcomes 90 days after randomisation and MRI predominantly as the primary baseline imaging tool. The overall treatment effect favoured EVT (adjusted common odds ratio [cOR] for a shift towards better outcome on the mRS 2·00, 95% CI 1·69–2·38; p<0·0001). EVT achieved better outcomes at 90 days than standard medical therapy alone across a broad range of baseline imaging categories. Mortality at 90 days (14·7% vs 17·3%, p=0·15), symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage (3·8% vs 3·5%, p=0·90), and parenchymal haematoma type 2 (5·6% vs 4·8%, p=0·52) did not differ between the EVT and control groups. No treatment effect modification by baseline imaging features was noted for mortality at 90 days and parenchymal haematoma type 2. Among patients with ASPECTS 0–4, symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage was seen in ten (19%) of 52 patients in the EVT group versus three (5%) of 66 patients in the control group (adjusted cOR 3·94, 95% CI 0·94–16·49; pinteraction=0·025), and among patients with more than 33% involvement of middle cerebral artery territory, symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage was observed in 15 (14%) of 108 patients in the EVT group versus four (4%) of 113 patients in the control group (4·17, 1·30–13·44, pinteraction=0·012). Interpretation: EVT achieves better outcomes at 90 days than standard medical therapy across a broad range of baseline imaging categories, including infarcts affecting more than 33% of middle cerebral artery territory or ASPECTS less than 6, although in these patients the risk of symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage was higher in the EVT group than the control group. This analysis provides preliminary evidence for potential use of EVT in patients with large infarcts at baseline. Funding: Medtronic.

Towards the sustainable discovery and development of new antibiotics

Abstract: An ever-increasing demand for novel antimicrobials to treat life-threatening infections caused by the global spread of multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens stands in stark contrast to the current level of investment in their development, particularly in the fields of natural-product-derived and synthetic small molecules. New agents displaying innovative chemistry and modes of action are desperately needed worldwide to tackle the public health menace posed by antimicrobial resistance. Here, our consortium presents a strategic blueprint to substantially improve our ability to discover and develop new antibiotics. We propose both short-term and long-term solutions to overcome the most urgent limitations in the various sectors of research and funding, aiming to bridge the gap between academic, industrial and political stakeholders, and to unite interdisciplinary expertise in order to efficiently fuel the translational pipeline for the benefit of future generations.

Unearthing the roots of ectomycorrhizal symbioses

Abstract: Fungal genomics studies have shown that ectomycorrhizal fungi have arisen in approximately 60 independent saprotrophic lineages In this Review, Martin and colleagues describe the functional gains and losses that have occurred during the evolution of ectomycorrhizal symbioses