Month: February 2019

Fete du Citron is an annual lemon festival held along the coast from Nice, in the town of Menton.

Held at the same time as the Lent carnival, the Lemon Festival is a celebration of this citrus fruit. The festival runs until 3rd March.

Floats made from lemons and other citrus fruits are paraded down the streets of Menton, accompanied by dancers in fancy dress, music and drums.

It’s quite a sight and once the parades are done, the town gathers itself for one big street party, with concerts and fireworks.

Around 160,000 visitors from around the globe will descend upon the town to celebrate their most important fruit! Tickets to watch the processions are available online.

My name is Marina Matkova and I’m the first biohacker in Monaco. Sounds scary doesn’t it? Well, in reality it’s not at all. It’s actually good for your health.

What is a biohacker?

A biohacker is a scientifically educated person who finds the optimal way to achieve personalised healthcare, based on an extensive investigation of your biomarker screening, genetic testing, microbiota analysis and the usefulness of food supplements.

Basically, a biohacker uncodes everything for you that your GP doesn’t have time to do. Biohackers usually have degrees in human science. For example, I studied for six years at the Medical Rehabilitation Faculty of Riga’s Stradins University to obtain a Master’s degree in Health and Nutrition Science.

In comparison, conventional medical care is like a mechanic who you tend to visit when the car breaks down or, in the best-case scenario, for a yearly technical check-up.

Biohacking, on the other hand, is like car tuning. It’s a fancy boutique that helps to achieve your ultimate health and is meant to tune-up your body for higher performance and the appearance of your best luxury life. In the Principality of Monaco, good health is a must-have.

My work as a medical secretary is to create a bridge between a patient and a team of local doctors. Although most doctors are interested in preventative medicine and have a good knowledge of anti-aging obtained from numerous congresses and conferences they visit, the lack of time (only 15-30 minutes on average per consultation) is a crucial reason why they do not provide an explanation of the latest biotech technologies to their patients.

This is where I step in.

Nowadays, a medically educated health concierge is necessary for personalised pre-consultation with a client and then in assisting to deliver only the concentrated information to a doctor about his/her intention for a long-lasting wellbeing.

In Monaco, where it’s all about trustworthy finances, health is an asset worth investing in – with understanding.

It’s absolutely not for everyone, it’s for the conscious elite who strive to add life to their years.

My passion is to make high net worth individuals into Ultra-Healthy Net-Worth Individuals. Of course, this tune-up is not cheap, but there are simple recommendations that are for free: exercise weekly, sleep deeply and eat healthy. No one should cancel those golden standards.

There are some examinations that we can do here on the spot in Monaco Labs (Place d’Armes or Fontvielle) and many are even covered by local insurance like CCSS.

We are also sending our patients to IM2S, the Monaco Check Up Unit and the Centre d’Imagerie Médicale de Monaco. For a heavy metal detox or a correction of the gut-flora I usually find all that I need at the L’Estoril Pharmacy on Avenue Princesse Grace, as they have a high quality range of food supplements.

I would like you to raise your attention to the fact that each vitamin and mineral has a latest scientifically proven best version of absorption because of newly discovered higher bio-availability.

Unfortunately, some doctors do not pay attention to progress in science and still prescribe the B12 vitamin in the form of Cyanocobalamin that has the cyanide molecule attached. It is so old-school from my point of view.

It’s the same thing with iron and magnesium supplements too. Don’t waste your money on buying vitamins that do not bring enough health benefits, consult with wise specialists who know.

For other more profound tests, we send them to laboratories in Germany, Belgium and even the USA. There is so much we can understand from a sample of saliva, blood, urine etc.

The test results usually arrive within 8-10 days, and after a well-prepared consultation comes the process of uncoding the health secrets of a client in a simple language with easy recommendations.

That’s why biohacking services are reserved for elite people who are ready to participate in their own healthcare, to learn about their health status and to apply the given knowledge in their daily life in order to be the best expert for themselves. Our team of highly qualified specialists will chew the ‘epigenetics’ for you.

As part of the International Child Cancer Day, Patrice Cellario, Government Counselor – Minister of the Interior, and Didier Gamerdinger, Government Counselor – Minister of Social Affairs and Health, today visited the group Pediatric Cancer Research Team within the “Resistance Mechanisms for Targeted Therapies” team of the Department of Medical Biology of the Scientific Center of Monaco (CSM).

Welcomed by Professor Patrick Rampal, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the CSM, and Professor Denis Allemand, Scientific Director, the two Council Ministers were able to familiarize themselves with the work done by Dr. Vincent Picco, Research Officer at the CSM, and Dr. Gilles Pagès, Director of Research INSERM, head of the team “Resistance Mechanisms for Targeted Therapies” and their collaborators.

This team, with the support of the Flavien Foundation, has taken up the dual challenge of trying to discover treatments that are both less toxic than current treatments, and nevertheless more effective, against the most common pediatric brain cancers. called medulloblastomas. The first results of this work have just been the subject of a scientific publication in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine.

For more information on pediatric cancers: www.centrescientifique.mc/fr/equipe/biologie-medicale/mecanismes-de-resistance-aux-therapies-ciblees

Professor Patrick Rampal took advantage of this visit to recall that childhood cancers are fortunately rare, but sadly dramatic! They have more than all other cancers benefited from advances in medical research since in 20 years the survival rate at 5 years, has increased from 60% to more than 80%. It is therefore necessary to continue the development of research in oncology, because only a better knowledge of this pathology will further improve these results.

The day will end at 6 pm, with the Flavien Foundation walk from the Place du Palais, where Didier Gamerdinger and Patrice Cellario will participate.

Commission of Review of the Reports of Control (CERC) has been set up, via the Ministry of State, to review investigations into money laundering.

The Commission was formed by the Minister of State as an advisory committee to study the reports drafted by SICCFIN following the on-the-spot checks carried out by the agents of this Service among the professionals subject to it.

Following the examination of the reports and after hearing the representatives of the bodies, the Commission will draw up a report that will issue an opinion on the existence of deficiencies in the AML / CFT obligations the professional and, if necessary, send a proposal for an administrative penalty to the Minister of State.

The CERC was installed by Mr. Jean Castellini, Government Counselor – Minister of Finance and Economy, in the presence of Mr. Maxime Maillet, Principal Administrator in the Directorate of Judicial Services, representing its Director Mr. Laurent Anselmi and Mr. Philippe Boisbouvier, Acting Director of SICCFIN.

The Commission is composed of:

Full members:

• Mr. Dominique Adam, President;
• Ms. Françoise Barbier-Chassaing;
• Mr. Gilles Duteil;
• Mr. Lindsay Leggat-Smith.

Substitute members:

• Mr. Roger Bernardini, Vice-President;
• Mr. Sébastien Biancheri;
• Mr. Marc Segonds;
• Mr Pietro Sansonetti.