Yale scientists find stem cells that tell hair it's time to grow

Yale researchers have discovered the source of signals that trigger hair growth, an insight that may lead to new treatments for baldness. The researchers identified stem cells within the skin's fatty layer and showed that molecular signals from these cells were necessary to spur hair growth in mice, according to research published in the Sept. 2 issue of the journal Cell.
"If we can get these fat cells in the skin to talk to the dormant stem cells at the base of hair follicles, we might be able to get hair to grow again," said Valerie Horsley, assistant professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology and senior author of the paper.
Men with male pattern baldness still have stem cells in follicle roots but these stem cells lose the ability to jump-start hair regeneration. Scientists have known that these follicle stem cells need signals from within the skin to grow hair, but the source of those signals has been unclear.
Horsley's team observed that when hair dies, the layer of fat in the scalp that comprises most of the skin's thickness shrinks. When hair growth begins, the fat layer expands in a process called adipogenesis. Researchers found that a type of stem cell involved in creation of new fat cells -- adipose precursor cells -- was required for hair regeneration in mice. They also found these cells produce molecules called PDGF (platelet derived growth factors), which are necessary to produce hair growth.
Horsley's lab is trying to identify other signals produced by adipose precursor stem cells that may play a role in regulating hair growth. She also wants to know whether these same signals are required for human hair growth. Other authors from Yale are lead author Eric Festa, Jackie Fretz, Ryan Berry, Barbara Schmidt, Matthew Rodeheffer and Mark Horowitz.
The work was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Connecticut Stem Cell Research Program.

**Source: Yale University

Científicos catalanes identifican células madre del colon y logran propagarlas

Durante décadas, los científicos han tenido constancia de la existencia de las células madre del colon pero éstas siempre han permanecido en la sombra. Ahora, un equipo de científicos del Laboratorio de Cáncer Colorrectal del Instituto de Investigación Biomédica (IRB) de Barcelona liderado por el profesor Eduard Batlle ha conseguido, por primera vez, identificar estas células, que regeneran semanalmente la capa interior de nuestro intestino delgado, y propagarlas en placas de laboratorio.
El hallazgo, publicado en la revista Nature Medicine, representa un avance crucial en pos de la medicina regenerativa y abre nuevas vías terapéuticas para combatir las enfermedades del tracto gastrointestinal como el cáncer colorrectal o la enfermedad de Crohn. Batlle y su equipo han dado con la localización precisa de las células madre en el colon humano y han desarrollado un método para su aislamiento y expansión in vitro, es decir, su propagación en el laboratorio. Han establecido también las bases y condiciones para mantenerlas vivas fuera del cuerpo.
El avance llega tras más de diez años de intensa investigación dedicada a la caracterización de la biología de las células madre intestinales y su conexión con el cáncer. Ha sido posible gracias a la estrecha colaboración entre el equipo de Batlle y los grupos de Hans Clevers en el Instituto Hubrecht y la Universidad Médica de Utrecht y de María Blasco en el Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas (CNIO) de Madrid.

**Publicado en "VOCENTO"

Scientists announce human intestinal stem cell 'breakthrough' for regenerative medicine

Human colon stem cells have been identified and grown in a petri dish in the lab for the first time. This achievement, made by researchers of the Colorectal Cancer Lab at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and published in Nature Medicine, is a crucial advance towards regenerative medicine. Throughout life, stem cells of the colon regenerate the inner layer of our large intestine in a weekly basis. For decades scientists had evidences of the existence of these cells yet their identity remained elusive. Scientists led by the ICREA Professor and researcher at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) Eduard Batlle discovered the precise location of the stem cells in the human colon and worked out a method that allows their isolation and in vitro expansion, that is their propagation in lab-plates (petri dishes).
Growing cells outside the body generally requires providing the cells in a petri dish with the right mix of nutrients, growth factors and hormones. But in the same way that each of the more than 200 types of cells in our body differs from the others so too do optimal growing conditions for them in the lab. Consequently, human adult stem cell culture in labs has been practically impossible until now.
Batlle's team has also established the conditions for maintain living human colon stem cells (CoSCs) outside of the human body: "This is the first time that it has been possible to grow single CoSCs in lab-plates and to derive human intestinal stem cell lines in defined conditions in a lab setting," explains the IRB Barcelona researcher Peter Jung, first author of the study together with Toshiro Sato, from the University Medical Center Utrecht in The Netherlands.
The development, published by Batlle's research group in the journal Nature Medicine, arrives after more than 10 years of intense research focused on the characterization of the biology of the intestinal stem cells and its connection with cancer. The research has been made possible by close collaboration between Batlle's team and the group led by Hans Clevers at the Hubretcht Institute and University Medical Center Utrecht in The Netherlands, and María A. Blasco at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre in Madrid (Spain).
"For years, scientists all over the world have been trying to grow intestinal tissue in lab-plates; testing different conditions; using different nutritive media. But because the vast majority of cells in this tissue are in a differentiated state in which they do not proliferate, they survived only for a few days," explains Jung. "The aim of this study was to find a way to identify and select individual CoSCs and to grow them while maintaining their undifferentiated and proliferative state in lab conditions. Thus, we would be able to model how they grow -- in number -- and differentiate into normal intestinal epithelial cells in lab-plates," continues Jung. The scientific community now has a defined 'recipe' for isolating CoSCs and deriving stable CoSCs lines, which have the capacity to grow undifferentiated for months. In fact, "now we can maintain stem cells in a plate up to 5 months or we can induce these cells to differentiate artificially, as they do inside our bodies."
"This achievement opens up an exciting new area of research with the potential to bring about a huge breakthrough in regenerative medicine," says Jung. Regenerative medicine -- or the idea of repairing the body by developing new tissues and organs as the old ones wear out -- involves growing new cells from patients into tissues and organs in a lab. However, the main element for making regenerative medicine a reality, namely adult stem cells, are just starting to be understood. "Now that guidelines for growing and maintaining colon stem cells in the lab are in place, we have an ideal platform that could help the scientific community to determine the molecular bases of gastrointestinal cell proliferation and differentiation. It is also suspected that alterations in the biology of CoSCs are at origin of several diseases affecting the gastrointestinal tract, such as colorectal cancer or Crohn's disease, an autoimmune and inflammatory disorder. Our discovery also paves the way to start exploring this exciting field," finishes Jung.

**Source: Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona)

Resultados prometedores de una alternativa a la vacuna contra la tuberculosis

Desde 1925, fecha en la que se descubrió la actual vacuna de la tuberculosis, se cree que la infección está llamada a desaparecer. Pero lejos de erradicarse, el «Mycobacterium tuberculosis» se cobra cada año casi dos millones de vidas e infecta a una de cada tres personas en el mundo. La vacuna desarrollada a principios del siglo XX tiene una eficacia muy limitada y la bacteria es cada vez más resistente a los tratamientos antibióticos que permiten curarla. Por eso hay numerosos grupos de investigación que buscan, casi con urgencia, un fármaco realmente preventivo y en la carrera por conseguirlo acaba de aparecer un candidato firme.
Científicos del Instituto Howard Hugues, la Facultad Albert Einstein y de la Universidad de Colorado, en Estados Unidos, han desarrollado una nueva vacuna que consigue una protección potente. El fármaco enseña al sistema inmune a eliminar por completo la bacteria, aunque de momento estos buenos resultados solo se han obtenido en ratones. La investigación se presenta en la revista «Nature Medicine».
El fármaco se ha desarrollado con la cepa de una bacteria de la tuberculosis, modificada genéticamente, para que una vez inoculada sea incapaz de luchar contra la primera línea de defensa del sistema inmunológico. Pero con ese primer ataque, las defensas naturales del organismo desencadenan una respuesta inmune específica que le permite responder a futuras infecciones y así se genera una protección duradera frente a futuras infecciones.
Los resultados obtenidos en ratones son buenos, aunque no perfectos. Solo uno de cada cinco roedores mostraron una respuesta importante por lo que los investigadores son conscientes de que debe mejorar antes de pensar en utilizarla en humanos.
En estos momentos hay diez grupos de investigación más con diferentes vacunas en ensayo para combatir la tuberculosis. Una de las líneas abiertas pasa por reforzar la vacuna Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), la que se desarrolló en 1925 y aún se utiliza. Se trataría de inocular cuatro antígenos a las personas que ya han recibido BCG para protegerlas de las formas respiratorias de la enfermedad. En esta línea también trabaja este equipo. «Hemos hecho ajustes a la vacuna actual», explicó William R. Jacobs, uno de los autores de la investigación.

**Publicado en "ABC"

El estudio PURE revela que únicamente el 50% de los pacientes en todo el mundo recibe un tratamiento de prevención del riesgo cardiaco

El Estudio PURE, realizado por investigadores de la McMaster University de Canadá y presentado en el marco del congreso de la Sociedad Europea de Cardiología (ESC), ha revelado que existe una notable infrautilización de los fármacos cardiovasculares en todo el mundo. Concretamente, de las personas que deberían recibir un tratamiento de prevención del riesgo cardiaco a nivel mundial es únicamente el 50% de ellas quienes tienen acceso a estos fármacos.
El estudio PURE se realizó entre enero de 2003 y diciembre de 2009 y se analizaron los casos de 154.000 pacientes adultos de entre 35 y 70 años que tenían antecedentes de enfermedad coronaria o accidente cerebrovascular (ACV). El estudio tenía el objetivo de estudiar las diferencias en las medidas de prevención secundaria entre los países de diferentes ingresos económicos.
PURE demostró que existía una notable diferencia entre el porcentaje de personas que recibían su tratamiento en los países en vías de desarrollo y en los países ricos. Así, en los países de altos ingresos los que no recibieron un tratamiento fueron el 11.2% de los pacientes, frente al 45,1% de los pacientes en países con ingresos superiores medianos, el 69,3% de los pacientes en países con ingresos inferiores medianos y el 80,2% de los pacientes en países con ingresos bajos.
“Es importante destacar que el estudio Pure no incluye a todos los países, sino que se ha hecho una selección de 17, por lo que países como España no quedarían representados en este estudio. Aún así, estudios como este nos han de servir para que las autoridades sanitarias tomen nota de las carencias médicas que existen en el mundo, ya que entre todos debemos mejorar el acceso de este tipo de fármacos a toda la población. La mayoría de estos fármacos son genéricos y, por lo tanto, baratos”, destaca el Dr. Alberto Cordero, miembro de la SEC y del servicio de Cardiología del Hospital Universitario de San Juan de Alicante.
Sobre la explicación de los resultados, los investigadores creen que podría deberse a un conjunto de factores, como son la escasa disponibilidad de estos fármacos en los países de bajos y medianos ingresos, las dificultades en el transporte o el acceso limitado a los servicios médicos.

FUJITSU INICIA UN ESTUDIO CON LA UNIVERSIDAD DE KAGAWA SOBRE NIÑOS QUE REQUIEREN ESPECIAL ASISTENCIA

Fujitsu y la Universidad de Kagawa han iniciado una investigación conjunta que pretende aprovechar la capacidad intuitiva de los Smartphone, para conseguir elevar la calidad de vida de los niños que requieren especial asistencia.
El estudio está pensado para proporcionar una mejor calidad de vida y apoyo educativo a los niños con necesidades especiales y a sus tutores, debido a sus dificultades para mostrar sus emociones.
Inicialmente se trabajará con menores con problemas de aprendizaje, autismo, discapacidad intelectual que están inscritos en primaria, secundaria o aquellos con necesidades concretas y que requieren el apoyo de tutores, cuidadores y maestros. El proyecto consiste, inicialmente, en el préstamo a los responsables de estos niños de unos Smartphone de Fujitsu durante unos meses, con el software desarrollado para este proyecto, desde donde se obtendrá información de calidad, mediante entrevistas y encuestas sobre su uso. Esta solución se basa en una aplicación móvil que ha sido diseñada para ayudar a sus usuarios a expresar sus emociones. Para ello, permite seleccionar entre cinco niveles diferentes la intensidad emocional y con un icono, que es una cara, se muestran los cambios de emoción. Si el cursor se mueve a la izquierda o a la derecha de la pantalla, la expresión facial del personaje cambia, lo que permite a los usuarios expresar cómo se sienten.
En el proyecto han colaborado la Escuela para Niños con Necesidades Especiales, en concreto el aula "Subaru", adscritos a la citada universidad y desde sus comienzos ha calado hondamente, consiguiendo una gran popularidad, especialmente porque ha conseguido elevar la calidad de vida de estos menores. En un futuro cercano, Fujitsu y la Universidad Kagawa publicarán los resultados del estudio y así podrán proporcionar información sobre la eficacia del mismo en instituciones educativas, centros de apoyo, cuidadores y promover su uso en la sociedad.

Pharmacists need to provide better information to teenagers on risks and benefits of medicines

A large proportion of teenagers regularly and frequently take some form of medication without receiving targeted information about the risks and benefits, according to a review of current research, to be presented at the annual congress of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) tomorrow (Tuesday). Dr Priya Bahri will tell delegates that 35% of boys and 45% of girls in Europe and the USA take painkillers for headaches every month. In addition, they take a variety of other medicines for things like stomach aches, sleeping disorders, nervousness, asthma, infectious diseases and for pregnancy prevention.
“Most teenagers take their medicines appropriately, but there is evidence of accidental or intentional inappropriate use or misuse,” she says. At a time when young people want to be independent of their parents and make their own decisions about their bodies and medications, they feel misunderstood by healthcare professionals, have concerns over side effects and may be confused by information coming from a variety of sources such as their friends, their family, the internet, the news, and the healthcare professionals they encounter, says Dr Bahri, who is the pharmacovigilance lead for guidelines and risk communication at the European Medicines Agency (London, UK), but who was speaking in a personal capacity. [1] “Part of teenage life is starting to make your own health choices.
The medicines that teenagers use most frequently and largely autonomously include those for asthma, and painkillers such as paracetamol and ibuprofen. Every month in Europe and the USA, about 35% of boys and 45% of girls use painkillers for headaches. Teenagers also use other medicines: every month 32% use them for stomach aches, 6% for sleeping disorders and 6% for nervousness. The prevalence of asthma, one of the most frequent chronic disorders worldwide, is around 10% in teenagers, so most of those with this condition will be taking medication for it, and it is estimated from worldwide data that around a quarter of teenage girls will be taking some form of contraceptive, including hormonal ones.
In addition, girls may be invited to receive the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine to protect them against cervical cancer. However, public discussions in the media over the usefulness and safety of these measures make some feel anxious and confused,” she says.
Dr Bahri is investigating how well information about medications are communicated to teenagers, and has found that not only is there very little research into this area, but what there is indicates that healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, need to improve the way they talk to young people and communicate the risks and benefits of medicines. “The HPV vaccination programme is a good example of where healthcare professionals could be better prepared for communication with teenagers,” she says.
“There were several incidents in Europe of HPV vaccination-related anxiety attacks among girls receiving the vaccine. In addition, in many countries in the world, older children and adolescents, rather than young children receive various vaccinations, and may develop concerns over them. “Research has found that although pharmacists know about the importance of talking to teenagers about their medications, they tend not to. This was shown in The Netherlands with the example of isotretinoin, which is sometimes prescribed for teenage acne. Isotretinoin causes birth defects and so can only be taken in conjunction with effective contraception, requiring the physician and pharmacist to initiate a conversation with teenage girls.
The study showed that the pharmacists knew they should talk to the girls, but it didn’t reveal why the majority of them did not comply fully with their role in the country’s pregnancy prevention programme when dispensing isotretinoin. Obstacles to communication is an area where much more research needs to be done,” says Dr Bahri.
“As a pharmacist myself, I know how difficult these conversations can be, but I would advocate that pharmacists should be looking into their communication behaviour and identifying opportunities and successful methods for initiating caring and non-judgemental dialogue. It is vital that pharmacists overcome our own hesitation to talk; we should start the dialogue and listen to questions and concerns. It is important to help teenagers to care for their health, while being aware of their vulnerabilities as well as their capabilities.” She will tell the congress that pharmacists also need to be aware that increasingly medicines are being advertised on the internet to improve school performance, and they need to monitor this and inform teenagers about the risks. Good communications with teenagers could also be vital for the well-being of the whole family in some circumstances. This can be the case in developing countries and among disadvantaged groups in the developed world, such as those who have migrated and have poor language skills.
“Sometimes, in places where teenagers are the only literate person in the family, they may even bear the responsibility of the health of their siblings and the older members of their families,” she says.
Dr Bahri concludes: “Effective communications with teenagers at the individual and population level is vital, and pharmacists should consider investigating the use of text messages, social media and other web-based forms of communication with this age group, in addition to more traditional methods. We need to bear in mind that some research in different regions of the world has shown that teenagers still expect most information to come directly from their healthcare providers, but not necessarily from pharmacists.
“As pharmacists, we should be prepared to handle the needs and feelings of young people in a sensitive manner, taking into account the fact that they are in a vulnerable phase where a bad experience could influence their current and future health behaviour.”