Robert-Debré Hospital - NeuroDiderot

The UMR 1141 "NeuroDiderot" Inserm - Université Paris Cité and Sorbonne Paris Nord has been involved for more than 25 years in fundamental and applied research on diseases related to brain development. The research teams of this neuroscience laboratory work on understanding the mechanisms that alter the functioning of the developing brain from the foetus to the adolescent, whether the origins of the dysfunctions are genetic or acquired (as a result of an infection or physical trauma, for example) and whether the diseases are frequent or affect only a small number of patients (rare diseases).
NeuroDiderot is located at the Robert-Debré University Hospital in Paris and comprises nearly 150 researchers, clinicians, doctors, engineers, technicians, doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows from Inserm, CNRS, AP-HP and CEA.

UMR 1141 NeuroDiderot is composed of five teams :
http://neurodiderot.org/index.php/7-2/
Team 1, Neurokine: Glial homeostasis, neuroinflammation and neuroprotection. Pre-, peri- or post-natal brain lesions, caused by intrinsic factors (cerebrovascular accidents, tumours, etc.) or extrinsic factors (foetal or maternal infections, head trauma, etc.) lead to severe neurological deficits of a motor, sensory or cognitive type, which cause communication and behavioural disorders. The Neurokines team seeks to better understand the cellular mechanisms involved in the genesis of neurological lesions during brain development, in order to identify new therapeutic targets. Candidate molecules are tested on different in vitro and in vivo models reproducing paediatric neuropathological processes with the aim of transferring the most promising neuroprotective strategies to clinical trials.
Team 2, NeuroDev: Cellular dysfunctions of neurodevelopmental abnormalities. Brain development involves a series of overlapping developmental sequences: proliferation, migration and differentiation of neurons and glial cells. In humans, this is a particularly long process that begins very early in embryonic life and continues until late adolescence.
The complexity of human brain development makes human genetic diseases unique models for identifying key mechanisms of brain development. The NeuroDev team focuses on inherited neurodevelopmental disorders affecting ante- and postnatal brain growth, white matter development and rare neuronal disorders with pubertal abnormalities.
Team 3, Neophen: New tools for physiological data processing in early neurodevelopmental disorders. The NeoPhen team conducts technological research to develop new tools for processing physiological data applied to neurodevelopmental diseases. This research is conducted at the preclinical level in mouse models of paediatric diseases and at the clinical level in patients with sleep-related breathing disorders. Our objectives are i) to characterise disorders of respiratory control, ii) to study the genetic determinants of respiratory control, and iii) to identify neuropathological supports in order to find and test drug candidates for sleep-related breathing disorders.
Team 4, GenMedStroke: Genomics and personalised medicine in cerebrovascular disease. Cerebrovascular disease is an important public health issue, its major complication being stroke. Known underlying causes include atherosclerosis, cardioembolic disease, vascular malformations, ischaemic or haemorrhagic small vessel disease and inherited vasculopathies. However, the underlying causes remain undetermined in many patients, including fetuses, children and adults, preventing the development of therapeutic options.

The main objectives of the GeneMedStroke team are i) to improve the etiological diagnosis of cerebrovascular diseases through the identification of their genetic determinants, ii) to better understand their mechanisms, by combining patient/in vivo model studies, iii) to apply these data to the development of diagnostic tests and new preventive and curative therapeutic approaches.

Team 5, InDEv: Anatomo-functional variability, vulnerability and plasticity during neurodevelopment: clinical, behavioural and imaging. Neurodevelopmental disorders, characterised by focal or diffuse brain dysfunction of early onset, induce more or less severe and selective disturbances of cognitive functions in children. These frequent (up to 10% of an age group) and polymorphous pathologies manifest themselves by acquisition and learning disorders, with a cognitive and/or sensory and motor expression. The management and treatment of these pathologies and their co-morbidities require a better characterisation of the underlying neurobiological substrates and an understanding of their common features and interactions. The InDEV team, located at the Robert-Debré Hospital (AP-HP, Paris) and at NeuroSpin (Neuroimaging Centre, CEA, Saclay), seeks to better characterise the anatomical and functional variability of brain development in relation to neurological and cognitive functions, from birth to adolescence, in selected pathologies and in close comparison with typical developmental dynamics

➜ More information: https://neurodiderot.u-paris.fr/en/