Like packages containing secret messages, the vesicles sent and received by our cells could inform us about the likelihood of developing a neurodegenerative disease in the future. The cells voluntarily release these vesicles, which then become their mirror image.“,” confirms neuroscientist Jean-Christophe Delpech, a researcher at INRAE. His BEACON project, focused on this quest for the signature of abnormal brain aging in extracellular vesicles, earned him the Desmarest Prize in January 2026. Awarded by the Pierre Deniker Foundation, which fights for mental health, this prize includes a research grant of 100,000 euros.
By Camille Gaubert THE Subscribers
Why do some people with seemingly similar profiles experience healthy cognitive aging, while others develop neurodegenerative diseases? Researchers hope the answer may lie in small vesicles circulating in our blood, detectable long before the onset of pathology.
Alzheimer's disease was projected to affect 1.4 million people in France by 2025.
Photo by CHRISTOPH BURGSTEDT/SCIENCE PHOT / CBR / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY VIA AFP
English 
French