21 février 2013: Prof. Xavier Nassif

Thursday, February 21st 2013, 12h30

Prof. Xavier NASSIF
Faculté de médecine Paris Descartes,
INSERM U1002

"Meningococcemia - how to cross the blood brain barrier and give meningitis"
Neisseria meningitidis is responsible for both meningitis and purpura fulminans, two unusual clinical presentations during a Gram- sepsis. Recent developments precising the molecular mechanism by which N.meningitidis interact with endothelial cells has brought some lights on the unusual aspects of meningococcal pathogenesis.

Biography
Xavier Nassif is an MD/PhD specialising in infectious diseases and is working in Paris at the medical school Necker Enfants Malades. He has an appointment in the clinical microbiology department of the Hopital Necker in Paris and is the head of an INSERM unit interested by the pathogenesis of bacterial systemic infections. In this unit, he is scientifically responsible for a group working on the pathogenesis of Neisseria meningitidis and more specifically in the understanding of the mechanisms used by this pathogen to cross the blood brain barrier and give meningitis.