Month: April 2018

The team working on Tumour Hypoxia and Metabolism at the Monaco Scientific Centre, supervised by Dr Jacques Pouysségur, CRNS Emeritus Director of Research, has been presented with a cheque for €140,000 by GEMLUC, the Group of Monaco Businesses in the fight against cancer.

GEMLUC, founded in 1973, raises funds from companies and individuals that are distributed in grants for clinical and basic research, scholarships for young doctors who want to specialise in research and care against cancer, cancer care and prevention materials, and support for local cancer care associations. Nearly €1.2 million have been distributed since 2014.

The internationally renowned CSM research team in the field of hypoxia and tumour metabolism is looking for new potential anti-cancer targets through genetics. The research focuses on pancreatic cancer, one of the most aggressive cancers for which medicine is failing.

GEMLUC’s endowment will fund a research programme aimed at blocking one of the defence mechanisms of the cancer cell and thus making it more sensitive to chemotherapy.

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Adriano Ribolzi: a man of art

The Oceanographic Institute and M2PA – the Association for the Sustainable Financing of Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas – signed a partnership agreement on Friday, April 13, with the priority objective of financing an environmental fund for Mediterranean protected areas.

A pioneer in the field of discovery and conservation of marine environments, the Oceanographic Institute continues, as it has done since its founding in 1906, to promote, love and protect the oceans. Under this new agreement, €0.05 for every ticket sold will be donated, representing an annual contribution estimated at more than €30,000, thanks to the 650,000 visitors that the Oceanographic Museum welcomes each year.

The Oceanographic Institute will also spearhead an international network of aquariums and zoos working for marine protected areas in the Mediterranean, including Genoa, Tunis, Valencia, Banyuls, and Basel. This initiative will include exhibitions, educational activities, and communication campaigns.

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News

The Directorate of the Environment has published its 2018 report on the environment in Monaco, continuing the practice that has been in place since 2009. The goal is to make the available data disposal to everyone.

The report contains quantified details on the following areas: energy, waste, climate, air quality, water management, the marine environment and biodiversity.

The Environment Department also explains environmental issues. It presents the data, their evolution over time and interprets them in terms of the standards set or the policies implemented. It is therefore a reference for all, neophytes or specialists, who wish to have clear and objective information about the various facets of the environment in the Principality.

The 2018 version has just been published and can be downloaded from the website of the Prince’s Government.

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Prince Albert II Foundation: a ten-year retrospective with HE Bernard Fautrier

HSH Prince Albert inaugurated the new premises of the Office of Occupational Medicine (OMT, or Office de la Médecine du Travail) on the morning of Monday, April 23.

Also on hand were Didier Gamerdinger, Minister of Social Affairs and Health, the Director of UNWTO, Pascale Pallanca, and the members of the Steering Committee, the President of the National Council, the Mayor’s representative and employees of the Office.

Father Di Leo, also present at this event, blessed the premises, which are located in the Aquamarine Building at 24 avenue de Fontvieille. The new space gives new impetus to the medical monitoring of more than 4,800 public officials.

At the same time, the medical team has been strengthened and it will be possible for everyone to be seen at least every three years and even more closely for specific posts, such as those related to security, for example.

“Doctors will also be available to administrative departments to support them in the process of ensuring wellbeing at work,” said Minister Gamerdinger.

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Recognition for campaigns against plastic

The Radiotherapy Department of the Princess Grace Hospital Centre successfully completed last week the treatment of a patient with severe neuralgia of the trigeminal cranial nerve. This is a first both in Monaco and the Alpes-Maritimes.

The technique consists of irradiating at a very high dose the nerve in question in order to create a shortcircuit and block the painful impulse. The feat required many months of parameterization by teams at the Princess Grace Hospital and close collaboration with the Neurosurgery Department of Nice University Hospital.

In addition to the long work of setting up the Truebeam Novalis particle accelerator, one of the objectives was to offer the patient a treatment with a non-invasive compression system. On other machines, the irradiation session requires total immobilisation of the patient with fixation of the skull by screws, which many patients find too uncomfortable.

The CHPG teams have developed an irradiation technique with a thermoformed mask on the face of the patient, in order to ensure better comfort during the 45 minutes of treatment. This has borne fruit very quickly with a complete disappearance of pain after a few hours.

Trigeminal neuralgia is severe facial pain due to malfunction of the 5th cranial nerve, or trigeminal nerve, which carries sensory information from the face to the brain and controls the muscles involved in chewing.

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Hospital receives advanced radiotherapy machines

The Monaco Red Cross regularly takes part in the promotion of oral hygiene in the Principality. In particular, volunteers are trained each year in kindergartens and schools to raise awareness about good brushing technique.

The Red Cross also provides families with free dental hygiene equipment, including certified organic toothpaste. Following a number of concerns expressed by some parents, the Red Cross points out that the composition of this toothpaste is perfectly in line with European regulations.

Each parent obviously remains free to use, or not, the material provided. The Monaco Red Cross is always available to answer parents’ questions. info@croix-rouge.mc

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https://monacolife.net/training-day-for-red-cross-volunteers-date-announced-for-jumbo-sale/