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

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

From cold laser and acupuncture to sound and water therapies, vets now offer pets drug-free solutions to manage pain and recover fasterWhen Jayesh Wasan and his wife Swathi moved to India from the US in 2007, their cat Rocky was three years old. He was diagnosed with arthritis shortly after and over the years, also developed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and a urinary tract infection. Naturally, he was on various medications, including steroids, which the Wasans were warned, could take a toll on the felines kidneys in the long run. The pet parents were also worried about the pain made apparent by his prominent limp that he would endure while walking, particularly while using the stairs.

After years of trying various treatments, Rockys vet Dr Deepa Katyal advised the couple to try cold laser therapy and acupuncture, in conjunction with medication. I was initially surprised, but we trust our vet so we tried it. While the results werent immediate, within months, Rocky was able to move more swiftly and was even able to jump on top of his tiny cat house. I dont know if there has been a marked difference, but he doesnt cry as much as he used to, and certainly appears to have better mobility, says Swathi, who is even happier that Rocky doesnt need as many steroids anymore.

Katyal has been using acupuncture and cold laser in her practice for the last six years and she says it has been effective on dogs and cats suffering from everything from pancreatitis and liver enlargement to various muscle and hip-related conditions. She was introduced to these therapies while struggling to manage the conditions her own German Shepherd, Rocky was living with. Then 12, Rocky had intervertebral disc disease, and Katyal remembers, Although he would ambulate well outdoors, when you got him inside the house, he would just sit in a corner and avoid moving. He was also losing his hold over the marble floor. By the time he turned 13, Rocky had stopped responding to painkillers, lost control of his bladder and almost spiralled into a vegetative state. That he also had a bone condition and slipped disc meant that mobility was sharply compromised and he also had to be catheterised. I was desperate and my heart bled as I chased everyone I could to find a means to ease his pain, remembers Katyal, who eventually chanced upon and pursued a course in acupuncture from the North American Veterinary Council, in the hope that the alternative therapy might yield results. I then augmented acupuncture and laser with stem cell therapy, and my dog stood up. His urine was still dribbling and he passed stool once in three days, but he was mobile. That was quite an achievement for an animal that couldnt even stand, says Katyal, of Rocky, who passed away at the age of 14 in 2011.

Jayesh Wasans cat Rocky goes through a cold laser

Sound adviceDr Akshay Shah, a Wadala-based vet always implores patients to cut down on painkillers, and makes it a pose to organs. When Aarya Sharma consulted him for his Labrador Laila, who was having trouble walking, Dr Shah suggested an integrated course of ultrasound therapy, joint supplements and acupuncture. Laila was also diagnosed with hip dysplasia, which had rendered her hind legs barely functional. When her condition worsened, Sharma had to start carrying her down the stairs from her ninth-floor Colaba apartment. She was in such immense pain, she would refuse to go for walks, says the 25-year-old fashion stylist, adding that Lailas hind legs had degenerated by 80 per cent. Shah immediately put Laila on a course of Ultrasound therapy, which involves generating mild heat inside the tissues to relieve the pain. We set the timer and frequency of the sound waves depending on each case. Then, we use a gel which acts as a conducting material and the probe is held to the skin, says Shah.

After a month of this integrated treatment, Laila was back on her feet, and more energetic than before, Sharma recalls. We Googled the therapy and found a lot of interviews of doctors from across the world. Most of them said that while it wont solve the problem, it can arrest the pain for a while and ensure your dog doesnt become bed-ridden. It really improves their quality of life, says Sharma.

Current affairBut painkillers are still the go-to treatment for most, at least until they know what options exist. When Ghatkopar residents Saloni and Rushabh Thakkars Labrador Hugo started suffering from hip dysplasia, a condition that breeds such as Labradors and golden retrievers are genetically predisposed to, they did start him on painkillers to alleviate the discomfort. While it helped, it also made Hugo sleepy and sluggish. There were days when his water bowl was near him, but he wouldnt get up to walk to it; we had to place it right in front of him, says Thakkar, an advertising professional. With time, Hugos condition got progressively worse, until one day, when he slipped while walking and couldnt get back on his feet. When he was rushed to the vet, he was given a session of electro-acupuncture, which involves dry needling along with application of a mild faradic current to stimulate certain points which help clear the many pathways in the body.

The procedure was repeated over the next few days, and within a week, Hugo was back on his feet. For neuropathic pain, you are triggering certain muscles and it attends to the mobility issue. Its also effective in triggering those nerves that are getting worn out and the muscles which are getting atrophic, says Katyal, who feels that introducing dogs to such procedures at an early age could also delay the onset of various muscle and nerve-related conditions.

Katyal also uses Trans Electrical Nerve Stimulation, where electric current is used to stimulate nerves and help in pain management. Make-up artist Tanya Shengde, 28, says the therapy helped her Labrador Bruno, when he was grappling with vestibular syndrome, a nerve condition that threw him off balance. He also had bad hips, which left him in an almost convulsive state, where he couldnt even get up, says Katyal, who treated the dog with a combination of therapies for over two years. Sometimes pet parents get worked up when they first see the electrodes, but the benefits speak for themselves, she says.

Dr Pranjal Nadkarnis underwater treadmill; Dr Akshay Shah performs ultrasound therapy on Laila, a labrador

Pooja Advani, a physical hydrotherapist, who runs the pet wellness centre Doggie Dog World offers various therapies, including swimming and underwater massages. When Ambuj Dixits Labrador Romeo was diagnosed with hip dysplasia at the age of two, he started researching alternative therapies to alleviate his pets pain. Since he was diagnosed at an early stage, we decided to try out hydrotherapy in conjunction with supplements, says Dixit. But a year ago, Romeos condition worsened and surgery was recommended. I decided to go back to the hydrotherapy sessions where Romeo underwent prescribed swimming sessions. After a year of therapy, Romeo is no longer on medication and surgery is not deemed an immediate necessity for him.

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Paws to heal - Bangalore Mirror

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Paws to heal – Bangalore Mirror | March 22nd, 2020

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

The study, "Defining epidermal basal cell states during skin homeostasis and wound healing using single-cell transcriptomics", was published this week in Cell Reports. According to Xing Dai, Ph.D., a professor of biological chemistry and dermatology in the UCI School of Medicine, and senior author, "This study is the first comprehensive dissection of the major changes in cellular heterogeneity from a normal state to wound healing in the skin."

This work also showcases the collaborative efforts between biologists, mathematicians 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. "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.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Download The Devdiscourse News App for Latest News.

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Study reveals how skin cells prepare to heal wounds - Devdiscourse

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Study reveals how skin cells prepare to heal wounds – Devdiscourse | March 20th, 2020

Dr. Gaines of Life Gaines Medical & Aesthetics Center sends out info about the COVID-19 virus for concerned patients and the general public in South Florida

Boca Raton, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - March 20, 2020) - LifeGaines reaches out to its patients and community who are concerned about COVID-19, the novel coronavirus.

"Dear LifeGaines Medical & Aesthetics Family,

"The staff at LifeGaines takes your health and safety seriously and we won't compromise when it comes to protecting our patients. We are closely monitoring the World Health Organization and CDC with regard to ongoing developments of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and we are committed to providing you a safe and clean environment.

"In an effort to reassure our patients, we want to inform you that we are continuing our rigorous routines to keep our practice sanitized and clean and will continue to take every precaution to keep you safe. Our daily safety standards include disinfecting our treatment rooms and equipment after each treatment and thoroughly washing our hands. We also wear new, clean gloves when applying products to our patients' skin and discard after each use. Also, our office is cleaned daily including wiping down tabletops, doorknobs, and equipment using medical-grade disinfectants."

Dr. LifeGaines reaches out to patients and community in light of COVID-19

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:https://media.zenfs.com/en-us/newsfile_64/2f7e8700c7c06672c2bf9192647742d9

Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns at (561) 931-2430. We look forward to seeing you soon.

https://www.facebook.com/LifeGaines/posts/1067452740282001 - Dr. Gaines gives a message on Facebook about how he is boosting his immune system as the COVID-19 virus spreads across the U.S.

Dr. Gaines talks about the benefits of IV ozone therapy. In addition to immunotherapy which helps boost someone's immune system, one should also drink plenty of water and get enough rest.

LifeGaines is mobile and visiting patients at their homes with the IV ozone therapy treatment. Inquire about this by calling LifeGaines.Learn about IV Vitamin Therapy here: https://lifegaines.com/wellness-therapies/iv-vitamin-therapy/

Don't hesitate to contact LifeGaines with any questions or concerns at (561) 931-2430.

About Dr. Gaines' LifeGaines team:

LifeGaines is one of the most highly respected age management medical teams anywhere. Age management medicine pioneer Dr. Richard Gaines has years of experience specializing in hormone replacement therapy, sexual wellness, platelet-rich plasma, stem cells, aesthetics, and advanced age management protocols.

About Dr. Gaines:

Dr. Richard Gaines graduated from Boston University School of Medicine in 1981. He completed his internship at Tufts University School of Medicine in 1981 and his residency at Harvard Medical School in 1985, where he was an anesthesiology fellow at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He served as a physician at Huntington General Hospital, as an anesthesiologist at Harvard Community Health Plan and at Sheridan Healthcorp. Dr. Gaines opened an age management and wellness practice after a 40-year career as a physician and health care executive. He has a Fellowship in Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine (FAARM) from the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, he's board-certified from the American Board of Anti-Aging & Regenerative Medicine (ABAARM) and he's certified as a Functional Medicine Practitioner with advanced training at The Institute for Functional Medicine.

LifeGaines is responsible for this press release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/53638

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Dr. Gaines Provides Insight Into How People Can Best Protect Themselves and Their Families From the COVID-19 Virus - Yahoo Finance

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Dr. Gaines Provides Insight Into How People Can Best Protect Themselves and Their Families From the COVID-19 Virus – Yahoo Finance | March 20th, 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."

Related Articles Around the Web

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Scientists figure out why stress turns your hair gray - Big Think

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Scientists figure out why stress turns your hair gray – Big Think | March 19th, 2020

For Earth, bleak times lay ahead. TheCOVID-19 diseaseis known to cause respiratory illness and fever, but some extra symptoms sweeping across the globe right now seem to be stress, fear, and anxiety. To provide some light relief in these dark times, weve collated 15 of our favorite good news stories to remind you that not everything is awful. Hold tight everybody, 2021 will come eventually.

The Super Pink Moon is comingYou might be stuck at home as part of your self-isolation, but luckily the night sky is about to put on quite a show as April sees the return of the Super Pink Moon. Full moons happen every month and were given different names by the Native Americans to map out the year based on significant events that ran in tandem with the occurrence of a full Moon. Aprils is known as the pink moon because it appeared at the same time as pink spring flowers. This Aprils will be a Super Pink Moon as it is the second supermoon of the year, a term used to describe the slightly enlarged appearance of the Moon as its fully illuminated by the Sun due to Earths position between the two. Quarantine or no, if you've got access to a window you should be able to catch sight of this beauty on April 7 and when you do, think of all the other people looking up at the same moon. Self isolation doesn't mean you're alone.

Mice have been cured of diabetesAn astonishing discovery at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has revealed that human stem cells could be successfully engineered to cure diabetes in mice, offering an avenue of hope for the treatment of this debilitating disease. They used human pluripotent stem cells, cells that have the capacity to become any cell in the body, to create insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells. The engineered stem cells supplemented the diabetic mices inability to produce insulin, curing them of the disease for 9 months to a year before relapse occurred.

Theres a new green fuel in townHydrogen fuel was fast shaping up to be a hopeful route for a zero-emissions means of running things, but its costly production in terms of energy was affecting hopes for it being a sustainable resource. A team in Tokyo has now managed to refine the process to yield 25 times more hydrogen than previous methods all while using thrifty ingredients including light and a specific kind of rust. Combined with all the solar power breakthroughs currently occurring, green energy is on the up.

A crash course in what not to do, according to one Stanford University psychologist.

Babies love baby talkEven if it makes your skin crawl to hear adults cooing over little uns, it turns out babies across the globe are universally partial to baby talk. The news comes fromStanford psychologist Michael Frank who led the largeststudyto date looking at how the different ways adults speak is received by babies across the world. While all babies were fans, older babies liked it best and even showed a preference for baby talk in their native language as they likely recognized it most even if they couldnt speak it yet. The overall winner was oohs and coos, so think twice before scorning your new-parent friends for embarrassing you in public the babies have spoken.

Important change in the winds for HIV treatmentShortly after a UK man became the second person cured of HIV a fantastic breakthrough in the treatment of this once devastating disease theres more good news in the UK as PrEP, a preventative drug that prevents HIV infection, will finally be available nationwide on the NHS having already been made available in Scotland. After a 3-year study involving 20,000 participants, the drug will be made available to those at higher risk of exposure from April. PrEP is already available in the US and you can find PrEP providers near you here.

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Plasters finally take a step towards racial inclusivityMajor UK superstore Tesco has taken the long-awaited step to introduce skin tone diversity into their range of bandaids. Previously, widely available bandaids, or plasters in the UK, have mainly catered to Caucasian individuals and the racial oversight was brought to light by a moving Tweet from Domonique Apollon in April 2019 after he wore a bandaid suitable for his skin tone for the first time. Longtime readers of Malorie Blackman's literary series Noughts and Crosseswill appreciate this poignant detail becoming a reality, as will those watching the current BBC dramatization available to watch via iPlayer in the US (excellent for those self-isolating).

Universal flu vaccine passes integral stageWatchers of the Pandemic documentary on Netflix (we wouldnt recommend catching up now if you missed it) may remember the plight of flu-fighting epidemiologists as the constantly shape-shifting nature of influenza meant strains were annually moving beyond existing vaccinations. Now, a universal vaccine is becoming a reality as for the first time a vaccine, called FLU-v, has been developed that can induce immune responses that last at least six months. Phase I and II of the clinical trial have been approved meaning its safety for use in human subjects and we hotly await what comes next for the groundbreaking vaccine.

Top marks for lights out in dark sky nationSometimes a bit of darkness can be a good thing, and when it comes to nighttime, the tiny South Pacific island of Niue tops the charts. The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) is a non-profit working to protect our most precious natural spaces from light pollution, and this year chose Niue as the first entire country ever to be accredited as a Dark Sky Place. This classification recognizes responsible lighting policies that preserve the natural darkness of nighttime carrying with it endless benefits for the biological cycles of animals, plants and humans.

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People hating on National Parks created beautiful artIn a glimmering example of you cant please everybody, artist Amber Share decided to take some of the best worst reviews of National Parks in America and turn them intotourism posters, showing that we can still make something funny in the face of people's negativity. You can see the whole collection on her Instagram account @subparparks, but a personal favorite has to be the above magnificent minimization of Yellowstone.

CRISPR may hold the key for curing genetic blindnessSurgeons at Oregon Health & Science Institute have attempted to use gene hacking to cure Leber congenital amaurosis, a genetic condition that leads to the onset of blindness in early childhood. By directly gene editing within the patients eye, researchers hope to ...take people who are essentially blind and make them see," according to researchers.

The Arctic seed vault in Svalbard is thrivingLast month saw an enormous glut of 60,000 seed samples added to the ever-growing collecting in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Tucked beneath a mountain in Norway's Svalbard archipelago, the initiative began with hopes to create a Noahs ark for plant diversity to protect our green spaces should a global catastrophe occur up top. The collection now includes 1.05 million seed varieties including the first-ever donation from an indigenous US tribe. Nicknamed the "Doomsday vault", we may need it sooner than thought.

Sea sponges can sneeze, and the footage is amazingThe aah and choo of asneezing sea spongehas been caught on camera for the first time and the recording is hilarious. Stumbled upon almost by accident, the discovery came about while researchers were observing sea cucumbers and sea urchins sniffing the sea floor. The video shows the two-part sneeze of a tulip-shaped sponge as it expands before contracting, expelling particles as it goes. Researchers arent yet sure what the sneezes are in response to. Lets hope its not a case ofthe suds.

Vernal equinox brings early springThe times might be dark but for the Northern hemisphere, the days wont be, as spring arrives on March 19, the earliest date in 124 years. The variation in the date is the result of leap years and daylight savings time. It should be noted this is the astronomical definition of spring, which refers specifically to the position of Earth's orbit in relation to the Sun, so perhaps dont expect to hear a gay little spring song in your garden just yet.

Its possible some dinosaurs could GLOW IN THE DARKA titillating discovery published in the journal Historical Biology recently revealed that some dinosaurs may have glowed in the dark thanks to ultraviolet fluorescing feathers and horns. Many extant bird species are tetrachromats, defined by a fourth cone in their retina that means they can see the UV spectrum. Co-author Jamie Dunning's work on the photoluminescence of puffin beaks under UV light inspired the questions, could dinosaurs have this too? We'd like the answer to be yes, please. The only thing cooler than dinosaurs is glow-in-the-dark dinosaurs.

If you need more positivity in your life right now, take a look at these ingenious social distancing moments from around the world that will restore your faith in humanity.

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15 Good News Stories To Tackle The COVID-19 Sadness - IFLScience

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on 15 Good News Stories To Tackle The COVID-19 Sadness – IFLScience | March 19th, 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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It's the sympathetic nervous system - Big Think

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Forecast Period 2020-2026: A comprehensive analysis of the market structure along with the forecast of the various segments and sub-segments of the market have been delivered through this Cosmetic Skin Care Market business document. The market is greatly transforming because of the moves of the key players and brands including developments, product launches, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions that in turn changes the view of the global face of industry.

The well-established Key players in the market are: LOral, Unilever, New Avon Company, Este Lauder Companies, Espa, Kao Corporation, Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., Procter & Gamble, Beiersdorf, THE BODY SHOP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, Shiseido Co.,Ltd., Coty Inc., Bo International, A One Cosmetics Products, Lancme, Clinique Laboratories, llc., Galderma Laboratories, L.P., AVON Beauty Products India Pvt Ltd, Nutriglow Cosmetics Pvt. Ltd, Shree Cosmetics Ltd among others.

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Cosmetic Skin Care Market Trends | Industry Segment by Product (Anti-Aging Cosmetic Products, Skin Whitening Cosmetic Products, Sensitive Skin Care Products, Anti-Acne Products, Dry Skin Care Products, Warts Removal Products, Infant Skin Care Products, Anti-Scars Solution Products, Mole Removal Products, Multi Utility Products), Application (Flakiness Reduction, Stem Cells Protection against UV, Rehydrate the skins surface, Minimize wrinkles, Increase the viscosity of Aqueous, Others), Gender (Men, Women), Distribution Channel (Online, Departmental Stores and Convenience Stores, Pharmacies, Supermarket, Others), Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa) Industry Trends and Forecast to 2026

Cosmetic skin care is a variety of products which are used to improve the skins appearance and alleviate skin conditions. It consists different products such as anti- aging cosmetic products, sensitive skin care products, anti- scar solution products, warts removal products, infant skin care products and other. They contain various ingredients which are beneficial for the skin such as phytochemicals, vitamins, essential oils, and other. Their main function is to make the skin healthy and repair the skin damages.

Market Drivers:

Market Restraints:

Key Developments in the Market:

In July 2019, Colgate-Palmolive announced the acquisition of Laboratoires Filorga Cosmtiques so they can strengthen their skin-care business. This acquisition will help the company to provide better products to their customer and solidify them in them in the Asia

In June 2019, Unilever announced the acquisition of skin-care brand Tatcha. This acquisition will help the company to produce new innovative natural products and provide better solutions to their customer worldwide. This will also add Tatcha famous brands such as The Silk Canvas primer, Luminous Dewy Skin Mist, The Deep Cleanse Exfoliating Cleanser and other

Competitive Analysis:

Global cosmetic skin care market is highly fragmented and the major players have used various strategies such as new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions, and others to increase their footprints in this market. The report includes market shares of cosmetic skin care market for Global, Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, South America and Middle East & Africa.

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Cosmetic Skin Care Industry Production by Regions

Global Cosmetic Skin Care Industry Production by Regions

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Cosmetic Skin Care Industry Segment Market Analysis (by Type)

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Global Cosmetic Skin Care Industry Consumption Market Share by Application (2014-2019)

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At the Last, Cosmetic Skin Care industry report focuses on data sources, viz. primary and secondary sources, market breakdown and data triangulation, market size estimation, research programs, and design, research approach and methodology, and the publishers disclaimer.

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Cosmetic Skin Care Market comprehensive study on Key Players like L'Oral, Unilever, New Avon Company, Este Lauder Companies, Espa, Kao Corporation,...

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Cosmetic Skin Care Market comprehensive study on Key Players like L’Oral, Unilever, New Avon Company, Este Lauder Companies, Espa, Kao Corporation,… | March 19th, 2020

Newswise The National Institute on Aging (NIA) has extended its biobanking contract with the Coriell Institute for Medical Research for an additional five years.

The newly awarded $8.6 million funding keeps Coriell in place as the trusted steward of this collection and includes the addition of new innovative products to expand the collection. The NIA Aging Cell Repository was established at Coriell in 1974 and Coriell has continuously managed this unique resource ever since.

Coriells relationship with the NIA is among its oldest and most treasured, said Nahid Turan, Coriell's Chief Biobanking Officer. We at Coriell are committed to ensuring the success of this phenomenal collection of aging-related biospecimens, and we are thrilled at the opportunity to continue this important collaboration with NIA.

The NIA Aging Cell Repository contains a collection of high quality, well characterized human and animal cell line and DNA samples, representing aged human populations, age-related diseases, and animal models of aging and has seen significant changes in the last decade.

One major focus of the collection is now to generate valuable induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines, which can be used to model aging and perform disease in a dish experiments. These stem cells are created from skin or blood cells in the NIA collection, which were reverted into a stem cell state. From there, these cells can be coaxed into becoming nearly any other cell type in the body, including neuronal or nerve cells. Seven of these important iPSC lines have been added to the collection in the last three years, representing age related neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimers disease as well as rare genetic diseases like Progeria and Werner Syndrome.

Late last year, the Repository also added more than 350 new cell lines collected from participants in a long-term study of aging known as The 90+ Study. Participants in this study all aged 90 years or older donated their DNA and agreed to answer questions over a period of time to help researchers better understand the lifestyle and biological factors which may contribute to advanced aging.

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Coriell Institute for Medical Research Awarded $8.6 Million Biobanking Contract from National Institute on Aging - Newswise

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Coriell Institute for Medical Research Awarded $8.6 Million Biobanking Contract from National Institute on Aging – Newswise | March 18th, 2020

When the World Health Organization (WHO)labeled the new COVID-19a "pandemic", that is, a disease that is occurringall over the world at the same time, there were moments reminiscentof times of war: thedeserted streets, supermarkets overwhelmed by hundreds of people scrambling for goods, and the constant media monitoring of the infection's progress the number of sick and dead increasing daily.Although our health system is not what it was in 1918, when the Spanish Fluwreaked havoc, nor will the coronavirus be as lethal as smallpox the most deadly pandemic some people will still make historical comparisons.To keep you up to date with what's happening now and what's happened in the past, here's tour of the five most devastating pandemics that we've emerged from.

HIV/AIDS

It has killed more than 25 million people worldwide, and although preventive treatments such as PrEP have been developed toreduce infections by 90%, a global cure has yet to be found.HIV originated in Africa, where apes have an HIV-like virus known as SIV.

Scientists still speculate on whether interspecies contagion occurred from hunting or eating infected chimp meat.AIDS wasn't detected as a disease until the 1980s, when it was observed in the United States, especially among homosexual patients in New York and California. It was later determined an evolution of the HIV infection, which transmitted through any passage of bodily fluid (intravenous drug usage and sexual intercourse were the most common). Doctors named it acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)because the virus attacks the white blood cells that help fight infection.Today, there are two patients worldwide who have been cured of HIV thanks to a stem cell transplant whose donor carried a mutation known as CCR5-delta 32.

The Black Death or Bubonic Plague

It ravaged the European continent from the mid-14th century until its last outbreak three hundred years later and is responsible for more than 75 million deaths.

Although at that time the devastating epidemic was attributed to Divine Cholera and even to the passage of a comet, the origin was a bacterium that appeared in Asia and spread through parasites such as rat fleas. Its spread originated at trade ports, and was helped by the poor hygiene conditions and diet of the time period.

Death occurred in less than a week after the disease manifested, with the appearance of buboes - or swelling of nodes in the lymphatic system - accompanied by high fevers, delirium, chills and stinking suppurations. The sick were confined to their homes along with their families as means of containment. In some cases, it wiped out whole villages in Europe, which were sometimes discovered hundreds of years later.

Spanish Flu

The disease gotits name during WWI fromSpanish newspapers, which remained neutral in the conflict, and were the only ones to report on its lethality without censorship.

It is believed that Spanish Flu was responsible for between 50 and 100 million deaths and some the first cases reported were among the United States military, who could have broughtit to Europe when they landed to fight the Germans. Regardless, there are many theories around its origin.

As deadly as it is heartbreaking, there were cases in the United States of people rising with fever and dying on their way to work.

In a previous article, we commented on why its fatality rate, which is often used incomparisontoCovid-19, is wrong, as it is well over the 2% reported by WHO.

Smallpox

Holding the position of the most devastating global pandemic,Smallpoxhas contributed to the decline of entire civilizations such as the Aztec and Inca Empires when theSpanish brought the disease in their "conquest" of the New World in 1519. It is estimated that 90% of indigenous deaths during European colonization were not due to "fire," but rather, disease.

In Europe, smallpox killed 60 million people in the 18th century alone, and a hundred years later there were 300 million deaths worldwide.

Its Latin name means "spotted", because of the bumps and bruises that appeared on the faces of those afflicted. It was highly contagious and those who survived would carry marks on their skin for the rest of their lives, and some even wentblind.

One of modern medicine's greatest achievements was the creation of a vaccine for smallpox in 1979. As a result, Smallpox is considered eradicated.

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Four pandemics that changed the world - AL DIA News

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Jagasia was concerned that although G.V.H.D. was the most likely diagnosis, it might not be the right one. The patient had already been tested for the usual infections seen in immune-suppressed patients. So he looked for other possible causes of the patients diarrhea. He didnt find any. The patient lost another 15 pounds. When he looked in the mirror, he hardly recognized himself. Jagasia arranged for the patient to start getting intravenous nutrition and began tapering one immune-suppressing medication in order to start another.

The patients son was in medical school in another part of the state and called home frequently. When his father finally told him how sick he was, his son got scared. His father was a minimizer. If he was saying this, things must be bad.

When he got off the phone, the young man immediately turned to the internet. He typed in gastroenteritis after ... stem-cell transplant. The first results that came up referred to a paper in a medical journal, Clinical Infectious Diseases, published nearly a decade earlier that identified an unexpected culprit: norovirus.

Norovirus is one of the most common causes of gastroenteritis in the world. In the United States, its linked to an estimated 21 million cases of nausea and vomiting every year. Diarrhea can be present but is not typically as severe as other symptoms. In a normal host, the infection resolves on its own after 48 to 72 hours, thanks to the hard work of the immune system. Even so, norovirus was not a common cause of diarrhea in those who are immunosuppressed. But in the medical-journal paper, the first of its kind, 12 patients who had a stem-cell transplant and developed a persistent diarrheal illness were found to have norovirus. And of those 12, 11 were initially thought to have G.V.H.D. In most of those cases, it was only after the immune-suppressing medications were reduced that the patients own defenses could come to the rescue and vanquish the virus.

The son immediately sent the paper to his father. Had he been tested for norovirus? he asked. The patient wasnt sure. He forwarded the journal article to Jagasia and asked if hed had this test. He hadnt. Jagasia was 99 percent certain that this was a wild-goose chase. Hed never seen norovirus in patients with compromised immune systems. Still, testing was easy.

When the test came back positive, Jagasia was stunned. He repeated the test. Positive again. He immediately started to taper the immune-suppressing medications. As the doses came down, the diarrhea slowed, and after a few weeks, it stopped completely. With the help of the IV nutrition, and a slowly improving appetite, the patient began to gain back the weight he lost. From the patients point of view, his son saved his life.

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His Immune System Went Out of Whack. The Usual Treatment Didnt Work. Why? - The New York Times

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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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What does social distancing really mean? - Massive Science

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on What does social distancing really mean? – Massive Science | March 17th, 2020

In a talk at UAB on March 6, the NIH director shared his thoughts on exceptional opportunities for science and young scientists and highlighted several exciting UAB projects.

NIH Director Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., visited UAB on March 6. In addition to his public talk, Collins had breakfast with UAB medical students and met with groups of young researchers and other investigators across campus.Speaking to a packed University of Alabama at Birmingham audience March 6, Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., director of the National Institutes of Health, shared his picks of 10 areas of particular excitement and promise in biomedical research.

In nearly every area, UAB scientists are helping to lead the way as Collins himself noted in several cases. At the conclusion of his talk, Collins addedhis advice for young scientists. Here is Collins top 10 list, annotated with some of the UAB work ongoing in each area and ways that faculty, staff and students can get involved.

I am so jazzed with what has become possible with the ability to study single cells and see what they are doing, Collins said. They have been out of our reach now we have reached in. Whether you are studying rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes or the brain, you have the chance to ask each cell what it is doing.

Single-cell sequencing and UAB:Collins noted that Robert Carter, M.D., the acting director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, was a longtime faculty member at UAB (serving as director of the Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology). For the past several years, UAB researchers have been studying gene expression in subpopulations of immune cells inpatients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Join in:Researchers can take advantage of the single-cell sequencing core facility in UABsComprehensive Flow Cytometry Core, directed by John Mountz, M.D., Ph.D., Goodwin-Blackburn Research Chair in Immunology and professor in the Department of Medicine Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology.

Learn more:Mountz and other heavy users of single-cell sequencing explain how the techniqueslet them travel back in time and morein this UAB Reporter story.

The NIHsBRAIN Initiativeis making this the era where we are going to figure out how the brain works all 86 billion neurons between your ears, Collins said. The linchpin of this advance will be the development of tools to identify new brain cell types and circuits that will improve diagnosis, treatment and prevention of autism, schizophrenia, Parkinsons and other neurological conditions, he said.

Brain tech and UAB:Collins highlighted thework of BRAIN Initiative granteeHarrison Walker, M.D., an associate professor in the Department of Neurology, whose lab has been developing a more sophisticated way to understand the benefits of deep brain stimulation for people with Parkinsons and maybe other conditions, Collins said.

Join in:UABs planned new doctoral program in neuroengineering would be the first of its kind in the country.

Learn more:Find out why neuroengineering is asmart career choicein this UAB Reporter story.

Researchers can now take a blood cell or skin cell and, by adding four magic genes, Collins explained, induce the cells to become stem cells. These induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can then in turn be differentiated into any number of different cell types, including nerve cells, heart muscle cells or pancreatic beta cells. The NIH has invested in technology to put iPS-derived cells on specialized tissue chips. Youve got you on a chip, Collins explained. Some of us dream of a day where this might be the best way to figure out whether a drug intervention is going to work for you or youre going to be one of those people that has a bad consequence.

iPS cells at UAB:Collins displayed images of thecutting-edge cardiac tissue chipdeveloped by a UAB team led by Palaniappan Sethu, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Division of Cardiovascular Disease. The work allows the development of cardiomyocytes that can be used to study heart failure and other conditions, Collins said.

Join in:UABs biomedical engineering department, one of the leading recipients of NIH funding nationally, is a joint department of the School of Engineering and School of Medicine. Learn more about UABsundergraduate and graduate programs in biomedical engineering, and potential careers, here.

Learn more:See howthis novel bioprinterdeveloped by UAB biomedical researchers is speeding up tissue engineering in this story from UAB News.

We have kind of ignored the fact that we have all these microbes living on us and in us until fairly recently, Collins said. But now it is clear that we are not an organism we are a superorganism formed with the trillions of microbes present in and on our bodies, he said. This microbiome plays a significant role not just in skin and intestinal diseases but much more broadly.

Microbiome at UAB:Collins explained that work led by Casey Morrow, Ph.D., and Casey Weaver, M.D., co-directors of theMicrobiome/Gnotobiotics Shared Facility, has revealed intriguing information abouthow antibiotics affect the gut microbiome. Their approach has potential implications for understanding, preserving and improving health, Collins said.

Join in:Several ongoing clinical trials at UAB are studying the microbiome, including a studymodifying diet to improve gut microbiotaand an investigation of the microbiomes ofpostmenopausal women looking for outcomes and response to estrogen therapy.

Learn more:This UAB News storyexplains the UAB researchthat Collins highlighted.

Another deadly influenza outbreak is likely in the future, Collins said. What we need is not an influenza vaccine that you have to redesign every year, but something that would actually block influenza viruses, he said. Is that even possible? It just might be.

Influenza research at UAB:Were probably at least a decade away from a universal influenza vaccine. But work ongoing at UAB in the NIH-fundedAntiviral Drug Discovery and Development Center(AD3C), led by Distinguished Professor Richard Whitley, M.D., is focused on such an influenza breakthrough.

Join in:For now, the most important thing you can do to stop the flu is to get a flu vaccination. Employees can schedule afree flu vaccination here.

Learn more:Why get the flu shot? What is it like? How can you disinfect your home after the flu? Get all the information atthis comprehensive sitefrom UAB News.

The NIH has a role to play in tackling the crisis of opioid addiction and deaths, Collins said. The NIHs Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) initiative is an all-hands-on-deck effort, he said, involving almost every NIH institute and center, with the goal of uncovering new targets for preventing addiction and improving pain treatment by developing non-addictive pain medicines.

Addiction prevention at UAB:A big part of this initiative involves education to help professionals and the public understand what to do, Collins said. The NIH Centers of Excellence in Pain Education (CoEPE), including one at UAB, are hubs for the development, evaluation and distribution of pain-management curriculum resources to enhance pain education for health care professionals.

Join in:Find out how to tell if you or a loved one has a substance or alcohol use problem, connect with classes and resources or schedule an individualized assessment and treatment through theUAB Medicine Addiction Recovery Program.

Learn more:Discover some of the many ways that UAB faculty and staff aremaking an impact on the opioid crisisin this story from UAB News.

We are all pretty darn jazzed about whats happened in the past few years in terms of developing a new modality for treating cancer we had surgery, we had radiation, we had chemotherapy, but now weve got immunotherapy, Collins said.

Educating immune system cells to go after cancer in therapies such as CAR-T cell therapy is the hottest science in cancer, he said. I would argue this is a really exciting moment where the oncologists and the immunologists together are doing amazing things.

Immunotherapy at UAB:I had to say something about immunology since Im at UAB given that Max Cooper, whojust got the Lasker Awardfor [his] B and T cell discoveries, was here, Collins said. This is a place I would hope where lots of interesting ideas are going to continue to emerge.

Join in:The ONeal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB is participating in a number of clinical trials of immunotherapies.Search the latest trials at the Cancer Centerhere.

Learn more:Luciano Costa, M.D., Ph.D., medical director of clinical trials at the ONeal Cancer Center, discusses the promise ofCAR-T cell therapy in this UAB MedCast podcast.

Assistant Professor Ben Larimer, Ph.D., is pursuing a new kind of PET imaging test that could give clinicians afast, accurate picture of whether immunotherapy is workingfor a patient in this UAB Reporter article.

The All of Us Research Program from NIH aims to enroll a million Americans to move away from the one-size-fits-all approach to medicine and really understand individual differences, Collins said. The program, which launched in 2018 and is already one-third of the way to its enrollment goal, has a prevention rather than a disease treatment approach; it is collecting information on environmental exposures, health practices, diet, exercise and more, in addition to genetics, from those participants.

All of Us at UAB:UAB has been doing a fantastic job of enrolling participants, Collins noted. In fact, the Southern Network of the All of Us Research Program, led by UAB, has consistently been at the top in terms of nationwide enrollment, as School of Medicine Dean Selwyn Vickers, M.D., noted in introducing Collins.

Join in:Sign up forAll of Usat UAB today.

Learn more:UABs success in enrolling participants has led to anew pilot study aimed at increasing participant retention rates.

Rare Disease Day, on Feb. 29, brought together hundreds of rare disease research advocates at the NIH, Collins said. NIH needs to play a special role because many diseases are so rare that pharmaceutical companies will not focus on them, he said. We need to find answers that are scalable, so you dont have to come up with a strategy for all 6,500 rare diseases.

Rare diseases at UAB: The Undiagnosed Diseases Network, which includes aUAB siteled by Chief Genomics Officer Bruce Korf, M.D., Ph.D., is a national network that brings together experts in a wide range of conditions to help patients, Collins said.

Participants in theAlabama Genomic Health Initiative, also led by Korf, donate a small blood sample that is tested for the presence of specific genetic variants. Individuals with indications of genetic disease receive whole-genome sequencing. Collins noted that lessons from the AGHI helped guide development of the All of Us Research Program.

Collins also credited UABs Tim Townes, Ph.D., professor emeritus in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, for developing the most significantly accurate model of sickle cell disease in a mouse which has been a great service to the [research] community. UAB is now participating in anexciting clinical trial of a gene-editing technique to treat sickle cellalong with other new targeted therapies for the devastating blood disease.

Join in:In addition to UABs Undiagnosed Diseases Program (which requires a physician referral) and the AGHI, patients and providers can contact theUAB Precision Medicine Institute, led by Director Matt Might, Ph.D. The institute develops precisely targeted treatments based on a patients unique genetic makeup.

Learn more:Discover how UAB experts solved medical puzzles for patients by uncovering anever-before-described mutationandcracking a vomiting mysteryin these UAB News stories.

We know that science, like everything else, is more productive when teams are diverse than if they are all looking the same, Collins said. My number one priority as NIH director is to be sure we are doing everything we can to nurture and encourage the best and brightest to join this effort.

Research diversity at UAB:TheNeuroscience Roadmap Scholars Programat UAB, supported by an NIH R25 grant, is designed to enhance engagement and retention of under-represented graduate trainees in the neuroscience workforce. This is one of several UAB initiatives to increased under-represented groups and celebrate diversity. These include several programs from theMinority Health and Health Disparities Research Centerthat support minority students from the undergraduate level to postdocs; thePartnership Research Summer Training Program, which provides undergraduates and especially minority students with the opportunity to work in UAB cancer research labs; theDeans Excellence Award in Diversityin the School of Medicine; and the newly announcedUnderrepresented in Medicine Senior Scholarship Programfor fourth-year medical students.

Join in:The Roadmap program engages career coaches and peer-to-peer mentors to support scholars. To volunteer your expertise, contact Madison Bamman atmdbamman@uab.eduorvisit the program site.

Learn more:Farah Lubin, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Neurobiology and co-director of the Roadmap Scholars Program,shares the words and deeds that can save science careersin this Reporter story. In another story, Upender Manne, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pathology and a senior scientist in the ONeal Comprehensive Cancer Center, explains how students in the Partnership Research Summer Training Program gethooked on cancer research.

In answer to a students question, Collins also shared his advice to young scientists. One suggestion: Every investigator needs to be pretty comfortable with some of the computational approaches to science, Collins said. Big data is here artificial intelligence, machine-learning. We can all get into that space. But its going to take some training, and it will be really helpful to have those skills.

Join in:UAB launched aMaster of Science in Data Scienceprogram in fall 2018.

Learn more:Discover how UAB researchers areusing machine-learning in their labsand toimprove cancer treatment. Those looking for a free introduction cantake advantage of the Data Science Clubfrom UAB IT Research Computing.

Link:
Looking to the future with Dr. Francis Collins - UAB News

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Looking to the future with Dr. Francis Collins – UAB News | March 13th, 2020

Barth syndromeis a rare metabolic disease caused by mutation of a gene calledtafazzinorTAZ. It can cause life-threatening heart failure and also weakens the skeletal muscles, undercuts the immune response, and impairs overall growth. Because Barth syndrome is X-linked, it almost always occurs in boys. There is no cure or specific treatment.

In 2014, to get a better understanding of the disease,William Pu, MD, and colleagues at Boston Childrens Hospital collaborated with the Wyss Institute to create a beatingheart on a chip model of Barth syndrome. The model used heart-muscle cells with theTAZmutation, derived from patients own skin cells.It showedthatTAZis truly at the heart of cardiac dysfunction: the heart muscle cells did not assemble normally, mitochondria inside the cells were disorganized, and heart tissue contracted weakly. Adding a healthyTAZgene normalized these features, suggesting that gene replacement therapy could be a viable treatment.

But to fully capture Barth syndrome and its whole-body effects, Pu and colleagues needed an animal model. The animal model was a hurdle in the field for a long time, says Pu, director of Basic and Translational Cardiovascular Research at Boston Childrens and a member of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. Efforts to make a mouse model using traditional methods had been unsuccessful.

As described in the journalCirculation Research, most mice with the whole-bodyTAZdeletion died before birth, apparently because of skeletal muscle weakness. But some survived, and these mice developed progressive cardiomyopathy, in which the heart muscle enlarges and loses pumping capacity. Their hearts also showed scarring, and, similar to human patients with dilatedcardiomyopathy, the hearts left ventricle was dilated and thin-walled.

Mice lackingTAZjust in their cardiac tissue, which all survived to birth, showed the same features. Electron microscopy showed heart muscle tissue to be poorly organized, as were the mitochondria within the cells.

Pu, Wang, and colleagues then used gene therapy to replaceTAZ, injecting an engineered virus under the skin (in newborn mice) or intravenously (in older mice). Treated mice with whole-bodyTAZdeletions were able to survive to adulthood.TAZgene therapy also prevented cardiac dysfunction and scarring when given to newborn mice, and reversed established cardiac dysfunction in older mice whether the mice had whole-body or heart-onlyTAZdeletions.

Thats where the challenge will lie in translating the results to humans. Simply scaling up the dose of gene therapy wont work: In large animals like us, large doses risk a dangerous inflammatory immune response. Giving multiple doses of gene therapy wont work either.

The problem is that neutralizing antibodies to the virus develop after the first dose, says Pu. Getting enough of the muscle cells corrected in humans may be a challenge.

Another challenge is maintaining populations of gene-corrected cells. While levels of the correctedTAZgene remained fairly stable in the hearts of the treated mice, they gradually declined in skeletal muscles.

The biggest takeaway was that the gene therapy was highly effective, says Pu. We have some things to think about to maximize the percentage of muscle cell transduction, and to make sure the gene therapy is durable, particularly in skeletal muscle."

Reference: Wang et al. (2020).AAV Gene Therapy Prevents and Reverses Heart Failure in A Murine Knockout Model of Barth Syndrome.Circulation Research.https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.119.315956.

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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Gene Therapy Reverses Heart Failure in Mouse Model - Technology Networks

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Gene Therapy Reverses Heart Failure in Mouse Model – Technology Networks | March 13th, 2020

Boston Children's Hospital researchers used an investigational gene therapy to treat heart failure in a mouse model of Barth syndrome. Barth syndrome is a rare genetic disorder in boys that results in life-threatening heart failure. It also causes weakness of the skeletal muscles and the immune system. The disease is caused by a mutation of a gene known as tafazzin or TAZ.

In 2014, William Pu and researchers at Boston Childrens Hospital collaborated with the Wyss Institute to develop a beating heart on a chip model of Barth syndrome. It used heart-muscle cells with the TAZ mutation that came from patients own skin cells. This was able to prove that TAZ was the cause of the cardiac problems. The heart muscle cells did not organize normally and the mitochondria, the cells energy engines, were disorganized, resulting in the heart muscle contracting weakly. By adding healthy TAZ genes, the cells behaved more normally.

The next step was an animal model. The results of the research were published in the journal Circulation Research.

The animal model was a hurdle in the field for a long time, Pu said. Pu is director of Basic and Translational Cardiovascular Research at Boston Childrens and a member of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. Efforts to make a mouse model using traditional methods had been unsuccessful.

Douglas Strathdees research team at the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in the UK recently developed animal models of Barth syndrome. Pu, research fellow Suya Wang, and colleagues characterized the knockout mice into two types. One had the TAZ gene deleted throughout the body; the other had the TAZ gene deleted just in the heart.

Most of the mice that had TAZ deleted throughout their whole bodies died before birth, likely from skeletal muscle weakness. Of those that survived, they developed progressive cardiomyopathy, where the heart muscle enlarges and is less able to pump blood. The heart also showed signs of scarring similar to humans with dilated cardiomyopathy, where the hearts left ventricle is dilated and thin-walled.

The mice that lacked TAZ only in their heart tissue that survived to birth had the same features. Electron microscopy indicated that the heart muscle cells and mitochondria were poorly organized.

Pu and Wang and their team then used gene therapy to replace TAZ in the newborn mice and in older mice, using slightly different techniques. In the newborn mice the engineered virus was injected under the skin; in the older mice it was injected intravenously. The mice who had no TAZ in their bodies and received the gene therapy survived to adulthood.

In the newborn mice receiving the gene therapy, the therapy prevented cardiac dysfunction and scarring. In the older mice receiving the therapy, it reversed the cardiac dysfunction.

The study also showed that TAZ gene therapy offered durable treatment of the cardiomyocytes and skeletal muscle cells, but only when at least 70% of the heart muscle cells had taken up the gene via the therapy. Which the researchers point out that when the therapy is developed for humans, that will be the most challenging problem. You cant just scale up the dose because of inflammatory immune responses, and multiple doses wont work either because the body develops an immune response. Maintaining the gene-corrected cell is also a problem. In the heart muscles of the treated mice, the corrected TAZ gene stayed relatively stable, but slowly dropped in skeletal muscles.

The biggest takeaway was that the gene therapy was highly effective, Pu said. We have some things to think about to maximize the percentage of muscle cell transduction, and to make sure the gene therapy is durable, particularly in skeletal muscle.

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Gene Therapy Reverses Heart Failure in Animal Model of Barth Syndrome - BioSpace

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Gene Therapy Reverses Heart Failure in Animal Model of Barth Syndrome – BioSpace | March 13th, 2020

The graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) market is segmented on the basis of product type, treatment type, and end user. Based on product type the market is segmented as corticosteroids, ATG therapies, IL2R (CD25) inhibitors, TNF inhibitors, Calcineurin inhibitors, mTOR inhibitors, SOT therapies, anti-neoplastic therapies, stem cell treatments, extracorporeal photophoresis and other biologics. On the basis of treatment type the market is segmented into prophylaxis GVHD, chronic GVHD, acute GVHD. The end user segment is classified into hospital pharmacies, retail pharmacies, and online pharmacies.

An off-the-shelf report onGraft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD) Marketwhich has been compiled after an in-depth analysis of the market trends prevailing across five geographies (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle-East and Africa, and South America). Various segments of the market such as type/components/ application/industry verticals/ end-users are analyzed with robust research methodology which includes three step process starting with extensive secondary research to gather data from company profiles, global/regional associations, trade journals, technical white papers, paid databases.

followed by primary research (interviews) with industry experts/KOLs to gain their insights and views on current scenarios and future scope of the market as well as validating the secondary information, further internal statistical model is used to estimate the market size and forecasts till 2027.

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a medical condition which occurs after transplant surgeries where the immune cells from the donor attack on the recipients organ tissues. This condition is a common side effect that is observed after an allogeneic bone marrow transplant (stem cell transplant).

The symptoms of the disease can be from mild to severe and life-threatening and often causes diseases like jaundice, skin inflammation and others.

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The key players influencing the market are:

This report contains:

Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD) Market- Global Analysis to 2027 is an expert compiled study which provides a holistic view of the market covering current trends and future scope with respect to product/service, the report also covers competitive analysis to understand the presence of key vendors in the companies by analyzing their product/services, key financial facts, details SWOT analysis and key development in last three years. Further chapter such as industry landscape and competitive landscape provides the reader with recent company level insights covering mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, collaborations, new product developments/strategies taking place across the ecosystem.

The chapters also evaluate the key vendors by mapping all the relevant products and services to exhibit the ranking/ position of top 5 key vendors.

Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD) Market is a combination of qualitative as well as quantitative analysis which can be broken down into 40% and 60% respectively. Market estimation and forecasts are presented in the report for the overall global market from 2018 2027, considering 2018 as the base year and 2018 2027 forecast period.

Global estimation is further broken down by segments and geographies such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa and South America covering major 16 countries across the mentioned regions. The qualitative contents for geographical analysis will cover market trends in each region and country which includes highlights of the key players operating in the respective region/country, PEST analysis of each region which includes political, economic, social and technological factors influencing the growth of the market.

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Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD) Market Insights, Future Trends, On-going Demand, Opportunities, Segmentation, and Forecast till 2027 - WhaTech...

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD) Market Insights, Future Trends, On-going Demand, Opportunities, Segmentation, and Forecast till 2027 – WhaTech… | March 13th, 2020

Shinya Yamanaka's 2006 discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) ignited a revolution in the field of stem cell biology (1). For the first time, nearly all human somatic tissues could be produced from iPSCs reprogrammed from blood or skin cells, in a process that took only weeks. This advance was particularly crucial for obtaining surrogate tissues from cell types that are otherwise difficult to procure and do not readily expand in vitro, such as cardiac or neural cells. Additionally, many ethical concerns are avoided, because this technology uses a patient's own genetic material to create iPSCs rather than relying on embryonic stem cells. In the aftermath of Yamanaka's discovery, entire biomedical industries have developed around the promise of using human iPSCs (hiPSCs) and their derivatives for in vitro disease modeling, drug screening, and cell therapy (2).

The hiPSC technology has had a particularly notable impact in cardiac regenerative medicine, a field where scientists and clinicians have been working to devise new methods to better understand how cardiovascular disease manifests and how to restore cardiovascular function after disease strikes (3). The heart is limited in its ability to regenerate lost cardiomyocytes (beating heart muscle cells), following an adverse event such as a heart attack (4). Cardiomyocytes derived from hiPSCs (hiPSC-CMs) may represent a potential replacement option for dead cells in such a scenario. However, certain issues remain to be addressed, such as whether hiPSC-CMs can integrate with host myocardial tissue in the long term (5).

While using hiPSC-CMs for in vivo cell therapy may become practical in the future, employing hiPSC-CMs for high-throughput drug discovery and screening is becoming a reality in the present (6). Cardiovascular diseases can be recapitulated in a dish with patient-specific hiPSC-CMs. For example, if a patient exhibits a cardiac arrhythmia caused by a genetic abnormality in a sarcomeric protein or ion channel, that same rhythm problem can be recapitulated in vitro (7). Thanks to advances in hiPSC differentiation protocols, hiPSC-CMs can now be mass-produced to study cardiovascular disease mechanisms in vitro (8).

My graduate thesis in the laboratories of Joseph Wu and Sean Wu at Stanford University focused on in vitro applications of hiPSC-CMs for cardiovascular disease modeling and for high-throughput screening of chemotherapeutic compounds to predict cardiotoxicity. I initially embarked on a project using hiPSC-CMs to model viral myocarditis, a viral infection of the heart, caused by the B3 strain of coxsackievirus (9). I began by demonstrating that hiPSC-CMs express the receptors necessary for viral internalization and subsequently found that hiPSC-CMs were highly susceptible to coxsackievirus infection, exhibiting viral cytopathic effect within hours of infection. I also identified compounds that could alleviate coxsackievirus infection on hiPSC-CMs, a translationally relevant finding, as there remains a shortage of treatments for viral myocarditis.

Using a genetically modified variant of coxsackievirus B3 expressing luciferase, I developed a screening platform for assessing the efficacy of antiviral compounds. Pretreatment with interferon-, ribavirin, or pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate markedly suppressed viral replication on hiPSC-CMs by activating intracellular antiviral response and viral protein clearance pathways. These compounds alleviated viral replication in a dose-dependent fashion at low concentrations without causing cellular toxicity.

I next sought to use hiPSC-CMs to screen anticancer chemotherapeutic compounds for their off-target cardiovascular toxicities (10). Cardiotoxicity represents a major cause of drug withdrawal from the pharmaceutical market, and several chemotherapeutic agents can cause unintended cardiovascular damage (11). Using cultured hiPSC-CMs, I evaluated 21 U.S. Food and Drug Administrationapproved tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), commonly prescribed anticancer compounds, for their cardiotoxic potential. HiPSC-CMs express the major tyrosine kinase receptor proteins such as the insulin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptors, lending validity to this cellular model.

Initially, human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) can be produced by reprogramming skin or blood cells by nonviral or viral reprogramming methods. Cardiac differentiation protocols allow for the creation of cardiomyocytes derived from hiPSCs (hiPSC-CMs) for downstream applications, including in vitro disease modeling, drug screening, and regenerative cell therapy.

With data from a battery of cellular apoptosis, contractility, electrophysiology, and signaling assays, I generated a cardiac safety index to help align in vitro toxicity data to clinical drug safety guidelines (12). From the safety index, I determined that a subclass of VEGF receptor 2/PDGF receptorinhibiting tyrosine kinase inhibitors, some of which exhibit toxicity clinically, also elicited cardiotoxicities in hiPSC-CMs. These manifested as substantial alterations in cellular electrophysiology, contractility, and viability when administered at clinically relevant concentrations. I also discovered that cotreatment with either IGF or insulin partially rescued TKI-induced toxicity by up-regulating antiapoptotic signaling pathways. This work could prove useful for groups aiming to develop effective screening platforms to assess new chemotherapeutic compounds for cardiotoxic side effects.

I also collaborated with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) to send a sample of hiPSC-CMs to the International Space Station. As humankind ventures beyond our home planet, it is imperative that we better understand how the heart functions for long periods of time in microgravity. Analysis of these hiPSC-CMs revealed microgravity-induced alterations in metabolic gene expression and calcium handling (13).

In recent years, the stem cell field has experienced an explosion of studies using hiPSC-CMs as a model cellular system to study cardiovascular biology. As improvements in hiPSC-CM mass production continue, we will see a rise in studies using these cells for disease modeling and drug screening. Thus, although hiPSC-CM technology is in its infancy, it holds great potential to improve cardiovascular health.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF A. SHARMA

FINALIST

Arun Sharma

Arun Sharma received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. Having completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard Medical School, Sharma is now a senior research fellow jointly appointed at the Smidt Heart Institute and Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. His research seeks to develop in vitro platforms for cardiovascular disease modeling and drug cardiotoxicity assessment. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/367/6483/1206.1

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Stem cells to help the heart - Science Magazine

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Stem cells to help the heart – Science Magazine | March 12th, 2020

(CNN) -

There are only two northern white rhinos left on the planet, and they're both female. Unless scientists can make a dramatic breakthrough, the entire species will die with those two individuals.

In a nondescript building just north of San Diego, California, the fight to save the northern white rhino is coming down to the wire. However, the battleground here looks less like a scene from a wildlife documentary and more akin to something out of a science fiction novel.

At the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, an army of scientists armed with liquid nitrogen, microscopes, and ultrasound machines is working around the clock to create an unprecedented first in the conservation world: they are looking to turn frozen rhino skin cells into baby rhinos.

It's not just the science that is groundbreaking, but also the team looking to save this species. Composed mostly of women, the lab is a rarity in a field traditionally dominated by men.

Find out more about Call to Earth and the extraordinary people working for a more sustainable future

The first step in this conservation effort began more than four and a half decades ago in 1975 when scientists established the institute's "Frozen Zoo." In a small room measuring no more than 36 square meters the skin cells of more than 10,000 individuals across 1,100 species sit in giant steel tanks suspended in time, frozen in liquid nitrogen.

Among the collection are the skin samples of 12 northern white rhinos. These are vital to the group's efforts because there is such a small gene pool of living northern whites.

The population has been decimated by poachers, who target rhinos because of the belief in parts of Asia that their horns can cure various ailments. The two surviving females both live under guard at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. Even thoughembryos have been producedin an Italian lab using eggs extracted from the pair, any future descendants from this kind of embryo would carry the genes of those two females.

That may not be enough genetic diversity to maintain a stable population. The hope is that the skin samples of those 12 individuals at the Frozen Zoo contain enough diversity to sustain the northern white species long-term.

The arduous task for these scientists is to create a rhino population from those samples.

Marlys Houck is curator of the Frozen Zoo. She graduated high school in 1979, the same year the Frozen Zoo froze its very first northern white rhino skin cell. She later joined the institute to work on the rhino project.

"I was hired specifically to try to make the cells of the rhinos grow better because they were one of the most difficult to grow cell lines," she told CNN.

Since then, she's figured out how to successfully grow and freeze the skin cells of the northern white.

The impact of this work is not lost on her. "We're losing species so rapidly," she said. "One of the things we can do is save the living cells of these animals before it's too late."

"We're at the forefront of science today," she added. "If we do everything right ... these cells should be here 50 years from now being used for purposes that we can't even imagine today."

Marisa Korody is one of the four scientists tasked with turning these frozen cells into new life. They have to reprogram the frozen skin cells into pluripotent stem cells. In layman's terms, Korody explains that "stem cells can become any cell type in the body if they're given the right signals."

Read: Former war zones turn into wildlife 'paradise'

The aim is to ultimately turn the stem cells into sperm and eggs. The ambitious feat has only been achieved in animals by Japanese scientists. While Korody and her team have looked to that research as a road map, she admits that doing the same with rhinos is uncharted territory. "We don't really know what twists and turns we need to take in order to get from A to B," she said.

"They haven't even figured out how to do this in humans," she added. "We have as much information as we possibly can about humans. We have a fraction of that for rhinos."

Korody says being at the forefront of this kind of science has been a dream job. "This was really the first project that's trying to apply this type of science to conservation as a whole," she said.

She may spend most of her time at work looking through the lens of a microscope, but her mind is always on the final goal for the rhinos: "We want to be able to put them back into the wild one day and have them living free."

Because the remaining two female northern white rhinos can't carry a pregnancy, even if the team can create embryos, the last obstacle is finding rhinos who can carry them to term.

The woman tasked with that job is Barbara Durrant. As the director of reproductive sciences, she's spent four years studying the reproductive systems of six female southern white rhinos at the institute's sister facility, the Nikita Kahn Rhino Rescue Center.

Though the rhinos at the center are a different species, Durrant says they are the closest relative to the northern white. The aim is to eventually have them be surrogates for northern white embryos.

On any given day, Durrant can be found conducting ultrasounds to help her understand each rhino's distinct reproductive cycle. In 2019, two of the center's females gave birth to southern white babies. Both were conceived via artificial insemination, giving Durrant and the teams working on the rhino project hope for the future.

Durrant believes one reason the project works so well is because there are so many women involved. "Women are naturally collaborative with each other," she said. "Because we have so many obstacles along the way and challenges and setbacks, we support each other and we have sympathy for each other."

Read: Rare bird brought back from extinction in the wild

Houck says women tend to be naturally nurturing. "The cells are living little organisms that we're growing and tending almost every day, and I think women are drawn to taking care of something and growing it into something more."

"It's wonderful leading a team of women, and I really think they're changing the world," she added. "People are going to look back and see it was this amazing group of women who quietly, unrecognized, work at this and just get better and better."

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Meet the women racing to save the northern white rhino from extinction - KAKE

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Meet the women racing to save the northern white rhino from extinction – KAKE | March 12th, 2020

DUBLIN, March 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Cell Therapy - Technologies, Markets and Companies" report from Jain PharmaBiotech has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The cell-based markets was analyzed for 2018, and projected to 2028. The markets are analyzed according to therapeutic categories, technologies and geographical areas. The largest expansion will be in diseases of the central nervous system, cancer and cardiovascular disorders. Skin and soft tissue repair as well as diabetes mellitus will be other major markets.

The number of companies involved in cell therapy has increased remarkably during the past few years. More than 500 companies have been identified to be involved in cell therapy and 309 of these are profiled in part II of the report along with tabulation of 302 alliances. Of these companies, 170 are involved in stem cells.

Profiles of 72 academic institutions in the US involved in cell therapy are also included in part II along with their commercial collaborations. The text is supplemented with 67 Tables and 25 Figures. The bibliography contains 1,200 selected references, which are cited in the text.

This report contains information on the following:

The report describes and evaluates cell therapy technologies and methods, which have already started to play an important role in the practice of medicine. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is replacing the old fashioned bone marrow transplants. Role of cells in drug discovery is also described. Cell therapy is bound to become a part of medical practice.

Stem cells are discussed in detail in one chapter. Some light is thrown on the current controversy of embryonic sources of stem cells and comparison with adult sources. Other sources of stem cells such as the placenta, cord blood and fat removed by liposuction are also discussed. Stem cells can also be genetically modified prior to transplantation.

Cell therapy technologies overlap with those of gene therapy, cancer vaccines, drug delivery, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Pharmaceutical applications of stem cells including those in drug discovery are also described. Various types of cells used, methods of preparation and culture, encapsulation and genetic engineering of cells are discussed. Sources of cells, both human and animal (xenotransplantation) are discussed. Methods of delivery of cell therapy range from injections to surgical implantation using special devices.

Cell therapy has applications in a large number of disorders. The most important are diseases of the nervous system and cancer which are the topics for separate chapters. Other applications include cardiac disorders (myocardial infarction and heart failure), diabetes mellitus, diseases of bones and joints, genetic disorders, and wounds of the skin and soft tissues.

Regulatory and ethical issues involving cell therapy are important and are discussed. Current political debate on the use of stem cells from embryonic sources (hESCs) is also presented. Safety is an essential consideration of any new therapy and regulations for cell therapy are those for biological preparations.

Key Topics Covered

Part I: Technologies, Ethics & RegulationsExecutive Summary 1. Introduction to Cell Therapy2. Cell Therapy Technologies3. Stem Cells4. Clinical Applications of Cell Therapy5. Cell Therapy for Cardiovascular Disorders6. Cell Therapy for Cancer7. Cell Therapy for Neurological Disorders8. Ethical, Legal and Political Aspects of Cell therapy9. Safety and Regulatory Aspects of Cell Therapy

Part II: Markets, Companies & Academic Institutions10. Markets and Future Prospects for Cell Therapy11. Companies Involved in Cell Therapy12. Academic Institutions13. References

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Worldwide Cell Therapy Market Projections to 2028 - The Largest Expansion Will Be in Diseases of the Central Nervous System, Cancer and Cardiovascular...

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