Tag Archives: Dermatology
* Treating autoimmune disease without harming normal immunity
Preclinical study shows that engineered T cells can selectively target the antibody-producing cells that cause autoimmune disease. In a study with potentially major implications for the future treatment of autoimmunity and related conditions, scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found a way to remove the subset of antibody-making […]
Tags: Cell Biology, Dermatology, Immunology
Scientists identify mutation that causes muffs and beards to grow on chickens
The growth of long facial feathers, creating the appearance of muffs and beards on chickens, is caused by a chromosomal rearrangement affecting a gene involved in feather development, report Xiaoxiang Hu of the China Agricultural University in Beijing and colleagues, in a new study published on June 2 in PLOS Genetics. Unusual plumage and fancy […]
Tags: Birds (pet; ornamental; prey e.g. falcons), Dermatology, Genetics
Shifting bird distribution indicates a changing Arctic
Shifts in the distribution of Spectacled Eiders, a predatory bird at the top of the Bering Sea’s benthic food web, indicate possible changes in the Arctic’s marine ecosystem, according to new research in The Condor: Ornithological Applications. Matt Sexson of the USGS Alaska Science Center and his colleagues compared recent satellite telemetry data from molting […]
Tags: Birds (pet; ornamental; prey e.g. falcons), Dermatology, Endocrinology
* New drug clears psoriasis in clinical trials
About 80 percent of patients with moderate to severe psoriasis saw their disease completely or almost completely cleared with a new drug called ixekizumab, according to three large, long-term clinical trials led by Northwestern Medicine. The results of these phase III trials were compiled in a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine. […]
Tags: Dermatology, Human, Immunology
Sunshine vitamin linked to improved fertility in wild animals
High levels of vitamin D are linked to improved fertility and reproductive success, a study of wild sheep has found. The study, carried out on a remote Hebridean island, adds to growing evidence that vitamin D — known as the sunshine vitamin — is associated with reproductive health. Experts hope that further studies will help […]
Tags: Dermatology, Reproduction, Small Ruminants
* A horse of a different color: Genetics of camouflage and the dun pattern
Most horses today are treasured for their ability to run, work, or be ridden, but have lost their wild-type camouflage: pale hair with zebra-like dark stripes known as the Dun pattern. Now an international team of scientists has discovered what causes the Dun pattern and why it is lost in most horses. The results, published […]
Tags: Dermatology, Genetics, Horses
Articles examine relationship between skin, endocrine disorders
Two studies and an editorial published online by JAMA Dermatology examine the relationship between skin disorders and endocrine diseases. In the first study, Dipankar De, M.D., of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India, and coauthors looked at the association between insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome in male patients with acne (ages […]
Tags: Dermatology, Endocrinology, Human
Land use may weaken amphibians’ capacity to fight infection, disease
Human-made changes to the environment may be damaging the immune systems of a species of frog whose populations have drastically declined since the 1970s, according to a new study by researchers at Case Western Reserve University and the Holden Arboretum. “These Blanchard’s cricket frogs have nearly gone extinct in their northern range, so we’re almost […]
Tags: Amphibians, Dermatology, Immunology
* Hypoallergenic dogs don’t have lower household allergen levels than other dogs, study finds
Contrary to popular belief, so-called hypoallergenic dogs do not have lower household allergen levels than other dogs. That’s the conclusion of a study by Henry Ford Hospital researchers who sought to evaluate whether hypoallergenic dogs have a lower dog allergen in the home than other dogs. Hypoallergenic dogs are believed to produce less dander and […]
Tags: Dermatology, Dogs
New technique offers model for studying disease, progress toward cell therapy
A highly efficient method has been developed for making kidney structures from stem cells that are derived from skin taken from patients. The kidney structures formed could be used to study abnormalities of kidney development, chronic kidney disease, the effects of toxic drugs, and be incorporated into bioengineered devices to treat patients with acute and […]
Tags: Cell Biology, Dermatology, Human
* Bacteria could contribute to development of wound-induced skin cancer
The study, published in Nature Communications, highlights an innate sensing of bacteria by immune cells in the formation of skin tumours. This molecular process could tip the balance between normal wound repair and tumour formation in some patients, according to researchers. Although an association between tissue damage, chronic inflammation and cancer is well established, little […]
Tags: Dermatology, Rodents/Lags
* Acute psychological stress promotes skin healing in mice
Brief, acute psychological stress promoted healing in mouse models of three different types of skin irritations, in a study led by UC San Francisco researchers. The scientists found that healing was brought about by the anti-inflammatory effects of glucocorticoids — steroid hormones — produced by the adrenal glands in response to stress. “Under chronic stress, […]
Tags: Dermatology, Rodents/Lags* Key cells in touch sensation identified: Skin cells use new molecule to send touch information to the brain
In a study published in the April 6 online edition of the journal Nature, a team of Columbia University Medical Center researchers led by Ellen Lumpkin, PhD, associate professor of somatosensory biology, solve an age-old mystery of touch: how cells just beneath the skin surface enable us to feel fine details and textures. Touch is […]
Tags: Dermatology
Scientists reprogram skin cells into insulin-producing pancreas cells
A cure for type 1 diabetes has long eluded even the top experts. Not because they do not know what must be done — but because the tools did not exist to do it. But now scientists at the Gladstone Institutes, harnessing the power of regenerative medicine, have developed a technique in animal models that […]
Tags: Dermatology, Rodents/Lags
Surprising discovery: Skin communicates with liver
Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark have discovered that the skin is capable of communicating with the liver. The discovery has surprised the scientists, and they say that it may help our understanding of how skin diseases can affect the rest of the body. Professor Susanne Mandrup and her research group in collaboration with […]
Tags: Dermatology, Rodents/Lags
More than skin deep: New layer to the body’s fight against infection
The layers of skin that form the first line of defense in the body’s fight against infection have revealed a unanticipated secret. The single cell type that was thought to be behind the skin’s immune defense has been found to have a doppelganger, with researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute showing the cells, […]
Tags: Dermatology, Human
Progression of aggressive skin cancers in mice
The c-Fos oncogene has traditionally been linked to cellular activities related to cancer, such as cell division, differentiation — conversion from one cell type to another — or survival. Any alteration of these activities can set off the development of tumours, which has made c-Fos an important target for the understanding and treatment of cancer. […]
Tags: Dermatology, Rodents/Lags
Salamanders under threat from deadly skin-eating fungus
A new species of fungus that eats amphibians’ skin has ravaged the fire salamander population in the Netherlands, bringing it close to regional extinction. Fire salamanders, recognisable by their distinctive yellow and black skin patterns, have been found dead in the country’s forests since 2010. The population has fallen to around 10 individuals, less than […]
Tags: Amphibians, Dermatology
Tide is turning in skin cancer battle
A decade ago there was little doctors could do to help a patient with advanced-stage melanoma. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and now is by any measure the most exciting time for melanoma research,” said Brian Nickoloff, director of the Nicholas V. Perricone, M.D., Division of Dermatology and Cutaneous Sciences at Michigan State […]
Tags: Dermatology, Human
Multi-sensory organs in crocodylian skin sensitive to touch, heat, cold, environment
Previously misunderstood multi-sensory organs in the skin of crocodylians are sensitive to touch, heat, cold, and the chemicals in their environment, finds research in BioMed Central’s open access journal EvoDevo. These sensors have no equivalent in any other vertebrate. Crocodylians, the group that includes crocodiles, gharials, alligators and caimans, have particularly tough epidermal scales consisting […]
Tags: Dermatology, Reptiles
Doctors in veterinary, human medicine team to give burned horse a second chance
The unlikely pairing of an equine veterinarian and a burn surgeon is providing a second chance at a normal life for a horse that was doused in flammable liquid and set on fire late last summer. The Ohio State University doctors and their teams have partnered to perform two skin graft procedures on the American […]
Tags: Dermatology, Horses
Gene associated with eczema in dogs identified
A novel gene associated with canine atopic dermatitis has been identified by a team of researchers led by professors Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, Uppsala university and Ă…ke Hedhammar, SLU, Sweden. The gene encodes a protein called plakophilin 2, which is crucial for the formation and proper functioning of the skin structure, suggesting an aberrant skin barrier as […]
Tags: Dermatology, Dogs
One gene, many mutations: Key that controls coat color in mice evolved nine times
For deer mice living in the Nebraska Sandhills, color can be the difference between life and death. When the dark-coated mice first colonized the region, they stood out starkly against the light-colored, sandy soil, making them easy prey for predators. Over the next 8,000 years, however, the mice evolved a system of camouflage, with lighter […]
Tags: Dermatology, Rodents/Lags
Porcupine quills reveal their prickly secrets
To pierce your skin, a porcupine quill needs only about half the force of a hypodermic needle, according to a new study. The work, which also explains why the quills are so hard to remove, could improve the design of a variety of medical instruments, from devices that poke us to those that help keep […]
Tags: Dermatology, Rodents/Lags
How the tabby got its blotches
Domestic cats often resemble their larger, wilder counterparts—with black, striped, or tawny fur that presumably helps the big hunters blend into the landscape. For scientists, the genes involved in the evolution of cats’ color patterns have been equally well-camouflaged. But a new study appearing online today in Science reveals a mutation shared by housecats and […]
Tags: Cats, Dermatology
Skin hair skims heat off elephants
Body hair in mammals is typically thought to have evolved to keep us warm in colder prehistoric times, but a new study suggests that it may do the opposite, at least in elephants. Epidermal hair may have evolved to help the animals keep cool in the hot regions they live in, according to new research […]
Tags: Dermatology, Zoo/Wildlife
Using ultrasound waves, researchers boost skin’s permeability to drugs
Using ultrasound waves, MIT engineers have found a way to enhance the permeability of skin to drugs, making transdermal drug delivery more efficient. This technology could pave the way for noninvasive drug delivery or needle-free vaccinations, according to the researchers. “This could be used for topical drugs such as steroids — cortisol, for example — […]
Tags: Dermatology, Human
Protective role of skin microbiota described
A research team at the National Institutes of Health has found that bacteria that normally live in the skin may help protect the body from infection. As the largest organ of the body, the skin represents a major site of interaction with microbes in the environment. Although immune cells in the skin protect against harmful […]
Tags: Dermatology, Rodents/Lags
Patients’ skin cells turned into heart muscle cells to repair their damaged hearts
For the first time scientists have succeeded in taking skin cells from heart failure patients and reprogramming them to transform into healthy, new heart muscle cells that are capable of integrating with existing heart tissue. The research, which is published online May 22 in the European Heart Journal, opens up the prospect of treating heart […]
Tags: Dermatology, Human
Light-induced delivery of nitric oxide eradicates drug-resistant bacteria
Researchers at UC Santa Cruz have developed a novel approach for eradicating drug-resistant bacteria from wounds and skin infections, using light to trigger the controlled release of nitric oxide. The UCSC team developed a photoactive compound that releases nitric oxide when exposed to light, and loaded it into a porous, biocompatible material that could be […]
Tags: Dermatology, Human