Skin Cells News and Research

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Bedsores and bald hides: novel roles revealed for a "scaffolding" protein

A protein long thought to provide only mechanical support for keeping cells and tissues from literally falling apart turns out to have much wider utility.

17 May 2006

Doses of DNA-gene-coated gold particles protect against harmful protein implicated in Alzheimer's disease

Doses of DNA-gene-coated gold particles protect mice against a protein implicated in Alzheimer's disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

16 Apr 2006

Simple screening process opens door to treating rare metabolic diseases such as Tay-Sachs, Fabry and Gaucher syndromes

Rare metabolic diseases such as Tay-Sachs, Fabry and Gaucher syndromes are caused by enzyme deficiencies and typically have crippling, even fatal, consequences starting at very early ages.

13 Apr 2006

Fish enzymes and gelatine may be the new treatment for psoriasis and eczema

A new skin cream has shown promising results in the treatment of psoriasis and eczema. The cream contains fish enzymes and gelatine and is under development by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim and the University of Bergen, Norway.

23 Mar 2006

Immune system protein LL-37 critical in controlling replication of vaccinia virus

Scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have identified a defect in the immune response of people with the skin condition atopic dermatitis that puts them at risk of developing serious complications following smallpox vaccination.

23 Mar 2006

Potential therapeutic targets against serious side effects of smallpox vaccine

Smallpox is considered a potential terrorist weapon, but millions of people in the United States are currently advised not to get a vaccine to the disease because they are susceptible to developing a severe adverse reaction.

23 Mar 2006

Discovery of common genetic variation in an immune system gene that makes people much more likely to develop psoriasis

University of Michigan scientists have found a common genetic variation in an immune system gene that makes people much more likely to develop psoriasis - a disfiguring inflammatory skin disease.

19 Mar 2006

Study looks at how two forms of vitamin E affect the health of animal cells

One of the most powerful antioxidants is truly a double-edged sword, say researchers at Ohio State University who studied how two forms of vitamin E act once they are inside animal cells.

7 Mar 2006

Topical therapies show promise for Psoriasis

Psoriasis, a chronic skin condition characterized by thick, red, scaly patches that itch and bleed, not only makes the activities of daily life difficult, but also can affect a person's emotional well being.

6 Mar 2006

Scientists reprogramme malignant melanoma cells to become normal pigment cells

Scientists at Northwestern University and the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have reprogrammed malignant melanoma cells to become normal melanocytes, or pigment cells, a development that may hold promise in treating of one of the deadliest forms of cancer.

1 Mar 2006

First-of-its-kind study in heart attack patients seeks to prevent heart failure with stem cells

University of Rochester Medical Center researchers have announced the launch of a study that will examine whether transplanted stem cells can be safely used to treat damaged heart muscle in patients just after their first heart attack.

23 Jan 2006

Protein finding could lead to new topical treatment for inflammatory diseases

A protein that undesirably shields a skin poxvirus from the immune system may become the key ingredient in a new topical treatment for inflammatory diseases, say medical researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

11 Jan 2006

Caspase 8 gene halts spread of aggressive childhood cancer

A team of cancer researchers has shown that a gene commonly lost during neuroblastoma tumor formation, one of the most aggressive cancers in babies and children, is in fact a "metastasis suppressor" gene.

6 Jan 2006

Functional amyloid formation within mammalian tissue

What do neurodegenerative diseases and suntans have in common? Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute have found an intriguing molecular connection.

7 Dec 2005

Researchers move in on novel therapeutics to inhibit melanoma

Northwestern University researchers have developed a novel, three-dimensional model that allows scientists to observe how interacting with the microenvironment of metastatic melanoma cells induces normal skin cells to become similar to aggressive cancer cells that migrate and spread throughout the body.

5 Dec 2005

Stem cells to repair heart tissue soon after a heart attack

Stem cells derived from human heart tissue develop into multicellular, spherical structures called cardiospheres that express the normal properties of primitive heart tissue, smooth muscle and blood vessel cells, according to a study by Johns Hopkins researchers.

20 Nov 2005

World first trial grows blood vessels from patient's own skin

A team of American scientists have successfully implanted blood vessels grown entirely from a patient's own cells.

16 Nov 2005

Buccal mucosa may help test for lung cancer

In a new study presented at CHEST 2005, the 71st annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), scientists found that buccal mucosa, or cells scraped from the inner part of the cheek, may contain information that separates patients with lung cancer from high-risk negatives

1 Nov 2005

Remicade can improve psoriasis symptoms

An international team led by a dermatologist at The University of Manchester has found that treatment with the emerging drug infliximab, marketed as Remicade, can quickly and significantly improve psoriasis symptoms.

From The University of Manchester 13 Oct 2005

Workshop - stem cells in reproduction and in the brain

"Once we have found the factors by which body cells can be re-programmed into stem cells, then therapeutic cloning might become superfluous," said Hans R. Scholer, director of the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Munster, Germany, at an international scientific symposium on stem cell research in Kobe, Japan.

10 Sep 2005