TORONTO, March 31, 2020 /CNW/ - The Gairdner Foundation is pleased to announce the 2020 Canada Gairdner Award laureates, recognizing some of the world's most significant biomedical research and discoveries. During these challenging times, we believe it is important to celebrate scientists and innovators from around the world and commend them for their tireless efforts to conduct research that impacts human health.

2020 Canada Gairdner International AwardThe five 2020 Canada Gairdner International Award laureates are recognized for seminal discoveries or contributions to biomedical science:

Dr. Masatoshi TakeichiSenior Visiting Scientist, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Japan; Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

Dr. Rolf KemlerEmeritus Member and Director, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, Germany

Awarded "For their discovery, characterization and biology of cadherins and associated proteins in animal cell adhesion and signalling."

Dr. Takeichi

The Work: The animal body is made up of numerous cells. Dr. Takeichi was investigatinghow animal cells stick together to form tissues and organs, and identified a key protein which he named 'cadherin'.Cadherin is present on the surface of a cell and binds to the same cadherin protein on the surface of another cell through like-like interaction, thereby binding the cells together. Without cadherin, cell to cell adhesion becomes weakened and leads to the disorganization of tissues. Dr. Takeichi found that there are multiple kinds of cadherin within the body, each of which are made by different cell types, such as epithelial and neuronal cells. Cells with the same cadherins tend to cluster together, explaining the mechanism of how different cells are sorted out and organized to form functional organs.

Further studies by Dr. Takeichi's group showed that cadherin function is supported by a number of cytoplasmic proteins, includingcatenins, and their cooperation is essential for shaping of tissues. His studies also revealed that the cadherin-dependent adhesion mechanism is involved in synaptic connections between neurons, which are important for brain wiring.

Dr. Kemler

The Work: Dr. Kemler, using an immunological approach, developed antibodies directed against surface antigens of early mouse embryos. These antibodies were shown to prevent compaction of the mouse embryo and interfered with subsequent development. Both Dr. Kemler and Dr. Takeichi went on to clone and sequence the gene encoding E-cadherin and demonstrate that it was governing homophilic cell adhesion.

Dr. Kemler also discovered the other proteins that interact with the cadherins, especially the catenins, to generate the machinery involved in animal cell-to-cell adhesion. This provided the first evidence of their importance in normal development and diseases such as cancer. It has been discovered that cadherins and catenins are correlated to the formation and growth of some cancers and how tumors continue to grow. Beta catenin is linked to cell adhesion through interaction with cadherins but is also a key component of the Wnt signalling pathway that is involved in normal development and cancer. There are approximately 100 types of cadherins, known as the cadherin superfamily.

Dr. Takeichi

The Impact: The discovery of cadherins, which are found in all multicellular animalspecies, has allowed us to interpret how multicellular systems are generated and regulated. Loss of cadherin function has been implicated as the cause of certain cancers, as well as in invasiveness of many cancers. Mutations in special types of cadherin result in neurological disorders, such as epilepsy and hearing loss. The knowledge of cadherin function is expected to contribute to the development of effective treatments against such diseases.

Dr. Kemler

The Impact: Human tumors are often of epithelial origin. Given the role of E-cadherin for the integrity of an epithelial cell layer, the protein can be considered as a suppressor of tumor growth. The research on the cadherin superfamily has had great impact on fields as diverse as developmental biology, cell biology, oncology, immunology and neuroscience. Mutations in cadherins/catenins are frequently found in tumors. Various screens are being used to identify small molecules that might restore cell adhesion as a potential cancer therapy.

Dr. Roel NusseProfessor & Chair, Department of Developmental Biology; Member, Institute for StemCell Biology andRegenerativeMedicine, Stanford University, School of Medicine.Virginia and Daniel K. Ludwig Professor of Cancer Research. Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Awarded"For pioneering work on the Wnt signaling pathway and its importance in development, cancer and stem cells"

The Work: Dr. Nusse's research has elucidated the mechanism and role of Wnt signaling, one of the most important signaling systems in development. There is now abundant evidence that Wnt signaling is active in cancer and in control of proliferation versus differentiation of adult stem cells, making the Wnt pathway one of the paradigms for the fundamental connections between normal development and cancer.

Among Dr. Nusse's contributions is the original discovery of the first Wnt gene (together with Harold Varmus) as an oncogene in mouse breast cancer. Afterwards Dr. Nusse identified the Drosophila Wnt homolog as a key developmental gene, Wingless. This led to the general realization of the remarkable links between normal development and cancer, now one of the main themes in cancer research. Using Drosophila genetics, he established the function of beta-catenin as a mediator of Wnt signaling and the Frizzleds as Wnt receptors (with Jeremy Nathans), thereby establishing core elements of what is now called the Wnt pathway. A major later accomplishment of his group was the first successful purification of active Wnt proteins, showing that they are lipid-modified and act as stem cell growth factors.

The Impact: Wnt signaling is implicated in the growth of human embryos and the maintenance of tissues. Consequently, elucidating the Wnt pathway is leading to deeper insights into degenerative diseases and the development of new therapeutics. The widespread role of Wnt signaling in cancer is significant for the treatment of the disease as well. Isolating active Wnt proteins has led to the use of Wnts by researchers world-wide as stem cell growth factors and the expansion of stem cells into organ-like structures (organoids).

Dr. Mina J. Bissell Distinguished Senior Scientist, Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Faculty; Graduate Groups in Comparative Biochemistry, Endocrinology, Molecular Toxicology and Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

Awarded "For characterizing "Dynamic Reciprocity" and the significant role that extracellular matrix (ECM) signaling and microenvironment play in gene regulation in normal and malignant cells, revolutionizing the fields of oncology and tissue homeostasis."

The Work: Dr. Mina Bissell's career has been driven by challenging established paradigms in cellular and developmental biology. Through her research, Dr. Bissell showed that tissue architecture plays a dominant role in determining cell and tissue phenotype and proposed the model of 'dynamic reciprocity' (DR) between the extracellular matrix (ECM) and chromatin within the cell nucleus. Dynamic reciprocity refers to the ongoing, bidirectional interaction between cells and their microenvironment. She demonstrated that the ECM could regulate gene expression just as gene expression could regulate ECM, and that these two phenomena could occur concurrently in normal or diseased tissue.

She also developed 3D culture systems to study the interaction of the microenvironment and tissue organization and growth, using the mammary gland as a model.

The Impact:Dr. Bissell's model of dynamic reciprocity has been proven and thoroughly established since its proposal three decades ago and the implications have permeated every area of cell and cancer biology, with significant implications for current and future therapies. Dr. Bissell's work has generated a fundamental and translationally crucial paradigm shift in our understanding of both normal and malignant tissues.

Her findings have had profound implications for cancer therapy by demonstrating that tumor cells can be influenced by their environment and are not just the product of their genetic mutations. For example, cells from the mammary glands grown in two-dimensional tissue cultures rapidly lose their identity, but once placed in proper three-dimensional microenvironments, they regain mammary form and function. This work presages the current excitement about generation of 3D tissue organoids and demonstrates Dr. Bissell's creative and innovative approach to science.

Dr. Elaine FuchsHoward Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor and Head of the Robin Chemers Neustein Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Cell Biology; The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA

Awarded"For her studies elucidating the role of tissue stem cells in homeostasis, wound repair, inflammation and cancer."

The Work: Dr. Fuchs has used skin to study how the tissues of our body are able to replace dying cells and repair wounds. The skin must replenish itself constantly to protect against dehydration and harmful microbes. In her research, Fuchs showed that this is accomplished by a resident population of adult stem cells that continually generates a shell of indestructible cells that cover our body surface.

In her early research, Fuchs identified the proteins---keratinsthat produce the iron framework of the skin's building blocks, and showed that mutations in keratins are responsible for a group of blistering diseases in humans. In her later work, Fuchs identified the signals that prompt skin stem cells to make tissue and when to stop. In studying these processes, Fuchs learned that cancers hijack the fundamental mechanisms that tissue stem cells use to repair wounds. Her team pursued this parallel and isolated and characterized the malignant stem cells that are responsible for propagating a type of cancer called "squamous cell carcinoma." In her most recent work, she showed that these cells can be resistant to chemotherapies and immunotherapies and lead to tumor relapse.

The Impact: All tissues of our body must be able to replace dying cells and repair local wounds. Skin is particularly adept at performing these tasks. The identification and characterization of the resident skin stem cells that make and replenish the epidermis, sweat glands and hair provide important insights into this fountain of youth process and hold promise for regenerative medicine and aging. In normal tissues, the self-renewing ability of stem cells to proliferate is held in check by local inhibitory signals coming from the stem cells' neighbours. In injury, stimulatory signals mobilize the stem cells to proliferate and repair the wound. In aging, these normal balancing cues are tipped in favour of quiescence. In inflammatory disorders, stem cells become hyperactivated. In cancers, the wound mechanisms to mobilize stem cells are hijacked, leading to uncontrolled tissue growth. Understanding the basic mechanisms controlling stem cells in their native tissue is providing new strategies for searching out refractory tumor cells in cancer and for restoring normalcy in inflammatory conditions.

2020 John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health AwardThe 2020 John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award laureate is recognized for outstanding achievements in global health research:

Professor Salim S. Abdool KarimDirector of CAPRISA (Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa), the CAPRISA Professor in Global Health at Columbia University, New York and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

Professor Quarraisha Abdool KarimAssociate Scientific Director of CAPRISA, Professor in Clinical Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York and Professor in Public Health at the Nelson Mandela Medical School and Pro Vice-Chancellor (African Health) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

Awarded"For their discovery that antiretrovirals prevent sexual transmission of HIV, which laid the foundations for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the HIV prevention strategy that is contributing to the reduction of HIV infection in Africa and around the world."

The Work: UNAIDS estimates that 37 million people were living with HIV and 1.8 million people acquired HIV in 2017. In Africa, which has over two thirds of all people with HIV, adolescent girls and young women have the highest rates of new HIV infections. ABC (Abstinence, Be faithful, and use Condoms) prevention messages have had little impact - due to gender power imbalances, young women are often unable to successfully negotiate condom use, insist on mutual monogamy, or convince their male partners to have an HIV test.

In responding to this crisis, Salim and Quarraisha Abdool Karim started investigating new HIV prevention technologies for women about 30 years ago. After two unsuccessful decades, their perseverance paid off when they provided proof-of-concept that antiretrovirals prevent sexually acquired HIV infection in women. Their ground-breaking CAPRISA 004 trial showed that tenofovir gel prevents both HIV infection and genital herpes. The finding was ranked inthe "Top 10 Scientific Breakthroughs of 2010" by the journal, Science. The finding was heralded by UNAIDS and the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the most significant scientific breakthroughs in AIDS and provided the first evidence for what is today known as HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

The Abdool Karims have also elucidated the evolving nature of the HIV epidemic in Africa, characterising the key social, behavioural and biological risk factors responsible for the disproportionately high HIV burden in young women. Their identification of the "Cycle of HIV Transmission", where teenage girls acquire HIV from men about 10 years older on average, has shaped UNAIDS policies on HIV prevention in Africa.

The impact: CAPRISA 004 and several clinical trials of oral tenofovir led tothe WHO recommending a daily tenofovir-containing pill for PrEP as a standard HIV prevention tool for all those at high risk a few years later. Several African countries are among the 68 countries across all continents that are currently making PrEP available for HIV prevention. The research undertaken in Africa by this South African couple has played a key role in shaping the local and global response to the HIV epidemic.

2020 Canada Gairdner Wightman AwardThe 2020 Canada Gairdner Wightman Award laureate is a Canadian scientist recognized for outstanding leadership in medicine and medical science throughout their career:

Dr. Guy Rouleau Director of the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital (The Neuro); Professor & Chair of the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University; Director of the Department of Neuroscience, McGill University Health Center

Awarded "For identifying and elucidating the genetic architecture of neurological and psychiatric diseases, including ALS, autism and schizophrenia, and his leadership in the field of Open Science."

The Work: Dr. Rouleau has identified over 20 genetic risk factors predisposing to a range of brain disorders, both neurological and psychiatric, involving either neurodevelopmental processes or degenerative events. He has defined a novel disease mechanism for diseases related to repeat expansions that are at play in some of the most severe neurodegenerative conditions. He has significantly contributed to the understanding of the role of de novo variants in autism and schizophrenia. In addition, he has made important advances for various neuropathies, in particular for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) where he was involved in the identification of the most prevalent genetic risk factors -which in turn are now the core of innumerable ALS studies worldwide.

Dr. Rouleau has also played a pioneering role in the practice of Open Science (OS), transforming the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital (The Neuro) into the first OS institution in the world. The Neuro now uses OS principles to transform research and careand accelerate the development of new treatments for patients through Open Access, Open Data, Open Biobanking, Open Early Drug Discovery and non-restrictive intellectual property.

The Impact: The identification of genetic risk factors has a number of significant consequences. First, allowing for more accurate genetic counselling, which reduces the burden of disease to affected individuals, parents and society. A revealing case is Andermann syndrome, a severe neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative condition that was once relatively common in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region of Quebec. Now this disease has almost disappeared from that population. Second, identifying the causative gene allows the development of treatments. For instance, his earlier work on a form of ALS linked to the superoxide dismutase-1 gene (SOD1) opened up studies which are now the focal point of phase 2 clinical studies showing great promise.

Byactingasalivinglabforthelast coupleofyears,TheNeuroisspearheading the practice of OpenScience (OS).TheNeurois alsoengagingstakeholdersacross Canadawiththegoal of formalizinganational OSallianceforthe neurosciences.Dr.Rouleau'sworkinOScontributesfundamentallytothetransformationoftheveryecosystemofsciencebystimulatingnewthinkingandfosteringcommunitiesofsharing.InspiredbyTheNeuro'svision,theglobalsciencecommunityisreflecting oncurrentresearchconventionsandcollaborativeprojects,andthemomentumforOSisgainingafootholdinorganizationsandinstitutionsinallcornersoftheearth.

About the Gairdner Foundation:

The Gairdner Foundation was established in 1957 by Toronto stockbroker, James Gairdner to award annual prizes to scientists whose discoveries have had major impact on scientific progress and on human health. Since 1959 when the first awards were granted, 387scientists have received a Canada Gairdner Award and 92 to date have gone on to receive the Nobel Prize.The Canada Gairdner Awards promote a stronger culture of research and innovation across the country through our Outreach Programs including lectures and research symposia. The programs bring current and past laureates to a minimum of 15 universities across Canada to speak with faculty, trainees and high school students to inspire the next generation of researchers. Annual research symposia and public lectures are organized across Canada to provide Canadians access to leading science through Gairdner's convening power.

http://www.gairdner.org

SOURCE Gairdner Foundation

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2020 Canada Gairdner Awards Recognize World-renowned Scientists for Transformative Contributions to Research That Impact Human Health - Benzinga

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on 2020 Canada Gairdner Awards Recognize World-renowned Scientists for Transformative Contributions to Research That Impact Human Health – Benzinga | April 1st, 2020

Researchers at Stanford University report that they can rejuvenate human cells by reprogramming them back to a youthful state. They hope that the technique will help in the treatment of diseases, such as osteoarthritis and muscle wasting, that are caused by the aging of tissue cells.

A major cause of aging is thought to be the errors that accumulate in the epigenome, the system of proteins that packages the DNA and controls access to its genes. The Stanford team, led by Tapash Jay Sarkar, Dr. Thomas A. Rando and Vittorio Sebastiano, say their method, designed to reverse these errors and walk back the cells to their youthful state, does indeed restore the cells vigor and eliminate signs of aging.

In their report, published on Tuesday in Nature Communications, they described their technique as a significant step toward the goal of reversing cellular aging and could produce therapies for aging and aging-related diseases.

Leonard P. Guarente, an expert on aging at M.I.T., said the method was one of the most promising areas of aging research but that it would take a long time to develop drugs based on RNA, the required chemical.

The Stanford approach utilizes powerful agents known as Yamanaka factors, which reprogram a cells epigenome to its time zero, or embryonic state.

Embryonic cells, derived from the fertilized egg, can develop into any of the specialized cell types of the body. Their fate, whether to become a skin or eye or liver cell, is determined by chemical groups, or marks, that are tagged on to their epigenome.

In each type of cell, these marks make accessible only the genes that the cell type needs, while locking down all other genes in the DNAs. The pattern of marks thus establishes each cells identity.

As the cell ages, it accumulates errors in the marking system, which degrade the cells efficiency at switching on and off the genes needed for its operations.

In 2006 Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, a stem-cell researcher at Kyoto University, amazed biologists by showing that a cells fate could be reversed with a set of four transcription factors agents that activate genes that he had identified. A cell dosed with the Yamanaka factors erases the marks on the epigenome, so the cell loses its identity and reverts to the embryonic state. Erroneous marks gathered during aging are also lost in the process, restoring the cell to its state of youth. Dr. Yamanaka shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in medicine for the work.

But the Yamanaka factors are no simple panacea. Applied to whole mice, the factors made cells lose their functions and primed them for rapid growth, usually cancerous; the mice all died.

In 2016, Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, found that the two effects of the Yamanaka factors erasing cell identity and reversing aging could be separated, with a lower dose securing just age reversal. But he achieved this by genetically engineering mice, a technique not usable in people.

In their paper on Tuesday, the Stanford team described a feasible way to deliver Yamanaka factors to cells taken from patients, by dosing cells kept in cultures with small amounts of the factors.

If dosed for a short enough time, the team reported, the cells retained their identity but returned to a youthful state, as judged by several measures of cell vigor.

Dr. Sebastiano said the Yamanaka factors appeared to operate in two stages, as if they were raising the epigenomes energy to one level, at which the marks of aging were lost, and then to a higher level at which cell identity was erased.

The Stanford team extracted aged cartilage cells from patients with osteoarthritis and found that after a low dosage of Yamanaka factors the cells no longer secreted the inflammatory factors that provoke the disease. The team also found that human muscle stem cells, which are impaired in a muscle-wasting disease, could be restored to youth. Members of the Stanford team have formed a company, Turn Biotechnologies, to develop therapies for osteoarthritis and other diseases.

The study is definitively a step forward in the goal of reversing cellular aging, Dr. Izpisua Belmonte said.

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Turning Back the Clock on Aging Cells - The New York Times

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Turning Back the Clock on Aging Cells – The New York Times | March 31st, 2020

Guy Rouleau, shown at middle in 2010, is director of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital and one of the recipients of this year's Gairdner Awards. The others are Mina Bissell, top left; Salim and Quarraisha Abdool Karim, middle left; Elaine Fuchs, bottom left; Rolf Kemier, top right; Masatoshi Takeichi, middle right; and Roeland Nusse, bottom right.

John Morstad/The Globe and Mail, handouts

A diverse group of eight scientists whose work has offered insight into how cells interact with each other and their environment, the genetic underpinnings of neurological disease and the transmission of the virus that causes AIDS, have been named this years winners of the Gairdner Awards the countrys most prestigious biomedical research prizes.

Coming in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, this years set of awards highlights the importance of basic science to understanding the fundamental processes of life and how those processes relate to human health around the world.

When you build up a scientific environment and a scientific community, you have people who are prepared to do whatever it takes [to address a global health crisis], said Janet Rossant, president and scientific director of the Toronto-based Gairdner Foundation, which announced the award winners on Tuesday. You never know whats going to give you insight into disease, Dr. Rossant said.

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Guy Rouleau works in a Montreal lab in 2017.

Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press

Among the winners is Guy Rouleau, director of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, who is this years recipient of the Gairdner Wightman Award, which recognizes scientific leadership in Canada.

In addition to his work linking various rare genes that occur in the French Canadian population to disorders such as ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), Dr. Rouleau is known for his efforts to make scientific research more accessible.

Starting in 2016, he placed his institute at the forefront of the open science movement by allowing the free flow of data, tools and research results without restrictions related to who will profit from the knowledge.

Reached at his home in Montreal, Dr. Rouleau said the initiative was spurred by a lack of new development in neurological disease, where few treatment options are available for those dealing with brain disorders including Alzheimers disease. We thought that by sharing openly and by breaking down barriers, this would accelerate things, Dr. Rouleau said.

A human T-cell, in blue, comes under attack by HIV, in yellow, the virus that causes AIDS.

Seth Pincus, Elizabeth Fischer, Austin Athman/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/NIH via AP

The husband and wife team of Quarraisha and Salim Abdool Karim at the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa were named the joint winners of the John Dirks Gairdner Globe Health award for their work tackling HIV in Africa.

In 1990, the pair described the transmission of the virus that causes AIDS through the African population, which frequently involves the infection of teenage girls by older men. Their work laid the foundations for successful HIV prevention programs focused on women and womens health.

Previous winners of the global health award include Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., who has lately become a prominent figure for helping to steer the U.S. response to COVID-19 and for repeatedly clarifying or correcting misleading statements by U.S. President Donald Trump.

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Past Gairdner recipient Dr. Anthony Fauci walks past U.S. President Donald Trump at a March 29 news conference at the White House.

Al Drago/Reuters

The five researchers named as recipients of this years Canada Gairdner International Award a prize that often portends a future Nobel win have all done groundbreaking work related to some aspect of the field known as cell signalling.

They include:

In previous years, Gairdner award winners have travelled across Canada giving lectures and meeting with students ahead of a fall symposium and award ceremony in Toronto.

Dr. Rossant said the Foundation is still assessing how this years activities will proceed in light of COVID-19.

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In a coronavirus crisis, Gairdner Awards honour eight explorers of how cells, genes and viruses work - The Globe and Mail

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on In a coronavirus crisis, Gairdner Awards honour eight explorers of how cells, genes and viruses work – The Globe and Mail | March 31st, 2020

Pablo Saldivia Salgado / EyeEm/Getty Images

They say its the little things that matter, and when it comes to skincare, we have to agree. Few things feel better than the sensation of a freshly scrubbed face. Trouble is, few of us know how to actually get that feeling consistently. Sure, you may know that the key to a clear, healthy complexion is exfoliation (i.e., shedding the uppermost layer of dead skin cells). But what you use to exfoliate makes a big difference in whether you come away with a radiant glow or a mask of raw, irritated epidermis.

There are a few types of products that will do the job, but exfoliating face scrubs are often the most preferred. Known as physical exfoliants (as opposed to chemical exfoliants), these facial scrubs use tiny abrasive grains that act like sandpaper on your face, using friction to buff dead skin cells away. Physical exfoliants can be made from natural ingredients like apricot kernels, sugar, even coffee, or they can be synthetic beads that dissolve as you use them. Some guys love this type of exfoliant because you can really feel it working. However, it can be pretty harsh on some sensitive skin, leaving your face red and irritated, which leads to dry skin, increased oil production, or even scarring (and not in a sexy Jason Momoa kind of way).

That doesnt mean you shouldnt use an exfoliating scrub. It just means you have to do your homework or, if youd rather, have us do it for you. Weve put together a list of our favorite exfoliating face scrubs that contain quality ingredients for buffing away dead skin, and soothing the new skin underneath so that it stays happy, hydrated, and balanced. Gently (and we mean gently) massage these facial exfoliator scrubs into your forehead, chin, and cheeks, splash with cold water, pat dry, and finish with a kiss of moisturizer, and youll feel your face glowing all day long.

Finely ground apricot seed sloughs away yesterdays skin, with a little extra help from papaya extract enzymes, while chamomile, aloe, and sea kelp nourish and hydrate whats underneath.

For nights when youre ready to do some deep cleaning, pick this ultra-pure exfoliating mask. Activated charcoal and bentonite clay absorb impurities from your skin while the mask remains on your face. Scrubbing it off leaves your face not only clear, but also unbelievably soft, thanks to the addition of willow bark, rosemary extract, and sulfur mud.

Ground walnut shells and bamboo stem polish your skin, while jojoba esters and tropical fruit extracts break down pore-clogging oils, and special hydrating sugar technology blend rebuilds your skins moisture barrier before you rinse clean.

This super-concentrated, double-action exfoliating face scrub doesnt play around. Tiny jojoba beads offer a physical exfoliation that is boosted with the chemical exfoliating power of glycolic and salicylic acid. Five minutes with this scrub, and youll look and feel like a new man.

Sometimes, the simplest solutions are the best. This easy-to-find face scrub boasts natural ingredients such as aloe, hemp, and other nutrient-rich botanicals that ensure your newly scrubbed skin doesnt get dry or irritated.

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Give Your Face a Spring Refresh With These Exfoliating Face Scrubs - The Manual

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Give Your Face a Spring Refresh With These Exfoliating Face Scrubs – The Manual | March 31st, 2020

A team of University of California, Irvine researchers have published the first comprehensive overview of the major changes that occur in mammalian skin cells as they prepare to heal wounds. Results from the study provide a blueprint for future investigation into pathological conditions associated with poor wound healing, such as in diabetic patients.

"This study is the first comprehensive dissection of the major changes in cellular heterogeneity from a normal state to wound healing in skin," said Xing Dai, PhD, a professor of biological chemistry and dermatology in the UCI School of Medicine, and senior author. "This work also showcases the collaborative efforts between biologists, mathematician and physicists at UCI, with support from the National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases-funded UCI Skin Biology Resource-based Center and the NSF-Simons Center for Multiscale Cell Fate Research.

The study, titled, "Defining epidermal basal cell states during skin homeostasis and wound healing using single-cell transcriptomics," was published this week inCell Reports.

"Our research uncovered at least four distinct transcriptional states in the epidermal basal layer as part of a 'hierarchical-lineage' model of the epidermal homeostasis, or stable state of the skin, clarifying a long-term debate in the skin stem cell field," said Dai.

Using single-cell RNA sequencing coupled with RNAScope and fluorescence lifetime imaging, the team identified three non-proliferative and one proliferative basal cell state in homeostatic skin that differ in metabolic preference and become spatially partitioned during wound re-epithelialization, which is the process by which the skin and mucous membranes replace superficial epithelial cells damaged or lost in a wound.

Epithelial tissue maintenance is driven by resident stem cells, the proliferation and differentiation dynamics of which need to be tailored to the tissue's homeostatic and regenerative needs. However, our understanding of tissue-specific cellular dynamics in vivo at single-cell and tissue scales is often very limited.

"Our study lays a foundation for future investigation into the adult epidermis, specifically how the skin is maintained and how it can robustly regenerate itself upon injury," said Dai.

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Study reveals how skin cells prepare to heal wounds - Jill Lopez

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Study reveals how skin cells prepare to heal wounds – Jill Lopez | March 30th, 2020

It is a universally acknowledged fact that the majority of women refuse to age, the moment they reach the age of 40. The desire to turn back the clock is something that gets automatically etched on their minds, after hitting middle age. Making a wise choice from the wide range of anti-ageing solutions available for women can be a highly baffling affair, but understanding the skins needs is equally crucial.

So what exactly is ageing, that every person, especially women dread? It can be regarded as a complex process resulting in accrual changes in a persons body over. a period of time. Ageing occurs in fractions, because the stem cells which have the ability to renew themselves grow old as DNA gets damaged and changes occur in the overall physiology. As time passes by and people age, the majority of the cells present in their bodies get replaced and the ability of the body to produce more new cells gradually declines, Thus, anti-ageing retards the degeneration process of the body.

Post an anti-ageing fat stem cell treatment the skin shows prominent signs of turning softer while the body notices a remarkable surge of energy, resulting in improved sleeping and breathing patterns, controlled sugar levels, rebalanced hormones, increased metabolism, average weight loss and fading age spots. This all seems possible owing to the insertion of 30-50 million supercharged active stem cells.

Ageing is indeed complex, as its causes have not yet been completely understood. A big part of ageing occurs when the body is being attacked by inflammation and oxidative stress. Even though it is said that ageing is a natural process which is unavoidable, there is still scope to maintain health and stay young for both preventing age-related diseases and to enjoy the benefits of youth.

The desire to be younger is not exactly a new idea. The concept of anti-ageing has kept humankind occupied since ages, with the idea about staying healthy and fit with age and improving the quality of life. So with the rising evidence about the association of ageing diseases with adult stem cell exhaustion, it will not be surprising to witness an elevation of interest towards restoring the adult stem cell function to improve these conditions and to turn back the clock!

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Reversing The Ageing Process With Stem Cell Therapy - Version Weekly

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Reversing The Ageing Process With Stem Cell Therapy – Version Weekly | March 30th, 2020

Gerlinde R. Van de Walle, DVM, Ph.D., co-lead for the study.

DURHAM, N.C. (PRWEB) March 26, 2020

Researchers have potentially made a breakthrough in the war on antibiotic-resistant superbugs including MRSA, which kills an estimated 20,000 people in the United States alone each year with a new discovery whose details are published today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine. The study, by researchers at The Baker Institute for Animal Health, at Cornells College of Veterinary Medicine, demonstrates for the first time that mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are an effective weapon against bacteria in biofilm.

Biofilms are thin, slimy films made up of bacteria that can attach to skin wounds, teeth and other surfaces, creating the opportunity for infections to flourish. These highly structured cellular communities offer bacteria shelter from harmful factors, helping them resist antibiotics, mutate rapidly and evade the immune system.

MSCs help kill the bacteria through the secretion of enzymes, called proteases, that break the peptide bonds of proteins and cause biofilm to destabilize. This in turn increases the effectiveness of antibiotics that previously werent working, as the bacteria are no longer being protected by the biofilm, explained Gerlinde R. Van de Walle, DVM, Ph.D., who led the study along with Charlotte Marx, DVM, Ph.D.

Other recent studies, including one by the Cornell team, have shown that MSCs can inhibit the growth of bacteria associated with chronic infections by secreting antimicrobial peptides. But these studies were conducted primarily on planktonic bacteria, which are individually floating bacteria cells. Thus, information on the effects on biofilms was largely lacking, Dr. Marx said.

The current study explores how MSC secretome, delivered as conditioned medium, performs against various wound-related bacterial pathogens. It also looks at the mechanisms that affect bacterial biofilms. The experiments were performed in vitro, using equine MSC. We use equine MSC in our work since the horse represents a physiologically relevant model for human wound healing and offers a readily translatable model for MSC therapies in humans, Dr. Van de Walle explained.

The researchers began by showing that equine MSC secretome inhibits the growth of four types of planktonic bacteria that commonly colonize skin wounds. Encouraged by the results, they next sought to determine the effect of the MSC secretome on these same bacterial strains in biofilms, which is the predominant way bacteria invade wounds. They looked at how the MSCs affected biofilm formation, then repeated the experiments on biofilms that were already established. Finally, they turned their attention to the bacteria strain responsible for MRSA.

Dr. Marx reported the results. Our salient findings, she said, were that factors secreted by equine MSC impaired both planktonic and biofilms including MRSA as well as disrupted mature biofilms generated by these bacteria. Importantly, we found that these effects resulted from a protease-dependent mechanism.

Dr. Van de Walle added, We also found that MSC-secreted factors allowed previously ineffective antibiotic treatments to become more effective at reducing bacterial survival. In light of the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains as an increasing global health threat, our findings provide the rationale for using the MSC secretome as a complementary treatment for bacterial infections.

Outcomes from this study highlight for the first time that the secretome from mesenchymal stem cells significantly reduces the formation of bacterial infections, including the antibiotic resistant MRSA, said Anthony Atala, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine and director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Antibiotic resistance has long been a concern and this research highlights some promising new tactics.

###

The full article, The mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) secretome impairs methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) biofilms via cysteine protease activity in the equine model, can be accessed at https://stemcellsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/sctm.19-0333.

About STEM CELLS Translational Medicine: STEM CELLS Translational Medicine (SCTM), co-published by AlphaMed Press and Wiley, is a monthly peer-reviewed publication dedicated to significantly advancing the clinical utilization of stem cell molecular and cellular biology. By bridging stem cell research and clinical trials, SCTM will help move applications of these critical investigations closer to accepted best practices. SCTM is the official journal partner of Regenerative Medicine Foundation.

About AlphaMed Press: Established in 1983, AlphaMed Press with offices in Durham, NC, San Francisco, CA, and Belfast, Northern Ireland, publishes two other internationally renowned peer-reviewed journals: STEM CELLS (http://www.StemCells.com), celebrating its 38th year, is the world's first journal devoted to this fast paced field of research. The Oncologist (http://www.TheOncologist.com), also a monthly peer-reviewed publication, entering its 25th year, is devoted to community and hospital-based oncologists and physicians entrusted with cancer patient care. All three journals are premier periodicals with globally recognized editorial boards dedicated to advancing knowledge and education in their focused disciplines.

About Wiley: Wiley, a global company, helps people and organizations develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed. Our online scientific, technical, medical and scholarly journals, combined with our digital learning, assessment and certification solutions, help universities, learned societies, businesses, governments and individuals increase the academic and professional impact of their work. For more than 200 years, we have delivered consistent performance to our stakeholders. The company's website can be accessed at http://www.wiley.com.

About Regenerative Medicine Foundation (RMF): The non-profit Regenerative Medicine Foundation fosters strategic collaborations to accelerate the development of regenerative medicine to improve health and deliver cures. RMF pursues its mission by producing its flagship World Stem Cell Summit, honouring leaders through the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Action Awards, and promoting educational initiatives.

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Study offers potential breakthrough in the war on antibiotic-resistant superbugs - PR Web

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Study offers potential breakthrough in the war on antibiotic-resistant superbugs – PR Web | March 30th, 2020

The electronic newsletter I Love My Freedom on a regular basis blasts out e-mails hawking ostentatious rip-offs as well as serpent oil, such as a dementia-reversing miracle therapy, a diabetes destroyer material as well as a life-saving cancer cells treatment that a Nazi drug store allegedly established at Hitlers command. Peppered in between these messages funded by third-party hucksters are main advertisements from Donald Trumps governmental reelection campaign.

For months, participants of the head of states internal circle consisting of Donald Trump Jr., Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), previous House Speaker Newt Gingrich as well as also Trump himself have actually been releasing require contributions with the newsletter, which usually heads out 5 or even more times each day. Many receivers were most likely unintentionally subscribed; I Love My Freedom, the team that runs the eponymous newsletter, has actually obtained an expanding checklist of Americans call info with a concealed e-mail collecting system including an internet of pro-Trump Facebook web pages.

Right- wing political leaders, companies as well as media electrical outlets have a background of dealing with unethical entities behind the scenes to earn money as well as press their programs. The Trump campaigns service with I Love My Freedom is no exemption.

I Love My Freedom (e-mail information multiplied by HuffPost).

By layout, its e-mails seem theyre sent out straight from Trump as well as his allies, though theyre in fact dispersed by means of [emailprotected] At all-time low, they birth please notes noting they were spent for by either the National Republican Senatorial Committee, its House equivalent, the McConnell Senate Committee, or the Trump Make America Great Again Committee (which is collectively run by the Republican National Committee as well as Trumps reelection campaign).

Renting out accessibility to collected e-mail listings is a typical as well as very profitable method worked out by traditional as well as liberal teams alike, commonly for political fundraising objectives. But points obtain morally dirty when e-mail representatives do not veterinarian their enrollers which can lead to e-mail receivers being flooded with ripoffs as well as scams, like the counterfeit cancer cells treatment. In this instance, nonetheless, the genuine inquiry is whether Trumps group troubled to veterinarian I Love My Freedom.

The campaign did not react to HuffPosts ask for remark.

I Love My Freedom, which makes up the newsletter as well as a conservative blog site called Trending Politics, belongs to Making Web LLC, a rare advertising company thats signed up in Minnesota to a 51- year-old male called Allan G. Ferretti.

Through the newsletter alone, I Love My Freedom has actually enhanced a list of aggressive rip-offs consisting of some that misleadingly link Trump, in spite of its negotiations with his campaign. Hours prior to dispersing a fundraising e-mail from the McConnell Senate Committee this month, I Love My Freedom discharged off a funded message advertising a breakthrough stem cell therapy which it baselessly suggested Trump is getting.

This has got Liberals jumping out of their seats, the e-mail checks out. President Trump is in perfect health how is it that hes so seemingly immune to old age? Well in recent years, billionaires like President Trump have increasingly turned to the power of Stem Cells.

Titled Trump Health Bombshell, the e-mail web links to a rambling item pitch that promotes $67 containers of stem cell tablets as the Holy Grail of aging backwards. These tablets make cells inside your body become physically younger, it asserts, without supplying a shred of clinical proof. I Love My Freedom has likewise spammed its customers with enrollers get-rich-quick plans consisting of a secret IRS loophole, as well as has actually routed them to video clips recommending elders ought to exchange their recommended medicines for tricksters supplements also advising that they can pass away if they do not.

Recent newsletter versions have actually circulated actual phony information, as well, installing advertisements camouflaged as write-ups that connect to internet sites stealthily copying genuine media electrical outlets.

I Love My Freedom e-newsletters have actually included misleading advertisements resulting in phony information websites copying genuine electrical outlets..

One such advertisement includes the message Royal Family Mourns As Tragedy Is Confirmed, along with a picture of Meghan Markle, the Duchess ofSussex Clicking on it causes a web site imitating U.S.A. Today that goes crazy regarding a skin care line, which it incorrectly asserts Markle released. Another, birthing the heading [BREAKING NEWS] Prayers Go Out to Oprah Winfrey, web links to a fraudulent information website marketing a Brain Booster supplement, which it brazenly states is in charge of Winfreys occupation success.

In enhancement to Trump, his oldest kid, McConnell as well as Gingrich, I Love My Freedom has actually likewise sent fundraising e-mails in behalf of previous White House press assistant Sarah Huckabee Sanders, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif), House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-La), previous United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley,Rep Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.),Rep David Joyce (R-Ohio), previous White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove as well as National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman TomEmmer

All were spent for by the NRCC, NRSC, McConnell Senate Committee or the Trump Make America Great AgainCommittee Only the NRCC reacted to an ask for remark.

We rented this list to prospect new donors. We do our best to vet each vendor, but similar to renting a car, it is impossible to know or control what every other renter does with a list they too are renting, spokesperson Chris Pack informed HuffPost.

We will not be using this vendor going forward.

I Love My Freedom constructed its cash-cow e-mail realm by spending virtually $2 million right into Facebook advertisements, which attract individuals in with clickbait surveys or pledges of free MAGA equipment, as well as result in web pages advising them to send their e-mail addresses. This immediately indications them as much as obtain the newsletter, in addition to its numerous funded messages.

The team likewise earns money by marketing Trump- themed product such as Make Liberals Cry Again hats, as well as organizing third-party advertisements on Trending Politics which was seen a million times last month alone, according to electronic analytics device ComparableWeb

I Love My Freedom did not accept HuffPosts ask for a meeting.

I Love My Freedom makes use of clickbait Facebook advertisements to gather individualss e-mails, after that subscribes them to its newsletter.

Ferretti released ilovemyfreedom.org in addition to the Facebook web page Trump for President Fan Club (currently President Donald Trump Fan Club, which has 1.6 million fans) in the summertime of 2015, as reporter April Glaser reported last loss in a write-up regarding I Love My Freedoms viral development on Facebook.

Its among greater than a lots preferred web pages the team runs to run its countless Facebook advertisements, consisting of Donald Trump Is My President, Donald Trump 2020 Voters, President Trump Has My Vote, Donald Trumps Americans, Team Trump Fan Club, The President Trump Fan Club, We Need Trump 2020 as well as President Trumps Patriot Army.

These web pages create a stream of hyper-partisan memes as well as Trending Politics post to their target market of millions. Boosted by Facebooks formula, the advertisements which largely target elders are in some cases seen thousands of countless times each.

This looks like an operation thats got a very highly engaged audience that would be a prime target for a lot of conservative politicians to try to raise grassroots money from, stated Michael Beckel, research study supervisor at the political reform team Issue One.

When you run a pro-Trump Facebook team with greater than a million participants, that can make your [email] checklist an appealing possession.

Trumps campaign has actually currently gathered a citizen e-mail checklist thats so big it leases it out to outdoors celebrations. So why would certainly his group wish to fundraise with I Love My Freedoms checklist particularly provided the teams historical connections to grifters as well as scam artist?

Its type of striking that the Trump campaign is making a financial investment in [I Love My Freedoms] checklist, kept in mindBeckel But a t completion of the day, he stated, much more e-mails still means more potential voters or donors for them.

Calling all HuffPost superfans!

Sign up for subscription to come to be a starting participant as well as aid form HuffPosts following phase

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Donald Trump Is Using An Insanely Sketchy Newsletter To Find Campaign Donors - The Union Journal

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Donald Trump Is Using An Insanely Sketchy Newsletter To Find Campaign Donors – The Union Journal | March 28th, 2020

The development of bone marrow transplantation procedures is widely considered one of the greatest victories in the war against cancer. The vast majority of bone marrow transplant recipients are patients with various forms of blood cancers, such as leukaemia, lymphoma or multiple myeloma. A real game changer, bone marrow transplantation has boosted survival rates for some blood cancers from nearly zero to over 85%.

Unfortunately, however, patients receiving bone marrow transplants are at high risk of developing Graft versus Host Disease (GvHD), a life-threatening complication that occurs when the transplanted cells from the donor the graft identify the transplant recipient the host as foreign.

This triggers an immune reaction that can wreak havoc in the transplanted patients body as it is attacked by the donated cells. This can occur from just days (in the case of acute GvHD) up to months or years (for chronic GvHD) after the haematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) procedure has taken place.

The mortality rate of acute GvHD is very high in the case of grade 4 GvHD, it is over 90%. The overwhelmingly positive preliminary response of patients to CBD in preventing and treating GvHD shown in early trials, could be the key to significantly decreasing the incidence of this terrible condition.

Before we go on, there is a distinction to be made between a transplant rejection, which occurs when the immune system of the transplant recipient rejects the transplanted tissue, as may be the case in liver or heart transplants, and GvHD, which occurs when the while blood cells in the donors reject the recipient.

There are two types of bone marrow transplant: autologous (from the patients own stem cells) and allogeneic (stem cells from a donor). It is in the latter where GvHD may occur.

GvHD from allogeneic bone marrow transplants can manifest itself in many forms and degrees; ranging from mild, moderate or severe, to potentially fatal for the patient. Acute GvHD can cause rashes and blistering of the skin, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps accompanied by diarrhoea, jaundice; and may attack the lungs, liver and eyes. It is often associated with chronic illness, infections, disability, reduced quality of life, and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality following HCT.

Researchers estimate that despite aggressive preventive measures with immunosuppressive treatments, 30% to 50% of transplanted patients whose donors were fully matching siblings and 50% to 70% of patients whose donors were unrelated to them develop some level of GvHD.

Though it may sound surprising, currently there are no FDA approved therapies for either the prevention or treatment of acute GvHD.

Enter Kalytera Therapeutics, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company aiming to develop cannabidiol (CBD) for the treatment of serious diseases. The companys drug development expertise and intellectual property portfolio put it at the forefront in the development of CBD-based medicines for a range of important unmet medical needs. Currently, its resources are being focused mainly on mitigating the effects of GvHD following bone marrow transplantation.

Kalytera Therapeutics lead programme, in which we are evaluating CBD for the prevention and treatment of GvHD, is in late-stage clinical testing. Kalytera Therapeutics have an ongoing open label Phase 2 clinical study to evaluate the pharmacokinetic profile, safety and efficacy of CBD for the prevention of acute GvHD with encouraging preliminary results; we are currently approaching the end of cohort 2. A series of Phase 1 studies requested by the FDA, such as the effect of food intake on the absorption of oral CBD, have also been completed.

At this stage, Kalytera Therapeutics are ready to plan a meeting with the FDA to discuss the possibility of starting a pivotal study later this year. Following the approval of Epidiolex for Dravet Syndrome by GW Pharma, the FDA has encouraged that Kalytera apply for a 505(b)2 regulatory pathway, which provides manufacturers of some types of drugs to apply for FDA approval without performing all the work required in a new drug application.

Kalytera Therapeutics have also received a Fast Track Designation to aid in the development and expedite review of drugs intended for serious or life-threatening disease and addressing an unmet medical need, for the companys CBD products for prevention and treatment of acute GvHD. This could accelerate the approval process for these products.

The obvious first step in attempting to prevent GvHD is to find donor cells that match the genetics of the immune system of the transplant recipient as closely as possible. But even in the ideal case of the donors being a sibling, the patient still must rely on drugs specially developed to cause immunosuppression of the donor cells, through either T-cell depletion or drugs. Treatments usually used for this include methotrexate, cyclosporine, tacrolimus, sirolimus, mycophenolate mofetil and antithymocyte globulin (ATG), as determined by each medical team and institution.

When it comes to treating GvHD, the grafts immune cell activation needs to be suppressed with medication, so that donor-host immune tolerance can be established once again. Most patients are given corticosteroids, which directly suppress the donors immune cell attack on the hosts tissues. This also raises the risk of infection and the relapse of cancer.

As of now, there are guidelines but there is no standard treatment for either prevention or treatment of acute GvHD. Only 30% to 50% of patients with moderate to severe GvHD respond to corticosteroids, leaving many at risk of fatal outcomes. Everyone in the healthcare system should be aware that more research is necessary to discover better treatment options to reduce the rates of mortality and morbidity in transplantation patients.

The programme Kalytera is now implementing is based on previous Phase 2a clinical trials, which showed outstanding preliminary results in the prevention of the disease by giving patients CBD orally. In the first study, 48 patients received CBD for seven days prior to the bone marrow transplant procedure and for 30 days thereafter, as opposed to a group of 101 historical controls who had been given the usual GvHD prophylaxis and treated in the same BMT unit by the same medical team.

Remarkably, results showed none of the 48 patients had developed acute GvHD in the 30 days of treatment with CBD. Those who developed GvHD did so within a median time of 60 days, whereas the control group of 101 historical controls began to develop acute GvHD in a median time of 20 days only (ranging from nine to 137).

In the CBD treated group, the rates of grade 2 to grade 4 acute GvHD by day 100 were 12.1%, compared with 46% in the control. The rate of severe grade 3 to grade 4 was 5%, compared to 10% in the control. Equally important is the finding that CBD was also safe and well tolerated, with no severe adverse events attributed to its consumption. This is consistent with safety data previously reported on CBD administered to humans, even with three to four times higher doses and even when taken over extended periods of time.

In light of these encouraging initial results, it was decided to test the efficacy of a prolonged treatment covering 100 days: the time window in which acute GvHD usually occurs. In a second study, 12 patients were administered CBD at the same dose starting from seven days before the bone marrow transplant procedure until 100 days post-transplantation. No safety issues were observed here either and only one noncompliant patient, representing 8% of the CBD treatment group, developed acute GvHD; compared to a 46% incidence at the same institution in the historical group of 101 patients described above. This is despite the fact that the majority of the patients (10 out of 12) received stem cells from unrelated donors, including five patients who received stem cells from non-fully matched donors, which would normally increase their chance of developing GvHD.

In a third Phase 2a study, which was performed for treatment of already sick patients, 10 patients with acute GvHD, who were refractory to standard treatment with high dose steroids (only 60% of patients respond to first line therapy with high dose steroids), were administered daily doses of CBD for up to three months. Strikingly, nine of the 10 patients enrolled in the study responded to treatment, seven of them achieving complete remission of GvHD and two more achieving a near-complete response.

These results are impressive when we take into account that the 12-month mortality rate among patients with grade 3 and grade 4 GvHD who do not respond to steroids exceeds 60% and 80%, respectively. Indeed, these preliminary results compare favourably with the results of the historical control group of 29 patients with steroid-refractory grades 3 and 4 GvHD, among which 26 patients died from GvHD and its complications.

With a median follow-up period of 13 months, six patients were still alive. Two patients died from leukaemia relapses, and two patients died from GvHD-related infectious complications. No patient deaths were determined to be associated with CBD treatment. This underlines the urgency of developing a product that can prevent and treat GvHD.

On the list of the 10 most expensive medical procedures, allogeneic BMT ranked fourth; while autologous BMT, at less than half the outrageous cost, still made it to the eighth place. Depending on the country and institution, costs range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars per procedure. The need and incentive to increase the rate of success are indisputable.

The life-saving ability of Kalyteras CBD products for the prevention and treatment of acute GvHD, currently classified as an orphan disease, means the company has good chances of obtaining premium pricing for a course of treatment. Over 20,000 patients suffer from acute GvHD following bone marrow transplantation in the six major markets of the US, Germany, the UK, France, Spain and Japan every year.

According to the January 2018 Market Forecast Report by DelveInsight Perspective, the potential market for a successful drug for prevention and treatment of GvHD in the seven major jurisdictions of the US, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK and Japan is estimated to be over $408m in 2018; and could grow to approximately $1.3bn by 2027.

Once Kalyteras CBD products are approved by the FDA, the company believes that treating physicians would not be expected to prescribe anything other than its approved formulation of CBD (as opposed to a non-approved CBD that might be available online or from other commercial sources), especially since patients are often in isolation in the intensive care unit. It is safe to assume that neither private insurance nor government provided healthcare reimbursement would be available for non-prescription generic CBD in the jurisdictions where Kalytera intends to market its CBD product.

Conducting proper, large scale clinical trials with CBD is of utmost importance. Although in some areas CBD seems to be generally safe in the broader healthy population, it can be harmful to some groups, such as young adults, women of childbearing age, pregnant women, children, people with known heart conditions or low blood pressure, and the elderly.

Despite all the hype about the multiple health benefits of cannabis-based products trumpeted by many (though not clearly stated due to possible risks of liabilities for unsubstantiated claims), so far only one CBD-based drug has received FDA approval for the treatment of two rare and serious types of epilepsy.

Contrary to popular belief and anecdotal evidence, CBD is not a biologically inert compound. Rather, CBD has a complex pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile similar to any other medication with the potential to interact with other medications and medical conditions. CBD is metabolised in the liver by enzymes responsible for metabolising a large percentage of other drugs. When taken concomitantly, CBD may reduce or neutralise the intended action of those other medications. Kalytera has completed drug to drug interaction testing in vitro and is now planning to start testing in healthy subjects.

CBD oil can have negative side effects too, such as drowsiness, drop in blood pressure when taken in large doses, being potentially harmful for people with low blood pressure. Other problems are dizziness or light-headedness, appetite changes, diarrhoea, hormonal changes, hypokinesia and resting tremor when used for epilepsy. In psychotic disorders it has side effects too, but they are milder than on other drugs used until today. It can benefit some Parkinsons patients, but not all of them.

Kalytera has a solid, experienced leadership team and very strong intellectual property portfolio. We have three issued US and European patents covering the use of CBD in the prevention and treatment of GvHD, as well as four orphan drug designations for the treatment and prevention of GvHD in the US and Europe.

Our promising preliminary results indicate we will be able to help BMT patients and their donated bone marrow get along better. This will greatly improve patients quality of life, productivity and life expectancy by keeping them GvHD free.

Dr Sari SagivStero Biotechs+972 36176173david@sela.co.il

Please note: Kalytera Therapeutics Inc. have recently acquired Stero Biotechs.

This article will appear in the second issue ofMedical Cannabis Network which will be available to read in April 2020.

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Kalytera Therapeutics: improving bone marrow transplants with CBD - Health Europa

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Kalytera Therapeutics: improving bone marrow transplants with CBD – Health Europa | March 28th, 2020

Global Stem Cell Therapy Market: Overview

Also called regenerative medicine, stem cell therapy encourages the reparative response of damaged, diseased, or dysfunctional tissue via the use of stem cells and their derivatives. Replacing the practice of organ transplantations, stem cell therapies have eliminated the dependence on availability of donors. Bone marrow transplant is perhaps the most commonly employed stem cell therapy.

Osteoarthritis, cerebral palsy, heart failure, multiple sclerosis and even hearing loss could be treated using stem cell therapies. Doctors have successfully performed stem cell transplants that significantly aid patients fight cancers such as leukemia and other blood-related diseases.

Know the Growth Opportunities in Emerging Markets

Global Stem Cell Therapy Market: Key Trends

The key factors influencing the growth of the global stem cell therapy market are increasing funds in the development of new stem lines, the advent of advanced genomic procedures used in stem cell analysis, and greater emphasis on human embryonic stem cells. As the traditional organ transplantations are associated with limitations such as infection, rejection, and immunosuppression along with high reliance on organ donors, the demand for stem cell therapy is likely to soar. The growing deployment of stem cells in the treatment of wounds and damaged skin, scarring, and grafts is another prominent catalyst of the market.

On the contrary, inadequate infrastructural facilities coupled with ethical issues related to embryonic stem cells might impede the growth of the market. However, the ongoing research for the manipulation of stem cells from cord blood cells, bone marrow, and skin for the treatment of ailments including cardiovascular and diabetes will open up new doors for the advancement of the market.

Global Stem Cell Therapy Market: Market Potential

A number of new studies, research projects, and development of novel therapies have come forth in the global market for stem cell therapy. Several of these treatments are in the pipeline, while many others have received approvals by regulatory bodies.

In March 2017, Belgian biotech company TiGenix announced that its cardiac stem cell therapy, AlloCSC-01 has successfully reached its phase I/II with positive results. Subsequently, it has been approved by the U.S. FDA. If this therapy is well- received by the market, nearly 1.9 million AMI patients could be treated through this stem cell therapy.

Another significant development is the granting of a patent to Israel-based Kadimastem Ltd. for its novel stem-cell based technology to be used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other similar conditions of the nervous system. The companys technology used for producing supporting cells in the central nervous system, taken from human stem cells such as myelin-producing cells is also covered in the patent.

The regional analysis covers:

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Global Stem Cell Therapy Market: Regional Outlook

The global market for stem cell therapy can be segmented into Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East and Africa. North America emerged as the leading regional market, triggered by the rising incidence of chronic health conditions and government support. Europe also displays significant growth potential, as the benefits of this therapy are increasingly acknowledged.

Asia Pacific is slated for maximum growth, thanks to the massive patient pool, bulk of investments in stem cell therapy projects, and the increasing recognition of growth opportunities in countries such as China, Japan, and India by the leading market players.

Global Stem Cell Therapy Market: Competitive Analysis

Several firms are adopting strategies such as mergers and acquisitions, collaborations, and partnerships, apart from product development with a view to attain a strong foothold in the global market for stem cell therapy.

Some of the major companies operating in the global market for stem cell therapy are RTI Surgical, Inc., MEDIPOST Co., Ltd., Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., NuVasive, Inc., Pharmicell Co., Ltd., Anterogen Co., Ltd., JCR Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., and Holostem Terapie Avanzate S.r.l.

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TMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.

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Stem Cell Therapy Market to Witness Growth Acceleration During 2017 2025 - Daily Science

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Stem Cell Therapy Market to Witness Growth Acceleration During 2017 2025 – Daily Science | March 28th, 2020

During this process the cells not only shed any memories of their previous identities, but they revert to a younger state. They accomplish this transformation by wiping their DNA clean of the molecular tags that not only differentiate, say, a skin cell from a heart muscle cell, but of other tags that accumulate as a cell ages.

Recently researchers have begun to wonder whether exposing the adult cells to Yamanaka proteins for days rather than weeks could trigger this youthful reversion without inducing full-on pluripotency. In fact, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies found in 2016 that briefly expressing the four Yamanaka factors in mice with a form of premature aging extended the animals life span by about 20%. But it wasnt clear whether this approach would work in humans.

Sarkar and Sebastiano wondered whether old human cells would respond in a similar fashion, and whether the response would be limited to just a few cell types or generalizable for many tissues. They devised a way to use genetic material called messenger RNA to temporarily express six reprogramming factors the four Yamanaka factors plus two additional proteins in human skin and blood vessel cells. Messenger RNA rapidly degrades in cells, allowing the researchers to tightly control the duration of the signal.

The researchers then compared the gene-expression patterns of treated cells and control cells, both obtained from elderly adults, with those of untreated cells from younger people. They found that cells from elderly people exhibited signs of aging reversal after just four days of exposure to the reprogramming factors. Whereas untreated elderly cells expressed higher levels of genes associated with known aging pathways, treated elderly cells more closely resembled younger cells in their patterns of gene expression.

When the researchers studied the patterns of aging-associated chemical tags called methyl groups, which serve as an indicator of a cells chronological age, they found that the treated cells appeared to be about 1 to 3 years younger on average than untreated cells from elderly people, with peaks of 3 years (in skin cells) and 7 years (in cells that line blood vessels).

Next they compared several hallmarks of aging including how cells sense nutrients, metabolize compounds to create energy and dispose of cellular trash among cells from young people, treated cells from old people and untreated cells from old people.

We saw a dramatic rejuvenation across all hallmarks but one in all the cell types tested, Sebastiano said. But our last and most important experiment was done on muscle stem cells. Although they are naturally endowed with the ability to self-renew, this capacity wanes with age. We wondered, Can we also rejuvenate stem cells and have a long-term effect?

When the researchers transplanted old mouse muscle stem cells that had been treated back into elderly mice, the animals regained the muscle strength of younger mice, they found.

Finally, the researchers isolated cells from the cartilage of people with and without osteoarthritis. They found that the temporary exposure of the osteoarthritic cells to the reprogramming factors reduced the secretion of inflammatory molecules and improved the cells ability to divide and function.

The researchers are now optimizing the panel of reprogramming proteins needed to rejuvenate human cells and are exploring the possibility of treating cells or tissues without removing them from the body.

Although much more work needs to be done, we are hopeful that we may one day have the opportunity to reboot entire tissues, Sebastiano said. But first we want to make sure that this is rigorously tested in the lab and found to be safe.

Other Stanford co-authors are former postdoctoral scholar Marco Quarta, PhD; postdoctoral scholar Shravani Mukherjee, PhD; graduate student Alex Colville; research assistants Patrick Paine, Linda Doan and Christopher Tran; Constance Chu, MD, professor of orthopaedic surgery; Stanley Qi, PhD, assistant professor of bioengineering and of chemical and systems biology; and Nidhi Bhutani, PhD, associate professor of orthopaedic surgery.

Researchers from the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, the University of California-Los Angeles and the Molecular Medicine Research Institute in Sunnyvale, California, also contributed to the study.

The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grants R01 AR070865, R01 AR070864, P01 AG036695, R01 AG23806, R01 AG057433 and R01 AG047820), the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research, the American Federation for Aging Research and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Sarkar, Quarta and Sebastiano are co-founders of the startup Turn Biotechnologies, a company that is applying the technology described in the paper to treat aging-associated conditions. Rando is a member of the scientific advisory board.

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Old human cells rejuvenated with stem cell technology - Stanford Medical Center Report

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Old human cells rejuvenated with stem cell technology – Stanford Medical Center Report | March 26th, 2020

A study published in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, by researchers at The Baker Institute for Animal Health, at Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine, demonstrates for the first time that mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are an effective weapon against bacteria in biofilm.

DURHAM, N.C., March 26, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Researchers have potentially made a breakthrough in the war on antibiotic-resistant superbugs including MRSA, which kills an estimated 20,000 people in the United States alone each year with a new discovery whose details are published today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine. The study, by researchers at The Baker Institute for Animal Health, at Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine, demonstrates for the first time that mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are an effective weapon against bacteria in biofilm.

Biofilms are thin, slimy films made up of bacteria that can attach to skin wounds, teeth and other surfaces, creating the opportunity for infections to flourish. These highly structured cellular communities offer bacteria shelter from harmful factors, helping them resist antibiotics, mutate rapidly and evade the immune system.

"MSCs help kill the bacteria through the secretion of enzymes, called proteases, that break the peptide bonds of proteins and cause biofilm to destabilize. This in turn increases the effectiveness of antibiotics that previously weren't working, as the bacteria are no longer being protected by the biofilm," explained Gerlinde R. Van de Walle, DVM, Ph.D., who led the study along with Charlotte Marx, DVM, Ph.D.

Other recent studies, including one by the Cornell team, have shown that MSCs can inhibit the growth of bacteria associated with chronic infections by secreting antimicrobial peptides. "But these studies were conducted primarily on planktonic bacteria, which are individually floating bacteria cells. Thus, information on the effects on biofilms was largely lacking," Dr. Marx said.

The current study explores how MSC secretome, delivered as conditioned medium, performs against various wound-related bacterial pathogens. It also looks at the mechanisms that affect bacterial biofilms. The experiments were performed in vitro, using equine MSC. "We use equine MSC in our work since the horse represents a physiologically relevant model for human wound healing and offers a readily translatable model for MSC therapies in humans," Dr. Van de Walle explained.

The researchers began by showing that equine MSC secretome inhibits the growth of four types of planktonic bacteria that commonly colonize skin wounds. Encouraged by the results, they next sought to determine the effect of the MSC secretome on these same bacterial strains in biofilms, which is the predominant way bacteria invade wounds. They looked at how the MSCs affected biofilm formation, then repeated the experiments on biofilms that were already established. Finally, they turned their attention to the bacteria strain responsible for MRSA.

Dr. Marx reported the results. "Our salient findings," she said, "were that factors secreted by equine MSC impaired both planktonic and biofilms including MRSA as well as disrupted mature biofilms generated by these bacteria. Importantly, we found that these effects resulted from a protease-dependent mechanism."

Dr. Van de Walle added, "We also found that MSC-secreted factors allowed previously ineffective antibiotic treatments to become more effective at reducing bacterial survival. In light of the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains as an increasing global health threat, our findings provide the rationale for using the MSC secretome as a complementary treatment for bacterial infections."

"Outcomes from this study highlight for the first time that the secretome from mesenchymal stem cells significantly reduces the formation of bacterial infections, including the antibiotic resistant MRSA," said Anthony Atala, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine and director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. "Antibiotic resistance has long been a concern and this research highlights some promising new tactics."

###

The full article, "The mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) secretome impairs methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) biofilms via cysteine protease activity in the equine model," can be accessed at https://stemcellsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/sctm.19-0333.

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About STEM CELLS Translational Medicine: STEM CELLS Translational Medicine (SCTM), co-published by AlphaMed Press and Wiley, is a monthly peer-reviewed publication dedicated to significantly advancing the clinical utilization of stem cell molecular and cellular biology. By bridging stem cell research and clinical trials, SCTM will help move applications of these critical investigations closer to accepted best practices. SCTM is the official journal partner of Regenerative Medicine Foundation.

About AlphaMed Press: Established in 1983, AlphaMed Press with offices in Durham, NC, San Francisco, CA, and Belfast, Northern Ireland, publishes two other internationally renowned peer-reviewed journals: STEM CELLS (http://www.StemCells.com), celebrating its 38th year, is the world's first journal devoted to this fast paced field of research. The Oncologist (http://www.TheOncologist.com), also a monthly peer-reviewed publication, entering its 25th year, is devoted to community and hospital-based oncologists and physicians entrusted with cancer patient care. All three journals are premier periodicals with globally recognized editorial boards dedicated to advancing knowledge and education in their focused disciplines.

About Wiley: Wiley, a global company, helps people and organizations develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed. Our online scientific, technical, medical and scholarly journals, combined with our digital learning, assessment and certification solutions, help universities, learned societies, businesses, governments and individuals increase the academic and professional impact of their work. For more than 200 years, we have delivered consistent performance to our stakeholders. The company's website can be accessed at http://www.wiley.com.

About Regenerative Medicine Foundation (RMF): The non-profit Regenerative Medicine Foundation fosters strategic collaborations to accelerate the development of regenerative medicine to improve health and deliver cures. RMF pursues its mission by producing its flagship World Stem Cell Summit, honouring leaders through the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Action Awards, and promoting educational initiatives.

SOURCE STEM CELLS

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Study offers potential breakthrough in the war on antibiotic-resistant superbugs - Yahoo Finance

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Study offers potential breakthrough in the war on antibiotic-resistant superbugs – Yahoo Finance | March 26th, 2020

GOLDEN, CO / ACCESSWIRE / March 26, 2020 / Vitro Diagnostics, Inc. (VODG), dba Vitro Biopharma, announced its 1st quarter ended January 31st, 2020 financial results of operations.

Vitro Diagnostics Inc. ("Vitro Biopharma") is pleased to announce a record 1st comparative quarter in Total Revenues. Vitro Biopharma recorded 1st quarter revenues of $225,921 vs $192,895 an increase of 17% over the same comparative quarter last year. In addition, Stem Cell treatments accounted for 74% of the revenues up from 71% of the revenues in the prior comparative quarter last year. Current quarter stem cell revenues were $167,750 for the 1st quarter ended January 31, 2020 vs $137,123 for the first quarter ended January 31, 2019.

The company's gross profit margins improved to 75% up from 73% in the comparative prior year's quarter. Gross margin improvement is in line with the strategic direction of the company to expand the market of its flagship product AlloRx Stem Cells. The company's clean-room lab expansion last year and expanded Stem Cell manufacturing using its patent-pending cell line, has increased efficiencies and lowered production costs.

Overall operating expenses increased in the quarter to $193,385 from $147,398 in the prior year's comparative quarter. The increase in expenses reflects additional investment as the Company expands its capability to service its strategic direction of offshore Stem Cell treatments while also expanding into US markets. The company expended additional resources on external consultants supporting our regulatory status in maintaining ISO9001 & ISO13485 certifications, expanding our efforts to approach US markets through FDA filings and advancement of existing patent filings.

The company's first quarter is its most seasonal quarter as the period between Thanksgiving and the New Year is slow for all the company's revenue lines of Nutra Vivo/STEMulize, AlloRx Stem Cells, private labeled InfiniVive-MD Stem Cell Serum and our core research products.

During the quarter the company achieved and pursed the following company objectives

During the quarter the company commenced a Series A Convertible Preferred Stock offering to accredited investors under the SEC Regulation D exemption. The preferred Stock is priced at $25 per share which is convertible at $0.25 cents per share for a total of 100 shares. The minimum investment is $50,000 per unit. The company sold $450,000 of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock during the quarter. The company has additional interest in the offering and subsequent to the quarter has sold an additional $50,000 unit for a total to date of $500,000. The company has additional interested parties for approximately $200,000. The offering is for a total of $1,000,000.

Our partnership with DVC. Stem in the Cayman Islands continued to advance through treatment of new & previous patients. This IRB-approved protocol targets patients with inflammatory conditions including multiple sclerosis, systemic inflammation and new indications including Chrohn's disease, Alzheimer's disease and COPD. To date we have treated 60 patients including repeat treatments. There have been no serious adverse events and we continue to gain evidence of efficacy. One of the initial MS patients has now received a second transplant of our AlloRx Stem Cells and he has reported significant therapeutic benefits of both the initial and subsequent therapy. He had received an earlier transplant of adipose-derived MSCs that was effective, but the improvement lasted 3 months while AlloRx Stem Cell therapy lasted 18 months. We had predicted such a clinical outcome based on significantly higher potency of umbilical cord MSCS compared to those derived from adipose tissue or bone marrow. The Chrohn's disease patient showed significant improvement as did both the AD & COPD patients.

The strategic development of our stem cell therapies involves pursuit of both offshore and domestic markets. The partnership with DVC Stem, our IRB-approved trial in the Bahamas together with other strategic opportunities represent offshore operations & prospects. During Q1 2020, we initiated expansion into US therapeutic markets through development of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for submission to FDA. Once approved, an IND allows the conduct of clinical trials for specific medical conditions in the US.

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Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, our initial IND application is for use of AlloRx Stem Cells in treatment of Coronavirus infections. This is supported by clinical studies showing that 17 critically ill patients responded favorably to IV infusion of umbilical cord-derived MSCs. All patients were receiving assisted ventilation but 3 days following stem cell therapy, were removed from ventilators and subsequently discharged from the hospital. We are pursuing discussions with FDA to establish the appropriate regulatory pathway and expedited review options given the current emergency circumstances. (See Subsequent Events, below, for additional discussion of our COVID-19 response.) Once our initial IND is in place, we have plans for additional INDs for stem cell therapy of musculoskeletal conditions and Alzheimer's disease.

We have received an initial order of AlloRx Stem Cells for testing purposes by PR Medica located in Cabo San Lucas. Given successful test results, we anticipate subsequent new revenue generation from this customer.

Vitro Biopharma's cosmetic topical stem cell serum is being distributed by InfiniVive MD into cosmetic clinics that are providing the topical treatment as a beautification product. To date the company's product is being offered in 10 cosmetic clinics.

Our partner, Dr Jack Zamora, MD was a keynote speaker at a master session at the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery annual meeting in late February. The topic of his presentation was "Topical Stem Cells, Exosomes and Conditioned Media Serums in Aesthetics." This was the official launch of the InfiniVive-MD platform including: Dailey Serum, Stem Cell Serum 2.0 & Exosomes within the product line. Vitro Biopharma will manufacture & private label these new products for distribution in the US. We anticipate InfiniVive MD growth, development and revenues to mirror the development of Apyx subdermal plasma skin tightening as a cosmetic treatment and technique that has gone global.

http://www.jackzamoramd.com http://www.infinivivemd.com

Our core research product sales continued to expand in Q1 2020. Our facility expansion continued with addition of manufacturing capacity and development of plans to add operational facility to increase outputs further by 100% or more. We were also in discussions with the USPTO regarding our pending patents for our novel stem cell therapy and stem cell activation technology. We continue to work closely with our examiner and have established communication channels to facilitate awards of these patents.

The COVD-19 pandemic is a significant obstacle for all business. However, Vitro Biopharma is uniquely positioned since we have a potential effective therapy. This is based on 3 independent reports showing efficacy of stem cell therapy in 17 COVID-19 patients. All were treated with IV umbilical cord MSCs comparable to AlloRx Stem Cells and all 17 required respiratory assistance but within 3-4 days of treatment, were able to breath without ventilators and were discharged within 14 days. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3053080/coronavirus-critically-ill-chinese-patient-saved-stem-cell On the contrary, untreated patients on ventilators have death rates of 50% or more. We have received a formal request to supply AlloRx Stem Cells for compassionate use from a major university medical center and several other potential clinical partners have also expressed interest in using our cells to treat COVID-19 patients. We are presently working with the FDA to gain authority to begin clinical testing in the US. We are currently assessing the overall financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, but this depends on overall control of the pandemic. There have been no staff layoffs and our workers are considered essential since we conduct essential research to the COVID-19 response.

Dr. Jim Musick, CEO of Vitro Biopharma, said, "We are very pleased with the increased revenue growth during our first quarter 2020 compared to the prior year However all our resources are currently focused on the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing our inventory of AlloRx to satisfy anticipated emergency demand to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients." The Company is working to get expedited clinical trial approvals to sell our AlloRx Stem Cells to hospitals coping with the pandemic. Vitro is pleased to have recently been recognized by Bioinformant as "a Company Tracking the Coronavirus". https://bioinformant.com/product/coronavirus-covid-19-report/ We anticipate clinical progress in the effectiveness of our stem cell therapies while expecting to see a reduction in our offshore and cosmetic revenues for the next quarter or two. The company is in a good cash position to weather this storm and simultaneously advance its AlloRx stem cell therapies into clinical trials.

In summary, Vitro Biopharma is advancing as a key player in regenerative medicine with 10- years' experience in the development and commercialization of stem cell products for research, recognized by a Best in Practice Technology Innovation Leadership award for Stem Cell Tools and Technology and a growing track record of successful translation to therapy. We are leveraging our proprietary technology platform to the establishment of international Stem Cell Centers of Excellence and regulatory approvals in the US and worldwide.

Sincerely yours,

James R. Musick, PhD.President, CEO & Chairman of the Boardwww.vitrobiopharma.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements herein regarding financial performance have not yet been reported to the SEC nor reviewed by the Company's auditors. Certain statements contained herein and subsequent statements made by and on behalf of the Company, whether oral or written may contain "forward-looking statements". Such forward looking statements are identified by words such as "intends," "anticipates," "believes," "expects" and "hopes" and include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's plan of business operations, product research and development activities, potential contractual arrangements, receipt of working capital, anticipated revenues and related expenditures. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others, acceptability of the Company's products in the market place, general economic conditions, receipt of additional working capital, the overall state of the biotechnology industry and other factors set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Most of these factors are outside the control of the Company. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by applicable securities statutes or regulations, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

CONTACT:

Dr. James MusickChief Executive OfficerVitro BioPharma(303) 999-2130 Ext. 3E-mail: jim@vitrobiopharma.comwww.vitrobiopharma.com

The company provides its financial information for investor purposes only, the results published are not audited or necessarily SEC or GAAP compliant

The company provides its financial information for investor purposes only, the results published are not audited or necessarily SEC or GAAP compliant

The company provides its financial information for investor purposes only, the results published are not audited or necessarily SEC or GAAP compliant.

The company provides its financial information for investor purposes only, the results published are not audited or necessarily SEC or GAAP compliant.

SOURCE: Vitro Diagnostics, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/582759/Vitro-Biopharma-First-Quarter-ended-January-31-2020-Financial-Results-of-Operations

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Vitro Biopharma First Quarter ended January 31, 2020 Financial Results of Operations - Yahoo Finance

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Vitro Biopharma First Quarter ended January 31, 2020 Financial Results of Operations – Yahoo Finance | March 26th, 2020

In severe cases, it can also cause deadly hardening of internal organs like the lungs

MADISON, Wis. A year ago, Chuck Beschta couldn't walk more than a few minutes without stopping to rest.

"Just going out and doing normal activities outside raking the lawn mowing the grass shoveling the driveway whatever;snow blowing, those became impossible."

After months of testing he was diagnosed with severe scleroderma, which was hardening his skin but even worse. it was hardening his lungs, making it hard to breathe.

Scleroderma is an autoimmune rheumatic disease where an overproduction of collagen produced in the body tissues.

But in severe cases, it can also cause deadly hardening of internal organs like the lungs, giving some patients little hope of surviving.

Chuck's case was getting more dire.

"He was getting worse despite the best therapy we had to offer," explained Dr. Kevin McKown, a rheumatologist at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison

Dr. McKown recommended a stem cell transplant newly approved for scleroderma to reboot chucks immune system.

"There's a process by which they try to remove the autoreactive immune cells, the cells that are caught in the immune process and then they infuse that back in and hope that the body will basically take up and graft that immune system

Rheumatologists at University of Wisconsin Health tested the treatment since they have already been conducting bone marrow transplants for decades.

Surgeons take out a sample of the patient's bone marrow, isolate the stem cells, and use radiation and chemotherapy to clean out their immune system. The same stem cells are later injected back into the patient's immune system with the hope that new cells will grow and the system is rid of the bad ones.

The process is dangerous when the cells are taken out because the patient's immune system is more vulnerable, making infections more likely to occur.

Chuck saw almost immediate results. His skin was softer and his breathing improved.

He hopes his scleroderma has been cured.

"I think we can be optimistic and so far the people who have been followed out as far as 10 years out don't seem to be getting it back," said Dr. McKown.

After four and a half years, 79% of patients who underwent the treatment were alive without serious complications compared to 50% that were treated with the original drugs.

Without a transplant, less than half the patients, like Chuck, who have diffuse scleroderma and severe lung disease live 10 years past diagnosis. stem cell transplants are commonly used to treat leukemia and lymphoma, cancers that affect the blood and lymphatic system.

If this story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Jim Mertens atjim.mertens@wqad.comor Marjorie Bekaert Thomas atmthomas@ivanhoe.com.

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YOUR HEALTH: A rare disease that hardens the skin - WQAD.com

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on YOUR HEALTH: A rare disease that hardens the skin – WQAD.com | March 25th, 2020

Hair loss has long been a chief complaint among women, especially as they age. It affects some 30 million women in the United States alone, according to the Cleveland Clinic, and will significantly impact more than 50 percent of women during their lifetime. The most common cause is female-pattern hair loss (FPHL), also known as androgenetic alopecia. It's a chronic and progressive condition that has a genetic component, but it's also caused by factors related to the actions of hormonesovarian cysts, use of high androgen index birth control pills, pregnancy, and menopause, explains Ken L. Williams Jr., D.O., hair restoration specialist, surgeon, founder of Orange County Hair Restoration in Irvine, California.

Other medical conditions are also to blame for hair loss in women, including thyroid disorders, polycystic ovary syndrome, anemia, and chronic illnessand the use of certain medications, many of which treat these conditions, can also lead to hair loss in women. "Certain types of autoimmune disorders result in a slightly different and often less dramatic hair loss problem known as alopecia areata, an inflammatory condition that causes hair to come out in clumps or patches," says Dr. Williams Jr.

Luckily, we've come a long way in terms of treating hair loss. After all, 100 years ago, remedies involved things like snake oil and bat and chicken dung. "In more recent years, clinically tested topical and oral products, such as Minoxidil and Propecia, have become available, as well as procedures like PRP (platelet rich plasma therapy), and hair transplants," shares Anabel Kingsley, consultant trichologist and brand president for Philip Kingsley. She finds a holistic, personalized, multi-pronged approach to be the most effective way to treat any form of hair loss. "Since there is no 'one size fits all,' you want to optimize all possible factors that can affect the hair growth cycle, such as general health, nutrition, and stress levels, as well as the condition of your hair and scalp," she says.

At Philip Kingsley, she treats clients with their Trichotherapy Regime ($215, saksfifthavenue.com), which is specifically formulated for women with fine hair and reduced volume. "It tackles hair loss from all possible angles via the scalp with intensive daily Scalp Drops($89, neimanmarcus.com),a daily Stimulating Scalp Tonic ($28, net-a-porter.com), a thickening protein spray, and targeted masks to optimize the scalp environment," Kinglsey explains. "It also contains carefully formulated nutritional supplements to help give hair support from within."

Related: The Best Shampoos to Support Thinning Hair and Fight Female Hair Loss

Over-the-counter solutions won't work for every person suffering from hair loss, but there are a number of medical interventions that can stimulate hair growthanti-androgen medication, for example, is recommended for clients experiencing prolonged hair loss. "These medications help prevent further hair loss and encourage some hair regrowth from dormant hair follicles," says Dr. Williams Jr. There is also stem cell therapy, which has expanded greatly over the last few years in treating medical disease. "As opposed to embryonic cells, the initial stigma of using stem cells has decreased since the discovery of using bone marrow, fat cells, umbilical cord cells, and even skin cells to extract stem cells," he explains.

Surgery is also an option, and there are currently two primary surgical techniques or methods used in performing hair transplantation: Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE). "With the FUT technique, a section of scalp is excised with a scalpel, the scalp is brought together with sutures or staples and the hair follicles or hair grafts are inserted into tiny slits placed by the surgeon in the balding recipient area," Dr. Williams Jr. says. "The follicles with a single hair are placed in the front rows to define and create a natural hairline and the more dense, natural occurring follicular units are placed by hand in areas where hair density is needed the most."

FUE, a minimally invasive technique that is being hailed as the most significant improvement in hair surgery, uses a minimal depth scoring punch device to loosen the follicle from the surrounding tissues. "With the FUE procedure, a 0.9 or 1.0 millimeter punch minimal depth scoring excision is used in the skin around the upper part of the follicular unit (hair follicles)," he continues. "The hair follicle is then extracted directly from the scalp and manually placed into tiny slits in the balding area similar to the strip method."

There are still several hair restoration solutions left to be discoveredand experts believe most of us will see the concept of hair cloning come to fruition in their lifetime. "Hair cloning would in effect, disassemble a few hair follicles, multiply these cells in the laboratory and then reintroduce them into the scalp to both rejuvenate miniaturizing hair follicles and induce brand new hairs," Dr. Williams Jr. says. "Other groups have tried this but it has been found that when human follicle cells are cultured, they rapidly lose their functionality."

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The Forefront of Treating Hair Loss in Women - Yahoo Lifestyle

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on The Forefront of Treating Hair Loss in Women – Yahoo Lifestyle | March 23rd, 2020

It's not your imagination, it turns out. Stress can turn a person's hair gray. It's said that if you look at before and after pictures of any eight-year U.S. president the impact of the office on hair color is clear, though in fairness, it may be that candidates dye their hair and then at some point stop doing so. Nonetheless, scientists from Harvard have not only verified the conventional wisdom on our graying noggins, but have also figured out why stress is so brutal to our follicular pigmentation.

The new research from Harvard scientists is published in the journal Nature.

Image source: Ververidis Vasilis/Evan El-Amin/Vacclav/Shutterstock/Big Think

Senior author of the study Ya-Chieh Hsu, professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard, explains what prompted her research:

"Everyone has an anecdote to share about how stress affects their body, particularly in their skin and hair the only tissues we can see from the outside. We wanted to understand if this connection is true, and if so, how stress leads to changes in diverse tissues. Hair pigmentation is such an accessible and tractable system to start with and besides, we were genuinely curious to see if stress indeed leads to hair graying."

It turns out that stress activates nerves associated with our basic fight-or-flight system, and these nerves permanently damage pigment-regenerating melanocyte stem cells in hair follicles, causing them to cease production of melanin that normal provides color to hair follicles.

Hsu's team studied the issue using mice, and was somewhat stunned at their findings. "When we started to study this, I expected that stress was bad for the body but the detrimental impact of stress that we discovered was beyond what I imagined," recalls Hsu.

The scientists stressed the mice using a combination of three methods:

Image source: Helga Lei/Shutterstock

Hsu and her colleagues first suspected an immune system reaction was at the root of graying hairs only to discover that mice without immune systems still turned gray in response to stressors. The next suspect was cortisol produced by the adrenal glands however, this proved not to be so. "Stress always elevates levels of the hormone cortisol in the body," says Jsu, "so we thought that cortisol might play a role. But surprisingly, when we removed the adrenal gland from the mice so that they couldn't produce cortisol-like hormones, their hair still turned gray under stress."

Image source: Judy Blomquist/Harvard University

Finally, the researchers investigate the possibility that the system responding to stressors was the mice's sympathetic nervous systems, the part of the nervous system that kicks into action with the fight-or-flight impulse. The sympathetic nervous system is a vast network of nerves that connects, among other places, to hair follicles in the skin. In response to stress, the system sends a rush of the chemical norepinephrine to the follicles' melanocyte stem cell, causing them to quickly burn through and deplete their stores of pigment.

Say Hsu, "After just a few days, all of the pigment-regenerating stem cells were lost. Once they're gone, you can't regenerate pigments anymore. The damage is permanent." Great for survival, not so good for hair color.

Sympathetic system nerves are magenta above. Melanocyte stem cells are yellow.

Image source: Hsu Laboratory, Harvard University

"Acute stress," says lead author of the study Bing Zhang, "particularly the fight-or-flight response, has been traditionally viewed to be beneficial for an animal's survival. But in this case, acute stress causes permanent depletion of stem cells."

The research, done in collaboration with other Harvard researchers, presents a new appreciation of the effect the sympathetic system can have on the body's cells during stress.

One of these collaborators, Harvard immunologist Isaac Chu, notes, "We know that peripheral neurons powerfully regulate organ function, blood vessels, and immunity, but less is known about how they regulate stem cells. With this study, we now know that neurons can control stem cells and their function, and can explain how they interact at the cellular and molecular levels to link stress with hair graying."

Given this finding regarding the direct impact of stress on follicular stem cells, the question of what it else it may affect becomes an obvious one. As Hsu sums it up, "By understanding precisely how stress affects stem cells that regenerate pigment, we've laid the groundwork for understanding how stress affects other tissues and organs in the body."

This importance of the study therefore goes way beyond graying heads. "Understanding how our tissues change under stress is the first critical step," says Hsu, "toward eventual treatment that can halt or revert the detrimental impact of stress. We still have a lot to learn in this area."

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An unusual chance to see stress at work - Big Think

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on An unusual chance to see stress at work – Big Think | March 23rd, 2020

After the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that thecoronavirus outbreakis officially a pandemic, countries around the world have responded accordingly.Universitiesin Canada and the US are closing, non-essential conferences andsports leaguesare being canceled, and people are being advised to halt all travel plans. Anyone can get infected, and the only way to slow down the outbreak is toreduce the number of people getting infected.

Amidst this fear, the most widespread advice for anyone experiencing symptoms is tosocially distance themselves. But what, exactly, does that mean? How is this different from self-isolation? What if you live with family? What if only one person in a family of four is experiencing symptoms? Why is this even important?

How do I know if I need to socially distance myself? How is that different from self-isolation and strict isolation?

Everyone should besocially distancingthemselves! Essentially, that means deliberately distancing yourself from other individuals to reduce COVID-19 transmission rates.

On the other hand,self-isolationor self-quarantine is when you have been in contact with someone who was diagnosed with the coronavirus, or someone who was exhibiting symptoms. Self-isolation also applies for people who are asymptomatic, but have secondary medical issues (diabetes, heart condition) that may make a coronavirus infection more dangerous for them.

Lastly,isolationis when you have been diagnosed with COVID-19, or if you are exhibiting any flu-like symptoms. At this point, you will receive instructions for isolation from your medical provider.

What does social distancing entail?

If possible,do not leave the house. Try to stay at least six feet away from other people, and avoid coming in direct contact with them. Social distancing can also be done by avoiding crowds and mass gatherings, canceling upcoming events, working from home, moving classes online, and communicating electronically instead of personally visiting people.

What if I live with other people?

Even if no one in the household is exhibiting symptoms, it is best to keep distance for at least two weeks, which would be the viruss incubation period.On the other hand, if you need to self-isolate, try to sleep in separate rooms, and keep6 feet away from each other. Frequently wash your hands, andfrequently keep your surrounding areas clean. If possible, avoid touching your face, especially after being in contact with shared possessions or furniture. Wash all plates and utensils thoroughly with warm soap and water, or use a dishwasher with a drying cycle.

How can I help vulnerable people?

If there are vulnerable and at-risk individuals in your neighborhood, consider getting groceries and other essentials for them, and leave the items at their doorstep. Frequently call or check up on your friends and family, since social distancing can be quite lonely.

Why is social distancing important for everyone, including young and asymptomatic people?

According to data fromSouth Korean authorities, translated byDr. Eric Feigl-Ding, young people between the ages of 20 and 29 are carrying 30% of the disease in South Korea, with the majority beingasymptomatic, meaning they are not experiencing symptoms. This means that while you mayfeelfine, if you are sick you can still infect a large number of people by just being out and about!

Why is social distancing important?

By now you have probably seen a version of the graph that explains why we need to "flatten the curve." Through social distancing and pro-active measures, we can not only delay the "peak" of the outbreak, easing demand for hospital and emergency services, but can also reduce how bad the outbreak could be.

Do you still have questions about social distancing, isolation, or anything else about the coronavirus pandemic?

Ask our community of scientists now!

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Keep coronavirus from spreading in Hawai'i. Cancel your vacation - Massive Science

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Keep coronavirus from spreading in Hawai’i. Cancel your vacation – Massive Science | March 23rd, 2020

Updated March 24, 2020 03:33:17

With the whole world talking, reading, posting and sharing all sorts of information about coronavirus, it can be hard to sort through what is actually a fact and what is a myth.

Maybe you've got a friend writing on Facebook about how coronavirus will die with a change of season, or another who thinks they've got an excellent home remedy to prevent themselves from getting the disease?

Whatever the case, there are some myths that keep popping up over and over again. So, we've gone to the experts.

Here's what our correspondents say are some of the most popular myths around, and two experts' takes on them.

Who is saying this? The President of the United States.

What's being said exactly? Donald Trump told Fox Business: "You know in April, supposedly, it dies with the hotter weather."

According to CNN, he also told state governors: "You know, a lot of people think that goes away in April with the heat as the heat comes in. Typically, that will go away in April."

How widespread is this? Well, Donald Trump's quotes have been reported by major news outlets.

Professor of respiratory diseases at the University of Technology Sydney Brian Oliver says it would depend on the temperature you're talking about.

"For example, your body temperature is 37 degrees Celsius and we know coronavirus can survive in that, so if it's 37C or 40C outside, it would probably survive," Professor Oliver said.

"If it were something like 50C, well then it probably wouldn't survive too well. But how many places reach 50C?"

Infectious disease experts have also told CNN that it's too early to say whether warmer weather could impact the virus, and "nobody knows enough about the novel coronavirus to make assessments about its behaviour".

However, Professor Oliver said extreme heat can be useful.

"Extreme heat is used as a form of sterilisation in hospitals," he said.

"And if it's a really sunny day, the UV rays contained in the sun could kill the virus as well. Basically, the UV light destroys the genetic material. But we don't know how long is needed to kill the virus.

"So heat can be useful, but a warm day and 37C would be regarded as a warm day is not going to do much."

As told by South-East Asia correspondent Amy Bainbridge and Indonesia correspondent Anne Barker

Who is saying this? Residents in Bangkok, Indonesians and even Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

What exactly are they doing? There is a clinic outside Bangkok that doubles as a medicinal cannabis clinic. It looks like they're being run off their feet producing pills that contain a special herb called Andrographis Paniculata.

It's traditionally believed to be a treatment for colds and sore throats and apparently people are lining up to use it.

Meanwhile, in Indonesia, herbs have also become popular with residents looking to ward off coronavirus. Indonesians have rushed to buy herbal and medicinal plants such as turmeric, curcumin, lemongrass and ginger.

They believe that 'jamu' medicinal drinks made with such ingredients can boost stamina and health, and help strengthen the immune system.

Mr Widodo even last week told an agricultural and food conference that he drinks the herbal elixir three times a day to help prevent infection by coronavirus.

"I drink the mixture instead of tea now," he said.

"I give the drinks to my guests, be it the morning, afternoon or evening."

How widespread is this? Jamu is popular across Indonesia, although its ingredients might differ from one province to another.

The demand for ginger and turmeric has soared in the capital Jakarta and much of Java, where the price of red ginger has almost doubled in some places, and turmeric has tripled.

University of Melbourne professor of virology Damian Purcell says we haven't seen any scientific validation of those kinds of things.

"It's a risky strategy to believe something works without proper clinical trials and as yet there are no trials focused on examining whether specific herbs would be effective."

As told by South Asia correspondent James Oaten

Who is saying this? Fringe Hindu groups and a politician.

What exactly are they doing? Dozens of Hindu activists gathered in New Delhi on the weekend to hold a cow-urine drinking party, believing the drink would ward off coronavirus (and many other illnesses).

Others have also touted the health benefits of cow urine and even cow dung, including recently a politician from the Prime Minister's own party in the north-eastern region of Assam.

Many Hindus regard the cow as sacred.

Is this a common belief? It's mostly being touted by fringe groups so is far from being a popular myth.

Professor Oliver says it would "not do anything good for you".

While he says urine would have some slightly disinfectant properties on surfaces, "you'd have to drown someone in urine to save them from coronavirus".

"The only thing it could partially be useful for is, if you didn't have access to soap and water, you could use it to partially disinfect surfaces," he said.

As told by Middle East correspondent Eric Tlozek

Who is saying this? People in Iran.

What's being said exactly? Some believe drinking alcohol can be a way of killing coronavirus, according to Iranian sources I've spoken to.

One contact told me: "You know how alcohol is prohibited in Iran so, one of the good businesses here is some people make alcoholic drinks at home and they sell it [at a high price]."

Is it a common belief? It doesn't appear to be too common at this stage.

That's unlikely, Professor Oliver says. He points out that "you'd need a high concentration of alcohol to kill a virus".

"In the handwash you use for example, you need 60-70 per cent ethanol to be effective," he said.

"If people are drinking spirits, the relative concentration of that is relatively low. So the amount you would need to drink would kill you before it kills the virus."

Professor Purcell agrees, adding "very few spirits have above 30 to 40 per cent which would not be enough to kill the virus".

As told by Papua New Guinea correspondent Natalie Whiting

Who is saying this? It appears to have started in the United States but is also being spread on social media in PNG.

What exactly are they saying? The most common myth that has been raised with me, and one I've seen shared widely on social media, is that black people can't get coronavirus.

When the virus first started making headlines, I was asked about this rumoured immunity by a few people in PNG. Some posts on social media here were claiming there was a link between the virus and melanin levels.

How widespread is this? Now that the virus has spread further and there have been cases recorded in the Pacific, there have been more people trying to debunk this myth on social media.

"That's crackers."

According to Professor Oliver, the theory makes "absolutely no sense".

"Whatever pigmentation you have is of no interest to the virus because it doesn't impact the skin," he said.

"It would perhaps play a role if the virus infected the skin. But in this case, it doesn't so I'm not sure where people are getting this idea from."

Professor Purcell says: "The virus doesn't replicate in skin."

"It targets cells where there is no melanin, in the lungs and gastrointestinal tract, and there are no difference in melanin levels in those tissues," he said.

"Nobody is immune."

As told by Indonesia correspondent Anne Barker

Who is saying this? Social media users in Indonesia.

What are they saying? Posts on social media in the past few weeks have claimed coronavirus does not attack people who smoke because the composition of tobacco and cloves can resist the attack.

One Facebook user said cigarette smoke is effective in killing the virus.

How widespread is this? The original claim has gone viral on Twitter and other social media. That's despite there also being many health messages warning of the dangers of smoking.

The claims have been denied by health experts, including Eijkman Institute for Biology and Higher Education molecular biologist Professor Amin Soebandrio.

He says smoking increases ACE 2 receptors in the lungs that cause the COVID-19 virus.

Professor Soebandrio says each receptor acts like a port, so if there are more berths, more "ships" will come.

Professor Oliver agrees, saying if anything "smoking makes the outcomes worse".

Who is saying this? The internet. Social media. Your neighbours/friends/family?

What exactly are they saying? According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, there have been a couple of myths around swallowing or gargling essential oils, salt water and other home remedies as a way to cure coronavirus.

How widespread is this? It appears to be a common enough query to prompt Johns Hopkins to respond to it on their website.

Once you're infected there is very little chance these would work, Professor Purcell says.

"The virus introduces genetic material into your body, so you have to get rid of the cell itself," he said.

"While some of these things [antibacterial mouth washes] can kill a virus on a sheet of stainless steel, once it's in your system, you might reduce the amount of virus that you're shedding, but you need your immune system to do the job."

Professor Oliver agrees, although he suggests that traditional medicines do "have some efficacy around various conditions".

"But even when they work, they don't work as well as Western medicines," he said.

"Even if they are successful one day, like with herbal teas and so on, part of the problem is that it's really hard to know whether that effect could be replicated on the next day.

"Whereas a drug designed in a lab is made to be the same each time, and you also know something of the safety measures used to make the drug."

Professor Purcell says one reason that you might see these myths pop up is because it's difficult to understand the science behind viruses, so people begin to introduce their own ideas.

"You can't see it, so you can't relate to the chemistry," he said.

Professor Oliver agrees, adding that some of these cures or prevention techniques are the equivalent of old wives' tales.

Or, sometimes, they can stem from cultural beliefs that are passed down.

Topics:respiratory-diseases,infectious-diseases-other,diseases-and-disorders,health,world-politics,government-and-politics,china,indonesia,united-states,thailand,iran-islamic-republic-of

First posted March 23, 2020 17:41:27

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Coronavirus 'cures' and prevention techniques are popping up all over the world. So we asked the experts what actually works - ABC News

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Coronavirus ‘cures’ and prevention techniques are popping up all over the world. So we asked the experts what actually works – ABC News | March 23rd, 2020

You get home from work and walk through the door. Your house is the Zone of Least Contamination, and the outside world is the Zone of Full Contamination. All day long youve been forced to interact with keyboards, doorknobs, subway poles, and handshakes. Youve stood in the same air as strangers, cringing in agony as sloughed off skin cells and droplets of spittle fly off their bodies and into your shared space. If you live in a densely populated city, youve been forced to press your body up close to theirs and breathe in shared, stale air.

This is a normal day if you have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder like I do, a disease thats still widely misunderstood and parodied in culture. Now imagine those painful, intrusive thoughtsevery cell in your body feeling swollen with contagion, the crushing fear that if you dont spend three hours decontaminating yourself and your house youll actually diecompounded by the coronavirus pandemic, which seems like the ultimate validation of all your obsessive tendencies.

What exactly happens to the obsessive-compulsive mind in the midst of a global pandemic, when a fear of germs and contamination suddenly seems perfectly rational? As of March 20, more than 244,000 cases of novel coronavirus have been reported worldwide, and at least 10,000 people have died. In Italy, which has the largest outbreak outside of China, the entire country is on lockdown, all shops and venues have closed, and prison revolts are breaking out across the region, as incarcerated people recognize the unique threat they face living in close quarters, with deeply uneven access to quality medical care. In the U.S., markets are in freefall, a national emergency has been declared, and even Broadway theaters have gone dark. UNESCO estimates that around 776 million students across the globe are currently out of school because of the virus. Even for someone without OCD, this kind of a public health crisis is impossible (and inadvisable!) to ignorelife as we know it has fundamentally changed.

What exactly happens to the obsessive-compulsive mind in the midst of a global pandemic?

But for folks with abnormally high levels of serotonin reuptake and a hyperactive amygdala, our threat-detection meter is malfunctioning constantly. Upsetting thoughts are paired with cognitive alarm bells, dousing your body in fear, anxiety, and adrenaline. Your system gets used to this feedback loop and starts to equate your thoughts and fears with actual danger. Next thing you know, the thought, What if that doorknob had coronavirus on it? becomes I just got coronavirus and now Im going to die. And with the 24-hour news cycle blaring desperate pleas to wash your hands, wash your hands, WASH YOUR HANDS!! the idea of getting a handle on that harmful feedback loop becomes even more impossible.

Unsurprisingly, the coronavirus panic has hit people with OCD especially hard. The disorder is going to become exacerbated in every sense, Dr. Robert Lancer, a psychologist and co-founder of the New York Center for OCD and Related Anxiety Disorders, told ELLE.com. Folks with OCD are very vulnerable to the power of suggestion, so hearing that hand sanitizer is selling out and seeing people wearing masks in public is going to trigger their need to compulsively purify.

Ute GrabowskyGetty Images

Nadia*, a 16 year old in Alberta suffering from OCD, described how intense her fear has gotten amid the outbreak. I freak out every time I touch my face, constantly ask for reassurance. I dont leave my house on the weekends anymore and I was crying every morning before school. I forgot my lotion at home one day and washed my hands to the point that they felt like sandpaper.

Its difficult for Nadia to escape her triggers, especially on social media. Twitter news has played a huge part in my panic and got me scared about it in the first place. When anyone talks about it my mind starts going crazy.

Smith, a 26 year old who lives in New York, said theyve been shocked by how much the pandemic has affected them. Im on medication for my OCD and I had it relatively under control before this started, but now it has constructed real barriers to my ability to function in the city. The stress is making it hard to focus on work; Im more isolated and more reluctant to participate in anything at all.

Lancer described this slow retreat into total isolation as inevitable. The more they avoid, the more the threshold is raised on what could be contaminated, he explained. The need to avoid is more and more...but avoidance is, in and of itself, a compulsion. The more they give in to that compulsion, the more extreme it will get. Now that so many Americans are on self-imposed quarantine, or at home due to school and work closures, this avoidance feels justified.

Although scientists say that decontamination and avoidance practices are our best bets for flattening the curve of infection, the rhetoric of intensified hand washing, surface sanitization, and social isolation runs directly counter to OCD therapeutic recommendations. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, one of the most common and effective treatments available in treating OCD, requires patients to break the ritual behaviors associated with their contamination obsessions. This usually involves a complete moratorium on all non-essential behavior associated with the compulsive rituals.

So for someone like Nadia, who is trying to break her ritualized hand-washing, a public health crisis acts as license to immerse herself fully in the behavior that holds her mind captive. Shes now up to 60-plus hand washes in a seven hour period.

I feel like it makes people with contamination OCD compulsions seem more valid, which results in us feeling a lot more inclined to agree with the intrusive thoughts rather than fighting them, she said.

"Im more isolated and more reluctant to participate in anything at all."

John, a 47 year old man living in the UK, agreed that the constant (but warranted) surge of messaging urging him to decontaminate has been detrimental to his mental health.

The irrationality of the condition feels more rational now, he said. The compulsions feel more justified. Any psychological progress I've made has been wiped out.

As an OCD sufferer myself, my heart goes out to our anxious little community as we try to navigate an unprecedented global disaster. Its scary enough to be living through this time with a normal relationship to dirt and germs, and Im sure there are even folks out there who do not suffer from OCD who have still descended into full paranoid germaphobia.

The actual illness isnt even the only concern that could affect our mental health. The economic realities were all facingas layoffs begin and industry after industry is hobbled or shuts downleaves freelancers, independent contractors, gig workers, small businesses, and day laborers vulnerable to a partial or complete loss of income, with no expectation of if or when their job could come back. Its enough to drive anyone insane with worry.

But to those of us whose amygdalas were screaming out in terror even before this all started, my advice is this: Listen to the incoming guidelines and restrictions and follow standard hygienic protocol. But please, for the love of God, stay off of social media, news outlets, and message boards. I know the compulsion to check in on the minute-by-minute feed is gnawing on the back of your brain stem at all times, but the best thing you can do for yourself is only read the completely relevant updates.

Theres so much misinformation out there, Lancer also said. Dont seek that information out compulsively; if you have OCD, you already arent thinking about it rationally, and all that doubt and uncertainty over what to believe is going to override your ability to have a safe and reasonable response.

Instead, check in with your therapist about establishing a baseline acceptable standard for virus-limiting decontamination practices, and otherwise continue your work to limit compulsive behavior. And if you cant afford therapy (well hey, wouldnt now be a great time for Medicare for All?), here are some great resources to check out. Community support is the greatest balm to the soul in times of extreme alienation; and if we know OCD, we know its primary goal is to alienate us inside our own minds. Solidarity to my squeaky clean community.

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OCD, the Coronavirus Freakout, and Me - ELLE.com

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on OCD, the Coronavirus Freakout, and Me – ELLE.com | March 23rd, 2020

A team of University of California, Irvine researchers have published the first comprehensive overview of the major changes that occur in mammalian skin cells as they prepare to heal wounds. Results from the study provide a blueprint for future investigation into pathological conditions associated with poor wound healing, such as in diabetic patients.

"This study is the first comprehensive dissection of the major changes in cellular heterogeneity from a normal state to wound healing in skin," said Xing Dai, PhD, a professor of biological chemistry and dermatology in the UCI School of Medicine, and senior author. "This work also showcases the collaborative efforts between biologists, mathematician and physicists at UCI, with support from the National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases-funded UCI Skin Biology Resource-based Center and the NSF-Simons Center for Multiscale Cell Fate Research.

The study, titled, "Defining epidermal basal cell states during skin homeostasis and wound healing using single-cell transcriptomics," was published this week in Cell Reports.

"Our research uncovered at least four distinct transcriptional states in the epidermal basal layer as part of a 'hierarchical-lineage' model of the epidermal homeostasis, or stable state of the skin, clarifying a long-term debate in the skin stem cell field," said Dai.

Using single-cell RNA sequencing coupled with RNAScope and fluorescence lifetime imaging, the team identified three non-proliferative and one proliferative basal cell state in homeostatic skin that differ in metabolic preference and become spatially partitioned during wound re-epithelialization, which is the process by which the skin and mucous membranes replace superficial epithelial cells damaged or lost in a wound.

Epithelial tissue maintenance is driven by resident stem cells, the proliferation and differentiation dynamics of which need to be tailored to the tissue's homeostatic and regenerative needs. However, our understanding of tissue-specific cellular dynamics in vivo at single-cell and tissue scales is often very limited.

"Our study lays a foundation for future investigation into the adult epidermis, specifically how the skin is maintained and how it can robustly regenerate itself upon injury," said Dai.

Reference:Haensel, D., Jin, S., Sun, P., Cinco, R., Dragan, M., Nguyen, Q., Dai, X. (2020). Defining Epidermal Basal Cell States during Skin Homeostasis and Wound Healing Using Single-Cell Transcriptomics. Cell Reports, 30(11), 3932-3947.e6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2020.02.091

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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How Skin Cells Prepare To Heal Wounds - Technology Networks

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on How Skin Cells Prepare To Heal Wounds – Technology Networks | March 22nd, 2020