Non-transmissible diseases : from pathology to therapy : cellular and molecular research, and its applications

This book is the result of a course taught at the École Polytechnique, the aim of which is to introduce students to the challenges facing society in the form of chronic non-transmissible diseases, such as diabetes, Alzheimer's and cancer. We combine the medical approach - asking how are these diseases diagnosed, what is the prognosis for the patient, and which treatments are available with the biological approach - do we understand the origins of these diseases? If not, why not? And if so, how can we use this understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms to develop effective treatments? This is true « biomedicine ».

Biomedicine has recently led to the discovery of a variety of drugs, increasingly personalized in the sense that they are beneficial to patient categories that are ever more precisely defined according to molecular criteria. Furthermore, these diseases are all linked to aging, which we will see is beginning to be modulated with specific treatments. We therefore hope to engage both the « interested layperson » curious about the modern drug ecosystem associating public research, start-ups and the pharmaceutical industry; and the student of molecular and cellular biology keen to apply his knowledge to these pathologies and practical ways to treat them.