Jerry LEWIS explains (in English with simultaneous translation) the reasons for his participation in the Téléthon in France. France has the best scientists in the fields of myopathy. Jerry LEWIS is the guest of honor of the Telethon, and host in the United States for 35 years of a similar program.
Etienne LALOU questions the chief physician of the surgery department of the heart of l? hospital Laennec, in Paris. It describes the main principles of open heart operation, which is based in particular on the hypothermia technique. It illustrates its explanations through an anatomical model of the heart.
On the occasion of the Sixth World AIDS Day, an update on the situation of drug addicts: nearly one in two in France is HIV-positive, while there are only two needle exchange programmes in the country. Report on the "Drug Addiction and AIDS" mission of Médecins du Monde whose bus allows the distribution of sterile needles and condoms.
This report traces the process of a corneal transplant, from donation to surgery. Comment on images of the operation, a car from the eye bank and a consultation with an ophthalmologist.
France has decided to focus on medical stem cell research with the inauguration of an industrial site in the Ulis, near Paris. Comment on images of this public laboratory, alternating with the interview of Pierre Noel LIRSAC, CEO of Cellforcure.
The cord blood contains stem cells that save patients with serious illnesses. The law allows the anonymous donation of this cord to patients all over the world, but parents cannot keep this sample in case a disease occurs in their own family. Damien MESLOT, MNA UMP Territoire-de-Belfort, proposes to change this law by authorizing private banks. Comment on images of a donor birth and researchers working at the hospital Saint-Louis (Paris) punctuated by interviews with Zohra HAMICI, donor mother, Damien MESLOT and Marc BENBUMAN, hospital Saint-Louis.
The mayor of Vieils Maisons explains that he invested half of the city council’s annual budget in the purchase of a house for the doctor. This measure has not yet borne fruit because no doctor has yet expressed the will to settle in this village.
At the wheel of his car, a country doctor explains that he travels an average of 100 kilometres a day to cover all the demands of patients in the region. Being the only practitioner in the area, he feels obliged to answer all calls, which he believes are justified.
A report on artificial insemination and the moral and taboo problems it causes, through the testimony of people who have had children in this way: a group of adult hidden faces and a couple with their two children with uncovered faces.
The fashion of running or jogging arrives in France and especially in Paris. Images of runners and interviews of Parisian sportsmen, including actor Michel CRETON.
Michel BOUJENAH, who came unexpectedly on the plateau of the Telethon, made Claude SÉRILLON laugh (and his famous laughter) telling him that when he was little, he was operated on with both arms. Communicative laughter on the set.
Reportage. Presentation of the Genethon laboratory, opened in October 1990 thanks to funds raised via the telethon. With new generation robots, 6,000 genetic analyses per day will now be possible. Commentary on laboratory images: researchers in the middle of manipulations in front of computers, microscopes and tanks, microscopy images, alternating with the brief testimony of a small myopathy and interviews of Professor Daniel COHEN, co-director of Genethon and Bernard BARATAUD, president of the AFM.
On the set of the Téléthon, the testimony of 21-year-old Jeanne PELAT, has been emblematic since her first appearance in 2004. She explains with emotion that one of her friends with myopathy has just died, allowing her to point out that without the telethon and the AFM, she herself might have already lost her life.
Bernard BARATAUD, president of the Association des myopathes de France, explains how he felt as the father of a myopathic child. He describes with emotion the degradation of the child’s condition, whose muscles gradually atrophy until the use of the wheelchair. According to him, all hope is not lost "this disease is not a curse, it is a biochemical anomaly, and there have been other diseases as serious as this that have been overcome".
Presentation of the principles of stress testing to prevent and detect cardiovascular disease. The patient, who pedals on an elliptical cross-trainer, is equipped with electrodes to train an electrocardiogram. A thallium injection allows to see the state of vascularization of the myocardium via a scintigraphy. These images are commented by a doctor interviewed by Etienne LALOU.
Interview with a Bouchère who had just undergone a heart operation to install several valves to counter his mitral shrinkage. She describes the shortness of breath and fatigue she had experienced before.
A nine-year-old girl has successfully undergone a small bowel transplant by the team of Professor Denys PELERIN at the Hospital Necker-Sick Children in Paris. This is a world first. Comment on images of the press conference given by the medical team, plans of the hospital, alternating with an interview of Denys PELERIN, infant surgery Hospital for Sick Children.
Reportage in Domats, Yonne, where a municipality organized to fight the shortage of doctors by setting up a wage system. One of these doctors explained the many benefits of this status, including the centre’s ownership of the secretariat and paid leave. Comment on factual images of a consultation and the medical centre, alternating with interviews of Françoise OTTENWAELTER, general practitioner, Jean HEDUIT, director of the Domats health centre, as well as various elderly people waiting in the waiting room.