Skin Pigmentation News and Research

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The color of the human skin is due to a brown pigment called melanin. Pigmentation or coloration of the skin is dependent on the amount of melanin present in the skin. People with pale skin produce very little melanin and people with darker skin produce higher amounts of melanin. Pregnancy and sun exposure can also make skin darker, while infections, burns, and blisters can make skin lighter.

Important skin color gene identified

With help from a common aquarium pet and a recently released online database of human genetic variation, a collaborative team of Penn State researchers has found what could be the most important skin color gene identified to date.

15 Dec 2005

Naturally occurring peptide hormones - candidates for the treatment of cancer, sexual dysfunction, eating disorders

Chemists at the University of Arizona have developed modified versions of naturally occurring peptide hormones that could be key to novel treatments of a variety of diseases, including eating disorders (anorexia, obesity), diabetes, sexual dysfunction and skin cancer.

1 Sep 2005

Don't sunbathe to avoid prostate cancer, take a pill instead

According to a recent study spending long periods in the sun may significantly reduce a man's risk of prostate cancer.

28 Jun 2005

Patients with stable vitiligo may achieve good repigmentation with skin transplants using skin taken from normally-pigmented areas of their own bodies

Patients with stable vitiligo, a skin disorder characterized by patches of lighter colored, or depigmented skin, may achieve good repigmentation of these areas with skin transplants using skin taken from normally-pigmented areas of their own bodies

18 Oct 2004

Laser therapy and tacrolimus ointment best for vitiligo

Patients with vitiligo, a skin disorder characterized by patches of white, or de-pigmented skin, had better repigmentation of these patches when they were treated with a combination of laser therapy and tacrolimus ointment than patients treated with laser therapy alone

21 Sep 2004

Water from the Dead Sea, the climate of Jordan and a special cream can significantly help sufferers of vitiligo

Vitiligo causes the skin to lose its colour in patches and is associated with a build-up of an oxygen-related molecule (hydrogen peroxide) in the skin. Sufferers can't fight the development of this molecule due to a shortage of an enzyme in the skin.

3 Aug 2004

Successfully cloning mice from an advanced melanoma cell

Nature can reset the clock in certain types of cancer and reverse many of the elements responsible for causing malignancy, reports a research team led by Whitehead Institute Member Rudolf Jaenisch, in collaboration with Lynda Chin from Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

3 Aug 2004

Melanotan-1 can induce tanning in human volunteers who are known to tan easily in response to sunlight

An article in the July issue of the Archives of Dermatology reports that Melanotan-1, a synthetic agent similar to the body's hormone that regulates skin pigmentation, can be combined with UV-B light or sunlight, and appears to act synergistically in the tanning response to light.

20 Jul 2004