The coronavirus crisis is affecting every aspect of our lives, including the condition of our skin. Have you noticed that your skin is particularly spotty, irritated and angry lately? That's another thing you can blame on COVID-19.

Express.co.ukspoke to Dr. Luca Russo, Dermatologist at Urban Retreat, to find out why.Dr. Russo says there are several reasons for your unexpected breakouts.He said: "There might be several reasons for noticing a tendency to break out during this national emergency."It's probably to do with what's going on inside, and what you're putting in your body, says Dr. Russo.

READ MORE- Coronavirus symptoms: Man reveals skin-related warning sign

Are you up all night worrying about the virus?Dr. Russo says: "The most likely cause of your breakout is stress."During such uncertain and stressful times, our system copes with increased production of Cortisol."Cortisol is an androgen hormone that is released when we are facing unusual challenges and prepare us to "fight'."However, it will also increase the sugar level in the bloodstream and production of sebum that might be a cause of the breakout."

In order to prevent breakouts that stem from high levels of stress, you'll need to calm yourself down.Dr Russo recommends doing activities that allow you to relax and unwind, such as yoga.He also suggests exercising regularly, so it's time to start making use of that daily government-approved walk, cycle, or run.

If you hate exercising, don't worry, the antidote to high cortisol levels doesn't have to be physical.Laughing, a solid night of sleep, or practising your favourite hobby are all effective options.

Having a soak in the bath and doing a face-mask may help you feel more in control of your skin.

This relief may cause a decrease in oil production and pimples.

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Can you honestly say you have been eating well throughout the lockdown?Most people have stocked up on sugary treats and salty snacks in order to cheer themselves up in the face of COVID-19.And what about the good-old "support local businesses" excuse you use every time you order a greasy takeaway?Dr Russo says: "During isolation food becomes one of the few focal points of the day with more consumption of comfort food."Just like any other organ in your body, a poor diet affects your skin negatively.The body breaks down our food into tiny particles of proteins, fats, and carbs, and circulates it to the organs that need them.These nutrients make their way to your skin too, impacting its condition.It makes sense that inflammatory foods, such as sweets, some dairy, processed meat, and refined carbohydrates, will cause a flare-up in your complexion.

Dr. Russo says: "To improve your skin, you must eat well."Eat foods that are packed with vitamins and proteins and snack on fruit and veg."Drinking lots of water will replace the moisture that is lost through sweat and other processes, keeping your skin hydrated.If you fill up on foods rich in healthy oils and omega-3 fatty acids, you will improve the collagen production in your skin.This makes your skin smoother, suppler, and will help you in the longterm by preventing premature ageing.These oils and fats are found in fish, nuts, olive oil, and many more commonly found items.

During the lockdown, we're stuck inside all day and often don't get a chance to let our skin feel the sun.Dr. Russo says: "At the moment, skin isn't being exposed to natural light much at all."When your skin is exposed to natural light, the production of Vitamin D is increased."Endorphins are also produced, and this boosts your immune system and well-being."Make sure you get some fresh air every day, in order to reap these benefits of the sun.The sun is a great natural resource to improve your skin, but make sure you protect yourself with sun protection before you go out.You should wear an SPF of at least 30 on your face whenever you leave the house or are in front of a window for a prolonged amount of time.

Most people are shunning makeup in favour of the natural look since no one other than our household is going to see our faces.This means you may be tempted to skip your cleansing routine and go straight to bed once the day is over.

If you normally get facials and now can't, this may also be why you are breaking out or seeing changes.Dr. Russo explains: "You have probably been unable to receive professional treatments over this time, and this will contribute towards your breakouts."Dr. Russo recommends continuing with your normal skincare routine.He says: "Carry on as normal, but add an exfoliating cleanser to your routine."Exfoliating cleansers make your skincare routine shorter, by combining exfoliating and cleansing in one step.They remove dead skin cells and any build-up of dirt and oil in one go.There are hundreds of physical exfoliating cleansers on the market, as well as chemical exfoliating cleansers, so take your pick!

While surgical masks are thought to protect us against coronavirus, they're not great for our skin, said Dr. Russo.Wearing a mask over your face for many hours is damaging to your skin, especially when it's hot outside.The mask offers the perfect spot for bacteria and germs to harbour.Try double cleansing on the lower half of your face if you've worn a surgical mask for a prolonged period of time.

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Lockdown skin: Why is my skin worse even though I'm not wearing any makeup? - Express

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Theres a great deal of innovation embedded in todays cutting-edge computer chips, but not much of it is as out-of-the-box as the thinking thats driving Australian startup Cortical Labs. The company, like so many startups with artificial intelligence in mind, is building computer chips that borrow their neural network inspiration from the biological brain. The difference? Cortical is using actual biological neurons, taken from mice and humans, to make their chips.

Were building the first hybrid computer chip which entails implanting biological neurons on silicon chips, Hon Weng Chong, CEO and co-founder of Cortical Labs, told Digital Trends.

This is done by first extracting neurons in two different ways, either from a mouse embryo or by transforming human skin cells back into stem cells and inducing those to grow into human neurons.

We then grow those neurons in our laboratory on high density CMOS-based multi-electrode devices that contain 22,000 electrodes on tiny surfaces no larger than 7mm squared, Chong continued. These neurons form neural networks which then start to spontaneously fire electrical signals, after a two-week incubation period, that is picked up by our multi-electrode device. The multi-electrode device is also able to provide electrical stimulation.

The researchers arent the first to develop neural networks based on real neurons. Recently, scientists in the U.K., Switzerland, Germany, and Italy fired up a working neural network that allowed biological and silicon-based artificial brain cells to communicate with one another over an internet connection.A California startup called Koniku, meanwhile, is building silicon chips, created using mouse neurons, which are able to sense certain chemicals.

For now, research like Cortical Labs is still in a relatively early proof-of-concept stage. According to a recent article in Fortune, Cortical Labs current approach has less processing power than a dragonfly brain. That means that, for now, its pursuing humbler ambitions than its eventual goal.

While were still in the process of building the hybrid computer chip, right now were focused on shaping our neurons behavior to play a game of [Ataris] Pong, Chong said. Thats our next big milestone, which will provide a proof-of-concept similar to DeepMinds demonstration [in 2013] of its A.I. playing Breakout.

Commercialization is still a number of years away, Chong continued. But hes convinced it could be a game-changer. When we eventually take our final product to market we believe it will have a wide array of applications across robotics, cloud computing, and computer brain interfaces, he said. This does not include industries that we might not have thought about yet because of the novelty of such a computation paradigm.

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Meet the sci-fi startup building computer chips with real biological neurons - Yahoo Tech

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Meet the sci-fi startup building computer chips with real biological neurons – Yahoo Tech | April 6th, 2020

'Let me tell you about the very rich,' wrote F Scott Fitzgerald. 'They are different from you and me.' Above all, in the lengths they will go to acquire, and preserve, perfect skin.

Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the consort of the former Emir of Qatar, may well be the richest person I've ever met. She certainly has skin like no one else on the planet. She's 61 but looks about 40, with a face that seems to have no visible pores, perhaps because it's sculpted out of alabaster.

Admittedly, she is carefully made-up on a regular basis, so she would have been unlikely to want to attend a recent dinner party of Gwyneth Paltrow's in Beverly Hills, at which guests were banned from wearing any cosmetics at all. Kate Hudson and Demi Moore were among those who gamely took the challenge, the idea of which was to allow the assembled LA A-listers to show off their natural glow.

But they don't, of course, rely wholly on nature for their radiance. Moore's evening beauty routine (pared back to the minimum because, she says, "I like to keep it simple") includes eight separate products, with a total cost of 743.50, from a cleansing elixir to a 355 replenishing facial oil and a rose-quartz facial massager in the shape of a butterfly.

No wonder that, far from being petrified at the thought of the make-up-free dinner, she felt 'full of joy', according to her Instagram posts. Her face wasn't coated in foundation, but it was insulated by a thick layer of cash.

With skincare that promises actually to reverse the visible signs of ageing, beauty brands feel entitled to charge impressive sums. La Prairie has one serum, its Platinum Night Elixir, that sells for over 1,000 for 20ml. It costs about 10 more per gram than solid gold. Imagine if your cat knocked that one off the dressing table.

On the other hand, the scientist who developed it says the peptides and amino acids contained in a single daily drop will leave your skin visibly younger-looking and fresher in two weeks. Users say it feels like wrapping your face in cashmere.

La Prairie Platinum Rare Cellular Night Elixir 20ml, 1,018, Harvey Nichols

I rely on Dr Phillip Levy, a Swiss dermatologist and wound-healing specialist based in Geneva, whose moisturisers and serums are proven to revitalise dermal stem cells to kick-start your skin's own production of collagen. Another doctor - German-born Michael Prager, who operates from a clinic in Wimpole Street - emphasises the rejuvenating effects of combating pollution with an antioxidant cream that fights off free radicals.

Neither of these medical-grade ranges comes cheap, but though Dr Prager's day oil contains pure gold, at 225 for 30ml (drmichaelprager.com), it's not actually as expensive as buying the precious metal itself.

If you're going down the Sheikha Moza route to moneyed perfection with a lavish use of make-up, Gucci Westman is a name to conjure with. This make-up artist, who has worked with Natalie Portman and Nicole Kidman, has her own range, Westman Atelier.

Lip suede in Les Rouges, 75, Westman Atelier (net-a-porter.com)

Yes, the colours are lush but, even better, the brand is 'clean' - beauty-speak for vegan, against animal-testing, paraben-free and so on. Plus, the products moisturise, plump up collagen and soothe as you apply them. Even the mascara conditions your lashes. So what if it costs 58?

Equally impressive is Shiseido's luxury line, Cl de Peau, which does a foundation that's 250 for 27ml, in 13 shades. Again, it's a beauty treatment with SPF and moisturiser as much as a make-up product, and it's what I'll put on if I want anyone to tell me I look glowing.

But, of course, more precious than any cream or blush stick is a little personal attention. Dr Costas Papageorgiou operates out of Harrods and has fairly expensive-looking skin himself. He makes use of a battery of lasers, Botox, fillers and ultrasound, but the key to his success is the consultation that starts off the process.

The Foundation,250, Cl de Peau Beaut (harrods.com)

Seeing your own face in unforgiving 3D on a computer may be a shock, but it certainly helps pinpoint the areas you'd like him to focus on. He's very hot on correcting facial symmetry, which starts out pretty good in babies, but with time and use, the muscles on the face become less symmetrical as bits start to droop or wrinkle. Generally, the more lopsided you are, the more antique you look, and he can address that with filler, Botox and even thread lifts.

But I'm not one for the injectables. It's his Hybrid Energy Lift - a combination of ultrasound, infrared, light and laser - that I really rate (from 6,000 for 120 minutes, facialplasticslondon.com). It, too, stimulates collagen production, but it also gets rid of visible veins and redness, and even reduces big pores. I have had to change the tone of my foundation for a paler one since he did for my (mild) rosacea.

Radical3 Reboot Pro Peel, 89, Dr Levy (editorslist.co.uk)

The key, says Dr Papageorgiou, is to delay and reverse the "ageing cascade". This slow car crash of fine lines around the eyes, sun damage and heavy jowls is all thanks, he says, to "fat atrophy and bone resorption".

But subtlety is all - "A great result is one that shows no signs of intervention"- and nothing, he warns, can really be achieved unless you have a healthy diet, exercise and take vitamins.

Debbie Thomas, at her D.Thomas clinic in London, has a similarly personalised approach. You don't book in for a single treatment, you book for an hour of her expert time, and she'll use a cocktail of lasers, micro-needling and products depending on what you need (475 for a DNA Laser Complete 2 session, dthomas.com).

"I'm afraid,"she says, "traditional facials are not going to transform your skin for more than a few days. You need to upgrade to more advanced treatments if you want long-term results. And those will be more costly."And who can say it's not worth the money?

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The rise of 'rich woman face': how to halt the ageing process (for a certain price) - Telegraph.co.uk

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Just when you thought the world couldnt get any spookier, say hello to the newly born xenobot, a new kind of living thing.

Its hard to say with certainty who the father is.

Or maybe its just hard to admit whats actually happened: Like a bright child making a weirdo companion from Play-Doh, artificial intelligence has mated with the living cells of a frog to create an eerie hybrid of life and machine.

In a statement from the University of Vermont (UVM), the researchers explain it this way: A team of scientists has repurposed living cells, scraped from frog embryos, and assembled them into entirely new life forms.

These millimetre-wide xenobots can live for weeks, travel about with intent, work in groups autonomously, and heal themselves after being cut.

The idea is they could be set sail in their billions to clean the oceans of microplastics.

The really smart ones could be stationed in your organs, where theyd carry out renovating surgery or deliver drugs.

These are novel living machines, says Professor Joshua Bongard, a computer scientist and robotics expert at the University of Vermont who co-led the research.

Theyre neither a traditional robot, nor a known species of animal. Its a new class of artefact: A living, programmable organism.

The new creatures were designed on the Deep Green supercomputer at UVM and then assembled and tested by biologists at Tufts University.

The Deep Green supercomputer cluster at UVMs Vermont Advanced Computing Core used an evolutionary algorithm to create thousands of candidate designs for the new life forms.

Essentially, the computer was told here are your buildings blocks, literally abstract cubes with the physical parameters and limitations of skin and heart cells of an African frog.

The computer was then given an assignment: Arrange the cells so they could move forward. Or side to side. Or herd tiny sheep (no kidding).

And this is where the Play-Doh analogy comes in: The computer would, over and over, reassemble a few hundred simulated cells into myriad forms and body shapes. Is this one OK? What about this one?

Following the same pattern as human beings leaving behind its long-dead ancestors, Homo Erectus and the other hominins that followed, some of the creatures were selected to survive, but the less-successful species went extinct and were tossed to oblivion.

Eventually, the most promising designs were selected for testing.

And this is where it gets spooky.

Because the next step was to bring those building blocks, those red and green cubes, to life.

Here the research shifted from the UVM supercomputer to the biology labs at Tufts University, where stem cells were harvested from the embryos of African frogs, the species Xenopus laevis. (from which the name xenobot is derived).

The cells were separated into single cells and left to incubate.

The creepy yet wondrous thing is, not kept apart, the cells clump together and try to make something of themselves.

Next step: A microsurgeon, Dr Douglas Blackiston, used tiny forceps and an even tinier electrode, to cut the cells and join them under a microscope into a close approximation of the designs specified by the computer.

Assembled into body forms never seen in nature, the cells began to work together, the researchers advise.

The skin cells formed a more passive architecture, while the once-random contractions of heart muscle cells were put to work creating ordered forward motion as guided by the computers design, and aided by spontaneous self-organising patterns allowing the robots to move on their own.

These reconfigurable organisms were shown to be able move in a coherent fashion and explore their watery environment for days or weeks, powered by embryonic energy stores.

Turned over, however, they failed, like beetles flipped on their backs.

Later tests showed that groups of xenobots would work together like cowboys, moving around in circles, pushing pellets into a central location.

They did this spontaneously and collectively. Others were built with a hole through the centre to reduce drag.

In simulated versions, the scientists were able to repurpose this hole as a pouch to successfully carry an object.

We can imagine many useful applications of these living robots that other machines cant do, said co-leader Professor Michael Levin who directs the Centre for Regenerative and Developmental Biology at Tufts, like searching out nasty compounds or radioactive contamination, gathering microplastic in the oceans, travelling in arteries to scrape out plaque.

That fear is not unreasonable, Dr Levin said. When we start to mess around with complex systems that we dont understand, were going to get unintended consequences.

How might the creatures eventually work together in bigger systems?

As the researchers admit, who the heck knows?

A lot of complex systems, like an ant colony, begin with a simple unit an ant from which it would be impossible to predict the shape of their colony or how they can build bridges over water with their interlinked bodies.

Dr Levin said its an absolute necessity for society going forward to get a better handle on systems where the outcome is very complex.

A first step towards doing that is to explore: How do living systems decide what an overall behaviour should be and how do we manipulate the pieces to get the behaviours we want?

In other words, he suggested: This study is a direct contribution to getting a handle on what people are afraid of, which is unintended consequences.

If this was a horror movie, it would go like this: The world is under siege from a malevolent virus.

The frightened populace can think of nothing else.

Meanwhile, creepy monsters made from frog skin decide to take over the joint

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Half frog, half machine: The rise of the xenobot - The New Daily

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Limbs regenerate, embryos grow, and cancers invade.

In each of these processes, cells change dramatically. Betty Hay studied fascinating biological phenomena, relentlessly asking questions with her students and colleagues to understand how cellsbehaved. By the end of her life, she had made enormous research contributions in developmental biology, on top ofcommitting herself to mentoring the next generation of scientists and advocating for more representation of women in science.

She made significant contributions towards understanding cell and developmental biology

Betty Hay began as an undergraduate at Smith College in 1944. She lovedher first biology course and started working for Meryl Rose, a professor at Smith who studied limb regeneration in frogs. I was self-motivated and very attracted to science, she saidin an interview in 2004, Meryl at that time was working on regeneration and by the end of my first year at Smith I was also studying regeneration.

Hay regarded Rose as a significant scientific mentor in her life and followed his advice to apply for medical school instead of graduate school. She ended up attending Johns Hopkins School of Medicine for her medical degree while continuing her research on limb regeneration over the summers with Rose at Woods Holes Marine Biological Laboratory. She stayed at Johns Hopkins after to teach Anatomy and became an Assistant Professor in 1956.

The year after, she moved her studiesto Cornell Universitys Medical College as an Assistant Professor to learn how to use the powerful microscopes located there. Her goal was to use transmission electron microscopy (TEM), a method of taking high-resolution images, toseehow salamanders could regenerate an amputated limb. Nothing couldve kept me from going into TEM, she said later.

With her student, Don Fischman, they concluded that upon amputation, cells with specialized roles,known as differentiated cells and thought to be unchangeable, were able to de-differentiate and become unspecialized stem cells again. These cells without an assigned role could then have the freedom to adopt whatever new roles they required to regenerate a perfectly new limb.

Already making leaps in figuring out an explanation for the process of limb regeneration, Hay turned her attention from salamanders to bird eyes when she moved to Harvard University. She studied the outermost layer of cells on the cornea, known as the cornea epithelium. With the help of a postdoctoral scholar in her lab, Jib Dobson, and a faculty colleague, Jean-Paul Revel, they isolated, grew, and took pictures of cornea epithelium cells and demonstrated the epithelial cells could produce collagen.

Collagen is the main type of protein that weaves together to form the extracellular matrix, a connective tissue (the matrix) found outside of cells (extracellular). The collagen in the extracellular matrix provide structure, acting as a foundation for connective tissues and organs such as skin, tendons, and ligaments. Other scientists in the field were skeptical of the conclusion. They thought that one dedicated cell produced collagen, and nothing else.They dismissed the idea that cells in the cornea could somehow do the same. Despite their doubt, Hay, along with postdoctoral scholar Steve Meier, continued their studies. In 1974, they further showed that not only could epithelial cells produce collagen and extracellular matrix in different organ systems, but that the matrix could also tell other cells what type of cell to become.

She was a committed educator and mentor

Kathy Svoboda and Marion Gordon, two colleagues of hers, wrote about Betty Hay and described her not only as a superb cell and developmental biologist, but also as an educator and beloved mentor.

Limb regeneration in salamanders

Russell et al BMC Biology 2017

She was dedicated to teaching and influenced the careers of many junior and early-career scientists. In addition to working with and training her students to produce successful research and results, others mentioned how she would take the time to introduce students in her department to more established and prominent scientists in the field of cell biology. These actions reflected her belief that every student was worthy of being heard and introduced.

She held influential positions and advocated for more representation of women in science

At the time of her graduation from Johns Hopkins in 1952, she was one of only four women in her graduating class of 74 people. Afterwards, she experienced frequent moves for her career, going from Baltimore, to New York, to Boston. Despite how difficult it felt moving alone and leaving her personal relationships behind every time, she felt it was necessary for her career. In her mind, she strongly believed her research always came first, fueled by her intense desire to find answers, using the scientific approach.

She went on to serve as president for multiple professional societies, such as the American Association of Anatomists, the American Society for Cell Biology, and the Society for Developmental Biology, demonstrating her commitment to leadership and service. In two of these societies, she was the first woman to ever hold the position.

In 1975, she became the first female chair of what is now the Department of Cell Biology at Harvard University and held that position for 18 years. Even with these impressive milestones, she acknowledged one of her biggest obstacles to be achieving acceptance in the male professional world.

In 2004 and nearing retirement, Betty Hay would go on to say, I am very glad to see in my lifetime the emergence of significantly more career women in science, in an interview with editor-in-chief Fiona Watt for the Journal of Cell Science, this so enriches the intellectual power being applied to the field of cell biology.

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Meet Betty Hay, the scientist who saw how cells grow and limbs regenerate - Massive Science

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There are plenty of hair products out there that promise all kinds of miraculous results. If youre experiencing hair loss, hair thinning, or damaged hair, you might be at your wits end trying products to bring your hair back to health. With so many different options out there, its hard to know which product to choose. And how can you be sure whether any of them really work?

One of the latest big trends in the beauty industry is the use of natural plant stem cells to help replenish your hair and promote healthy growth. Companies claim that stem cell shampoo could be the answer to all your hair problems. We decided to test out the latest product from Cel MD, the Biotin shampoo and conditioner, and see the results it produced.

What is Cel MD?

Cel MD is a cosmetics company that utilizes patented techniques and cutting-edge science. Its aim is to bring the best in beauty treatments to retail. The company offers lots of different products, most of which use plant stem cells. These and other natural extracts help promote healthy skin and hair.

Stem cells are non-specialized cells that are found in our bodies. They can form any cell, meaning they have great potential for regenerating lost cells, particularly in our hair and skin. Stem cell products like shampoos use plant stem cells and extracts, which can help the body produce more stem cells naturally. This can, in turn, lead to healthier hair.

Biotin Shampoo and Conditioner Ingredients

Cel MDs Biotin shampoo and conditioner include the following active ingredients:

Biotin Stem Cell Shampoo and Conditioner Results

Biotin Stem cell Shampoo and conditioner are most effective for thin and flat hair. These products are supposed to promote new hair growth while also strengthening hair and preventing breakages and damage.

The shampoo is listed as being hypoallergenic, meaning its unlikely to cause any rashes or discomfort. I used the Biotin shampoo and conditioner for six weeks, during which time we followed the instructions provided. Both the shampoo and conditioner were used together, with a short, cold water rinse in between.

After just two weeks of using the product, I found that my hair was softer and looking healthier. I was able to grow my hair longer without suffering from the damaged look that had always happened previously. At the end of the six weeks, my hair was noticeably looking a lot thicker, shinier, and was softer to the touch. My hairstylist commented on how it had improved, and it was clear that the shampoo and conditioner were working their magic.

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Cel MD Biotin Shampoo and Conditioner Review - Explosion

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Cel MD Biotin Shampoo and Conditioner Review – Explosion | April 3rd, 2020

Just before Christmastime, Howard Federoff got a tip from Washington: There was a new virus in China. And this one could be bad.

News report of the virus had not yet appeared. Federoff, a neuroscientist, was briefed because years before, he was vetted as part of a group he didnt give a name for the group to consult for the US government on emerging scientific issues. His day job, though, was CEO of Aspen Neurosciences, a Parkinsons cell therapy startup that days before had come out of stealth mode and gave word to investors they were hoping to raise $70 million. That, Federoff realized, would be difficult if a pandemic shut down the global economy.

I started thinking rather early onThere might be something on the horizon that we dont fully understand, Federoff told Endpoints News. We knew that if something did change, it could change rather quickly.

Operating with insight and knowledge other biotechs lacked access to, Federoff went into overdrive trying to close before Covid-19 hit the US, and he emerged today with $70 million in Series A funding led by OrbiMed. The other investors included Frazier Health Partners, Sam Altman and ARCH Venture Partners, the VC whose leader Robert Nelsen became one of the earliest and most prominent voices calling for change.

Weve had long conversations, Federoff said of him and Nelsen.

With the Series A, Federoff has convinced A-list investors to back one version of a long-sought solution to Parkinsons. Aspen will use stem cells grown from Parkinsons patients own skin tissue to grow dopamine neurons that can be implanted into the brain and hopefully replace the degenerating neurons. The idea has been around for decades, with the first transplant occurring in the 80s, but it was never scaleable. The technology to produce stem cells on demand didnt exist.

The company has a rival in BlueRock, which uses donor stem cells and which Bayer acquired in August at a valuation of $1 billion.

Over the winter, though, the investor hunt became less about pitching the science which Federoff says everyone agreed was promising than about beating the clock and investors rising worries about the economy. He prepared to work fast, turning an early meeting with Frazier at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference into a pivotal one. As the months passed, he phoned investors multiple times a day to keep funding on track.

They were already in from the standpoint of the science, Federoff said. I could tell that there was a growing weariness about whether all that they had previously considered as part of their own respective portfolios outside of Aspen would all be possible.

The money he secured will help fund their Phase I trial on Parkinsons and a second program that uses a form of gene therapy to implant stem cells that have a genetic marker for Parkinsons edited out. The plan had been to start a trial in 2021, but Federoff knows there are no more guarantees.

At this time its not clear what Covid-19 will do to projections, he said.

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'There was a growing weariness': Rushing against a pandemic clock, Aspen Neurosciences secures $70M Series A - Endpoints News

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Australian startup Cortical Labs is building computer chips that use biological neurons extracted from mice and humans, Fortune reports.

The goal is to dramatically lower the amount of power current artificial intelligence systems need to operate by mimicking the way the human brain.

According to Cortical Labs announcement, the company is planning to build technology that harnesses the power of synthetic biology and the full potential of the human brain in order to create a new class of AI that could solve societys greatest challenges.

The mouse neurons are extracted from embryos, according to Fortune, but the human ones are created by turning skin cells back into stem cells and then into neurons.

The idea of using biological neurons to power computers isnt new. Cortical Labs announcement comes one week after a group of European researchers managed to turn on a working neural network that allows biological and silicon-based brain cells to communicate with each other over the internet.

Researchers at MIT have also attempted to use bacteria, not neurons, to build a computing system in 2016.

As of right now, Corticals mini-brains have less processing power than a dragonfly brain. The company is looking to get its mouse-neuron-powered chips to be capable of playing a game of Pong, as CEO Hon Weng Chong told Fortune, following the footsteps of AI company DeepMind, which used the game to test the power of its AI algorithms back in 2013.

What we are trying to do is show we can shape the behavior of these neurons, Chong told Fortune.

READ MORE: A startup is building computer chips using human neurons [Fortune]

More on neurons: Artificial and Biological Neurons Just Talked Over the Internet

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This Startup's Computer Chips Are Powered by Human Neurons - Futurism

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Disclosure: Dr Henderson is the president and principal owner of The Synaptic Space, a neuroimaging consulting firm, and owner of Neuro-Luminance Corporation. Please see the listed studies for a full list of disclosures.

During the last 20 years, a large body of research has accumulated on the beneficial effects of infrared light in the range of 600 to 1000 nm. Infrared light can activate mitochondria, which in turn stimulate second messenger systems, DNA transcription, and growth factors.1,2 As a result, new synapses are formed, circuits regrow, and pluripotent stem cells differentiate into neurons.

Animal studies have shown that infrared photobiomodulation (PBM) may reduce the size and severity of brain injury and stroke, as well as diminish damage and physiological symptoms in depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Parkinson disease, and Alzheimer disease.1,3-6 Michael Hamblin, PhD, from the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, a leader in the field, describes PBM as the use of red or near-infrared light to stimulate, heal, regenerate, and protect tissue that has either been injured, is degenerating, or else is at risk of dying.1

Generally in medicine we shy away from the word heal when referring to the brain, and regenerate stirs vague recollections of Frankenstein. Nevertheless, early findings in mouse models of brain injury and disease have spawned a different sort of monster in the commercial world. The internet is now loaded with companies offering infrared LED helmets or pads for the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and other brain disorders, often based on exaggerated claims about healing the brain. Exorbitant prices in the thousands of dollars are charged for a device that can be made for less than $30. As a result, the public is misled and the potential scientific benefits of infrared light are sullied.

It is time to separate fact from fiction. Yes, infrared light can induce the cellular events described here, reduce the size of stroke injury or TBI in mouse models, and protect neurons from neurotoxins. But is treating a human with a 0.5-W LED the same as treating a mouse? Certainly not! When it comes to infrared light treatment, it is all a matter of getting there: the infrared light must be able to penetrate all the overlying tissue to reach the brain.

Can Infrared Light Reach the Brain?

Can 0.5-W LEDs penetrate human scalp and skull to reach the brain? The answer is No.2 My colleague, Larry Morries, DC, and I showed that these LEDs did not even penetrate 2 mm of human skin. In contrast, our laser device, which emits infrared light in the range of 10 to 15 W, was able to effectively penetrate human tissue. We found that 33% of our 10-W infrared laser energy penetrated 2 mm of human skin and delivered from 1.2% to 2.4% of the energy from our device 3 cm into the brain. These data were replicated in a study by Juanita Anders, PhD, and colleagues at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences.7

The human scalp and skull provide a significant barrier. Infrared light energy needs to be in the range of 0.9 to 15 J/cm2 at the target tissue to activate mitochondria and other cellular events.2-3,8-9 Even if a 0.5-W LED only had to penetrate the skull to reach the surface of the brain, it could only deliver 0.0064 J/cm2, or 1/140th of the minimum energy necessary to induce PBM.10 No energy would be expected to reach the depths of the brain needed to treat stroke, Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, or many brain injuries. Although more than 40% of the incident light from a light source may penetrate mouse skull, only 4.2% penetrates human skull.8,10

There is a hairier problem facing LED devices: human hair blocks infrared light. More than 98% of infrared light can be blocked by 2 mm of hair (ie, 9.764 W of a 10-W beam of 810 nm infrared light is absorbed by human hair).11 If 98% of the energy from a 0.5-W LED is absorbed by hair, 80% to 90% is absorbed by 2 mm of skin, and 96% of incident energy is attenuated by skull, then claims of neurophysiological benefits of LED-based devices become highly questionable.

Another misconception propagated by companies selling LED-based devices is that multiple LEDs somehow increase light penetration, even though each LED projects light on its own path. For example, 100 0.5-W LEDs do not generate 50 W on the brain, they generate 0.5 W on 100 spots.11 The argument that light scattering in the brain provides the cumulative value of multiple LEDs also falls apart if nothing can get through the overlying tissues.

Given that a small percentage (<1%) of incident infrared light gets through human scalp and skull, we must question the results of human trials of LEDs. Studies demonstrated small yet almost insignificant positive effects, and the benefits are generally transient.12 In contrast, our protocol yields persistent and robust clinical changes in patients with TBI, PTSD, and depression.

Treating TBI, PTSD, and Depression with Infrared Light

Our patented multi-Watt Neuro-Luminance approach involves transcranial infrared laser treatment (NILT), and in 2015 we published an initial open-label trial of 10 subjects with mild to moderate TBI.13 After a course of 10 NILT treatments (20 treatments in a subset of 4 patients), all patients experienced significant clinical improvement of symptoms, including headaches, cognitive problems, sleep disturbances, irritability, and depression. In telephone interviews every 6 months after treatment, patients report sustained improvements.12

An open-label clinical trial (n=39) of multi-Watt Neuro-Luminance demonstrated effectiveness for depression.4 Overall, 92% of patients responded and 82% remitted, which is notably better than the response rate for oral antidepressants. Patients saw benefits within 4 treatments, and some achieved resolution of depressive symptoms within 8 treatments. In follow-up telephone interviews, patients report sustained improvements. Similarly, in our unpublished data, using a protocol of 20 treatments, each lasting 24 minutes, over the course of 9 weeks, 20 patients with PTSD treated with multi-Watt NILT experienced reduced hyperarousal, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and nightmares.

LED Photobiomodulation in Comparison

Naeser and colleagues15 treated 2 patients with TBI daily for approximately 1 hour by applying 3 separate LED cluster heads (2 head; 1 foot). The first patient, who was 7 years post-TBI and had significant postconcussive symptoms, received weekly treatments over the course of 7 months and then daily treatments at home for more than 6 years. The patient experienced transient benefits, and if treatment was stopped, symptoms returned within 2 weeks.15 The second patient received daily treatments, and in 4 months, most symptoms improved, allowing her to return to work. This patient also noted that symptoms returned if treatments were stopped for more than 1 week.15

In an open-label study,16 11 patients with TBI and persistent cognitive dysfunction were treated for 18 sessions, each lasting 20 minutes, over the course of 6 weeks. At follow-up, there had been a significant effect on attention, inhibition, verbal learning and memory, and long-delay free recall.16 The LED treatment led to mild improvement in 3 of 5 cases of depression.

In 12 patients with TBI treated with 220 0.5-W LEDs for 18 sessions, each lasting 20 minutes, over the course of 6 weeks, there was significant improvement in psychological testing results (P =.45).17 However, the study did not correct for multiple comparisons, instead using parallel paired t-tests, which could exaggerate findings.18 PTSD has received considerably less attention.19,20

Cassano and colleagues21 described a 5-W laser treatment of 4 patients with depression. In a double-blind, sham-controlled extension of their initial findings, subjects in the treatment group received 16 treatments, each lasting 30 minutes, over the course of 8 weeks.22 In 13 completers, Hamilton-D-17 scores separated the treatment group from sham controls (mean score, 15.74.41 vs 6.17.86; P =.031). In contrast, in our open-label trial of a 13-W laser, the mean Hamilton-D-17 score decreased from baseline (mean score, 21.485.24 to 6.05.12; P =6.4510-13).23

Table. Case series, open-label, and double-blind studies of infrared light therapy for TBI, PTSD, and depression

Alternative Explanation for Clinical Response to LED Brain Treatments

Researchers, along with the human PBM field, need to reconsider the potential mechanisms underlying the meager improvements derived from LED-based devices. The light from LED devices may not penetrate beyond the skin, but could induce central nervous system benefits via a remote or systemic effect in irradiated skin, dubbed remote photobiomodulation.24

Infrared irradiation can have remote or indirect effects on tissue that has not been irradiated. For example, Braverman and colleagues25 demonstrated this indirect effect by creating matching skin lesions on the left and right dorsum of a rabbit, treating 1 side with infrared light. Both lesions showed accelerated healing relative to nonirradiated controls. Rochkind and colleagues26 demonstrated that remote PBM could occur in the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system. After bilateral sciatic nerve crush, 1 side was irradiated with infrared light and the other side was not. Nerves on both sides showed enhanced recovery of function, and the number of anterior horn motor neurons was greater on both sides compared with nonirradiated controls.

Ganeshan and colleagues27 irradiated the dorsum and hind limbs of a rat with infrared light (670 nm) before injection of a neurotoxin (MPTP) and demonstrated reduced loss of dopaminergic neurons in rodents treated with indirect PBM to the skin compared with untreated controls. Given the overwhelming evidence that low-power LEDs do not penetrate the brain, it is more likely that the benefits of LED-based devices result from an effect mediated by the skin, where most, if not all, of the infrared energy is absorbed. In other words, LED-based devices may be working by remote PBM.

Conclusions

The excitement about the potential of infrared light therapy is not merely that it does not involve taking a pill. There is considerable enthusiasm about its potential to treat conditions such as TBI, dementia, and Parkinson disease. In our excitement, we must not overlook the unique physical limitations of light. Similarly, we must not imbue infrared light with magical powers. Infrared light can only work if it reaches target tissue.

Thus, a sharp divide can be drawn between LED-based treatment technologies, which offer minimal results and may not even reach the brain, and multi-Watt technologies that demonstrably reach the brain and offer lasting clinical benefit. Potentially, infrared light may prove to be effective for numerous neuropsychiatric conditions. However, for infrared light to work on the brain, it must be able to reach the brain.

References

1. Hamblin MR. Shining light on the head: Photobiomodulation for brain disorders. BBA Clin. 2016;6:113-124.

2. Henderson TA, Morries, LD. Near-infrared photonic energy penetration: can infrared phototherapy effectively reach the human brain? Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2015;11:2191-2208.

3. Chung H, Dai T, Sharma SK, Huang YY, Carroll JD, Hamblin MR. The nuts and bolts of low-level laser (light) therapy. Ann Biomed Eng. 2012;40(2):516-533.

4. Henderson TA, Morries LD. Multi-Watt near-infrared phototherapy for the treatment of comorbid depression: an open-label single-arm study. Front Psychiatry. 2017;8:187.

5. Johnstone DM, Moro C, Stone J, Benabid AL, Mitrofanis J. Turning on lights to stop neurodegeneration: the potential of near infrared light therapy in Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease. Front Neurosci. 2016;11;9:500.

6. Hamblin MR. Photobiomodulation for Alzheimers disease: has the light dawned? Photonics. 2019;6(3):77.

7. Tedford CE, DeLapp S, Jacques S, Anders J. Quantitative analysis of transcranial and intraparenchymal light penetration in human cadaver brain tissue. Lasers Surg Med. 2015;47(4):312-322.

8. Ando T, Xuan W, Xu T, et al. Comparison of therapeutic effects between pulsed and continuous wave 810-nm wavelength laser irradiation for traumatic brain injury in mice. PLoS One. 2011;6(10):e26212.

9. Yip KK, Lo SC, Leung MC, So SK, Tang CY, Poon DM. The effect of low-energy laser irradiation on apoptotic factors following experimentally induced transient cerebral ischemia. Neuroscience. 2011;190:301-306.

10. Lapchak PA, Boitano PD, Butte PV, et al. Transcranial near-infrared laser transmission (NILT) profiles (800 nm): systematic comparison in four common research species. PLoS One. 2015;3;10(6):e0127580.

11. Henderson TA, Morries LD. Near-infrared photonic energy penetration principles and practice. In: Hamblin, MR and Huang YY, eds. Photobiomodulation and the Brain: Low-level Laser (Light) Therapy in Neurology and Neuroscience. London: Academic Press; 2019.

12. Morries LD, Henderson TA. Treatment of traumatic brain injury with near-infrared light. In: Hamblin, MR and Huang YY, eds. Photobiomodulation and the Brain: Low-level Laser (Light) Therapy in Neurology and Neuroscience. London: Academic Press; 2019.

13. Morries LD, Cassano P, Henderson TA. Treatments for traumatic brain injury with emphasis on transcranial near-infrared laser phototherapy. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2015;11:2159-75.

14. Connolly KR, Thase ME. If at first you dont succeed: a review of the evidence for antidepressant augmentation, combination and switching strategies. Drugs. 2011;71(1):43-64.

15. Naeser MA, Saltmarche A, Krengel MA, Hamblin MR, Knight JA. Improved cognitive function after transcranial, light-emitting diode treatments in chronic, traumatic brain injury: two case reports. Photomed Laser Surg. 2011;29(5):351-358.

16. Naeser MA, Zafonte R, Krengel MH, et al. Significant improvements in cognitive performance post-transcranial, red/near-infrared light-emitting diode treatments in chronic, mild traumatic brain injury: open-protocol study. J Neurotrauma. 2014;31(11):1008-1017.

17. Hipskind SG, Grover FL Jr, Fort TR, et al. Pulsed transcranial red/near-infrared light therapy using light-emitting diodes improves cerebral blood flow and cognitive function in veterans with chronic traumatic brain injury: a case series. Photobiomodul Photomed Laser Surg. 2019;37(2):77-84.

18. Henderson TA, Morries LD. Infrared light cannot be doing what you think it is doing (re: DOI: 10.1089/photob.2018.4489). Photobiomodul Photomed Laser Surg. 2019;37(2):124-125.

19. Schiffer F, Johnston AL, Ravichandran C, et al. Psychological benefits 2 and 4 weeks after a single treatment with near infrared light to the forehead: a pilot study of 10 patients with major depression and anxiety. Behav Brain Funct. 2009;5:46.

20. LED light therapy to improve cognitive & psychosocial function in TBI-PTSD veterans. ClinicalTrials.gov. NCT02356861. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02356861. Accessed February 29, 2020.

21. Cassano P, Cusin C, Mischoulon D, et al. Near-infrared transcranial radiation for major depressive disorder: proof of concept study. Psychiatry J. 2015;2015:352979.

22. Cassano P, Petrie SR, Mischoulon D, et al. Transcranial photobiomodulation for the treatment of major depressive disorder. The ELATED-2 Pilot Trial. Photomed Laser Surg. 2018;36(12):634-646.

23. Henderson TA, Morries LD. Multi-Watt near-infrared phototherapy for the treatment of comorbid depression: an open-label single-arm study. Front Psychiatry. 2017;8:187.

24. Gordon LC, Johnstone DM. Remote photobiomodulation: an emerging strategy for neuroprotection. Neural Regen Res. 2019;14(12):2086-2087.

25. Braverman B, McCarthy RJ, Ivankovich AD, Forde DE, Overfield M, Bapna MS. Effect of helium-neon and infrared laser irradiation on wound healing in rabbits. Lasers Surg Med. 1989;9(1):50-58.

26. Rochkind S, Rousso M, Nissan M, Villarreal M, Barr-Nea L, Rees DG. Systemic effects of low-power laser irradiation on the peripheral and central nervous system, cutaneous wounds, and burns. Lasers Surg Med. 1989;9(2):174-182.

27. Ganeshan V, Skladnev NV, Kim JY, Mitrofanis J, Stone J, Johnstone DM. Pre-conditioning with remote photobiomodulation modulates the brain transcriptome and protects against MPTP insult in mice. Neuroscience. 2019;400:85-97.

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Infrared Laser Treatment of TBI, PTSD, and Depression: An Expert Perspective - Psychiatry Advisor

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Infrared Laser Treatment of TBI, PTSD, and Depression: An Expert Perspective – Psychiatry Advisor | April 2nd, 2020

BOTHELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Seattle Genetics, Inc.. (Nasdaq:SGEN) today provided an update on the phase 1b/2 multicohort EV-103 trial (also known as KEYNOTE-869) of PADCEVTM (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) in combination with anti-PD-1 therapy pembrolizumab for the treatment of patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who are unable to receive cisplatin-based chemotherapy in the first-line setting. Based on recent discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), data from the randomized cohort K, along with other data from the EV-103 trial evaluating PADCEV combined with pembrolizumab as first-line therapy for cisplatin-ineligible patients, could potentially support registration under accelerated approval regulations in the United States. PADCEV is a first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that is directed against Nectin-4, a protein located on the surface of cells and highly expressed in bladder cancer.1

We are excited that EV-103 provides PADCEV with a potential pathway for U.S. accelerated approval in first-line metastatic urothelial cancer, said Roger Dansey, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Seattle Genetics. Our initial data on the combination of PADCEV and pembrolizumab in previously untreated patients who could not receive cisplatin are encouraging.

EV-103 is a multi-cohort, open-label, multicenter phase 1b/2 trial of PADCEV alone or in combination, evaluating safety, tolerability and efficacy in muscle invasive urothelial cancer, and in locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer in first- or second-line settings. Cohort K from EV-103 is intended to enroll 150 patients randomized 1:1 to PADCEV monotherapy or PADCEV in combination with pembrolizumab in locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer patients who are ineligible for cisplatin-based chemotherapy. The primary outcome measure is objective response rate (ORR) per blinded independent central review (BICR) using RECIST 1.1 and duration of response (DoR).

In addition to EV-103, the recently initiated EV-302 phase 3 randomized clinical trial is intended to support global registrations and potentially serve as a confirmatory trial if accelerated approval is granted based on EV-103. The EV-302 trial is evaluating the combination of PADCEV and pembrolizumab with or without chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in patients with previously untreated locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer. Importantly, EV-302 includes metastatic urothelial cancer patients that are either eligible or ineligible for cisplatin-based chemotherapy. The trial is expected to enroll 1,095 patients and has dual primary endpoints of progression-free survival and overall survival. Both the EV-103 and EV-302 trials are being conducted in collaboration with Astellas and Merck.

FDA recently granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for PADCEV in combination with pembrolizumab for the treatment of patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who are unable to receive cisplatin-based chemotherapy in the first-line setting based on initial results from the EV-103 trial.

PADCEV (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) was approved by the FDA in December 2019 and is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who have previously received a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) or programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor and a platinum-containing chemotherapy before (neoadjuvant) or after (adjuvant) surgery or in a locally advanced or metastatic setting. PADCEV was approved under the FDAs Accelerated Approval Program based on tumor response rate. Continued approval may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.2

About Bladder and Urothelial Cancer

It is estimated that approximately 81,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2020.3 Urothelial cancer accounts for 90 percent of all bladder cancers and can also be found in the renal pelvis, ureter and urethra.4 Globally, approximately 549,000 people were diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2018, and there were approximately 200,000 deaths worldwide.5

About PADCEV

PADCEV is a first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that is directed against Nectin-4, a protein located on the surface of cells and highly expressed in bladder cancer.6,7 Nonclinical data suggest the anticancer activity of PADCEV is due to its binding to Nectin-4 expressing cells followed by the internalization and release of the anti-tumor agent monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) into the cell, which result in the cell not reproducing (cell cycle arrest) and in programmed cell death (apoptosis).8 PADCEV is co-developed by Astellas and Seattle Genetics.

Important Safety Information

Warnings and Precautions

Adverse Reactions

Serious adverse reactions occurred in 46% of patients treated with PADCEV. The most common serious adverse reactions (3%) were urinary tract infection (6%), cellulitis (5%), febrile neutropenia (4%), diarrhea (4%), sepsis (3%), acute kidney injury (3%), dyspnea (3%), and rash (3%). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 3.2% of patients, including acute respiratory failure, aspiration pneumonia, cardiac disorder, and sepsis (each 0.8%).

Adverse reactions leading to discontinuation occurred in 16% of patients; the most common adverse reaction leading to discontinuation was peripheral neuropathy (6%). Adverse reactions leading to dose interruption occurred in 64% of patients; the most common adverse reactions leading to dose interruption were peripheral neuropathy (18%), rash (9%) and fatigue (6%). Adverse reactions leading to dose reduction occurred in 34% of patients; the most common adverse reactions leading to dose reduction were peripheral neuropathy (12%), rash (6%) and fatigue (4%).

The most common adverse reactions (20%) were fatigue (56%), peripheral neuropathy (56%), decreased appetite (52%), rash (52%), alopecia (50%), nausea (45%), dysgeusia (42%), diarrhea (42%), dry eye (40%), pruritus (26%) and dry skin (26%). The most common Grade 3 adverse reactions (5%) were rash (13%), diarrhea (6%) and fatigue (6%).

Lab Abnormalities

In one clinical trial, Grade 3-4 laboratory abnormalities reported in 5% were: lymphocytes decreased, hemoglobin decreased, phosphate decreased, lipase increased, sodium decreased, glucose increased, urate increased, neutrophils decreased.

Drug Interactions

Specific Populations

For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information for PADCEV here.

About Seattle Genetics

Seattle Genetics, Inc. is a global biotechnology company that discovers, develops and commercializes transformative medicines targeting cancer to make a meaningful difference in peoples lives. The company is headquartered in Bothell, Washington, and has offices in California, Switzerland and the European Union. For more information on our robust pipeline, visit https://www.seattlegenetics.com and follow @SeattleGenetics on Twitter. For information on our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit our website.

About the Astellas and Seattle Genetics Collaboration

Seattle Genetics and Astellas are co-developing PADCEV under a collaboration that was entered into in 2007 and expanded in 2009. Under the collaboration, the companies are sharing costs and profits on a 50:50 basis worldwide.

About the Seattle Genetics, Astellas and Merck Collaboration

Seattle Genetics and Astellas entered a clinical collaboration agreement with Merck to evaluate the combination of Seattle Genetics and Astellas PADCEV and Mercks KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), in patients with previously untreated metastatic urothelial cancer. KEYTRUDA is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA.

Seattle Genetics Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements made in this press release are forward looking, such as those, among others, relating to the potential of data from the EV-103 clinical trial to support accelerated approval in the U.S. of PADCEV in combination with pembrolizumab for the treatment of patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who are unable to receive cisplatin-based chemotherapy in the first-line setting; the possibility of using data from the EV-302 clinical trial to obtain global regulatory approval or confirm accelerated approval of PADCEV in the referenced first line setting; clinical development plans relating to PADCEV; the therapeutic potential of PADCEV; and its possible safety, efficacy, and therapeutic uses, including in the first-line setting. Actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected or implied in these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such a difference include the possibility that ongoing and subsequent clinical trials of PADCEV may fail to produce data sufficient to support regulatory approvals; the fact that FDA has not made a final determination regarding whether the data from the EV-103 clinical trial will be sufficient to support accelerated approval in the U.S.; the risk that the COVID-19 pandemic could delay our ability to conduct the EV-103 clinical trial and delay FDAs regulatory timelines, including with respect to any potential accelerated approval; the fact that adverse events or safety signals may occur and that adverse regulatory actions or other setbacks could occur as PADCEV advances in clinical trials even after promising results in earlier clinical trials. More information about the risks and uncertainties faced by Seattle Genetics is contained under the caption Risk Factors included in the companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Seattle Genetics disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

1Challita-Eid P, Satpayev D, Yang P, et al. Enfortumab Vedotin Antibody-Drug Conjugate Targeting Nectin-4 Is a Highly Potent Therapeutic Agent in Multiple Preclinical Cancer Models. Cancer Res 2016;76(10):3003-13.2 PADCEV [package insert]. Northbrook, IL: Astellas, Inc.3 American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2020. https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/annual-cancer-facts-and-figures/2020/cancer-facts-and-figures-2020.pdf. Accessed 02-20-2020.4 American Society of Clinical Oncology. Bladder cancer: introduction (10-2017). https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/bladder-cancer/introduction. Accessed 05-09-2019.5 International Agency for Research on Cancer. Cancer Tomorrow: Bladder. http://gco.iarc.fr/tomorrow.6 Challita-Eid P, Satpayev D, Yang P, et al. Enfortumab Vedotin Antibody-Drug Conjugate Targeting Nectin-4 Is a Highly Potent Therapeutic Agent in Multiple Preclinical Cancer Models. Cancer Res 2016;76(10):3003-13.7 PADCEV [package insert]. Northbrook, IL: Astellas, Inc.8 PADCEV [package insert]. Northbrook, IL: Astellas, Inc.

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Seattle Genetics Announces Potential Accelerated Approval Pathway in the US for PADCEV (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) in Combination with Immune Therapy...

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Seattle Genetics Announces Potential Accelerated Approval Pathway in the US for PADCEV (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) in Combination with Immune Therapy… | April 2nd, 2020

- Novellus's patented mRNA-based cell-reprogramming technology creates unique mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with superior immunomodulatory properties and manufacturing advantages over primary adult donor-derived MSCs - much greater supply and faster scale-up

- MSCs prevent and suppress cytokine storm believed to be the cause of the severe inflammation of ARDS and now seen in COVID-19 patients

CRANFORD, N.J., April 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Citius Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Citius" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: CTXR), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing critical care drug products, today signed an exclusive six-month option agreement to in-license a stem-cell therapy for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) from a subsidiary of Novellus, Inc., a preclinical-stage biotechnology company based in Cambridge, MA.

Novellus's patented process uses its exclusive non-immunogenic synthetic messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) molecules to create induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that, in turn, generate mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with superior immunomodulatory properties. MSCs have been shown to be safe in over 900 clinical trials and to be safe and effective in treating a number of inflammatory diseases, including ARDS.

"ARDS is the most common cause of respiratory failure and mortality in COVID-19 patients. Currently, there is no proven treatment for ARDS. Literature supports the use of counter-inflammatory MSCs for ARDS, and papers published in China have shown that at least seven COVID-19 patients with ARDS responded to MSC therapy. Clearly this is an avenue that shows promise and should be pursued as a potential treatment for ARDS. We believe Novellus is at the forefront of creating allogeneic, iPSC-derived MSCs. These cells have the potential to overcome the limitations of MSCs derived from adult donors, which are telomere shortened and introduce variability into the manufacturing process," said Citius Chief Executive Officer Myron Holubiak.

Novellus Chief Science Officer Matt Angel, PhD, stated, "Using our mRNA-based cell-reprogramming technology, Novellus can provide a near-unlimited supply of MSCs for treating patients with ARDS, including those critically ill from COVID-19. These will be allogeneic ('off-the-shelf') cells that in vitro have demonstrated much greater expansion potential and much higher immunomodulatory protein expression than donor-derived MSCs. We are excited to employ our technology to such an urgent medical crisis and believe that our MSCs represent an ideal source of cells to be used in this extremely important development effort."

Holubiak added, "No effective pharmacotherapy for ARDS exists, and ARDS-related morbidity and mortality are high. MSCs have been studied in the treatment of lung injury, and we aim to build upon this work with Novellus's iPSC-derived MSCs to improve the immunomodulatory response in humans. We have assembled a team of experts who are dedicated to advancing this project to an Investigational New Drug (IND) application as quickly as possible."

About ARDSAcute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a type of respiratory failure characterized by rapid onset of widespread inflammation in the lungs. ARDS is a rapidly progressive disease that occurs in critically ill patients most notably now in those diagnosed with COVID-19. ARDS affects approximately 200,000 patients per year in the U.S., exclusive of the current COVID-19 pandemic, and has a 30% to 50% mortality rate. ARDS is sometimes initially diagnosed as pneumonia or pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs from heart disease). Symptoms of ARDS include shortness of breath, rapid breathing and heart rate, chest pain, particularly while inhaling, and bluish skin coloration. Among those who survive ARDS, a decreased quality of life is relatively common.

About Citius Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Citius is a late-stage specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and commercialization of critical care products, with a focus on anti-infectives and cancer care. For more information, please visit http://www.citiuspharma.com.

About Novellus, Inc.Novellus is a pre-clinical stage biotechnology company developing engineered cellular medicines using its non-immunogenic mRNA, nucleic-acid delivery, gene editing, and cell reprogramming technologies. Novellus is privately held and is headquartered in Cambridge, MA. For more information, please visit http://www.novellus-inc.com.

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Safe HarborThis press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such statements are made based on our expectations and beliefs concerning future events impacting Citius. You can identify these statements by the fact that they use words such as "will," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "should," and "may" and other words and terms of similar meaning or use of future dates. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could negatively affect our business, operating results, financial condition, and stock price. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated are: the risk of successfully negotiating a license agreement with Novellus within the option period; our need for substantial additional funds; the estimated markets for our product candidates, including those for ARDS, and the acceptance thereof by any market; risks associated with conducting trials for our product candidates, including those expected to be required for any treatment for ARDS and our Phase III trial for Mino-Lok; risks relating to the results of research and development activities; risks associated with developing our product candidates, including any licensed from Novellus, including that preclinical results may not be predictive of clinical results and our ability to file an IND for such candidates; uncertainties relating to preclinical and clinical testing; the early stage of products under development; risks related to our growth strategy; our ability to obtain, perform under, and maintain financing and strategic agreements and relationships; our ability to identify, acquire, close, and integrate product candidates and companies successfully and on a timely basis; our ability to attract, integrate, and retain key personnel; government regulation; patent and intellectual property matters; competition; as well as other risks described in our SEC filings. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in our expectations or any changes in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law.

Contact:Andrew ScottVice President, Corporate Development(O) 908-967-6677ascott@citiuspharma.com

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Citius Signs Exclusive Option with Novellus to License Novel Stem-Cell Therapy for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) Associated with COVID-19...

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Citius Signs Exclusive Option with Novellus to License Novel Stem-Cell Therapy for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) Associated with COVID-19… | April 1st, 2020

Dublin, April 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Graft-Versus-Host Disease: Epidemiology Forecast in Asia-Pacific Markets to 2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

GvHD is a common complication of allogeneic HSCT that occurs when the donated (graft) cells are rejected and attack the host's cells as foreign. GvHD can progress from mild to severe forms as either aGvHD or cGvHD. Both aGvHD and cGvHD commonly affect organs such as the skin, gastrointestinal (GI) tract, liver, oral mucosa, and eyes. The global distribution of GvHD is directly dependent on transplantation-related factors, including the donor type, the age of the donor and the recipient, the sex parity between the recipient and the donor, the pre-transplantation conditioning regimen, and the use of GvHD prophylaxis pre- and/or post-transplantation.

The publisher epidemiologists utilized historical HSCT data available through country-wide registry reports in the 5GM to the best extent possible to arrive at a meaningful in-depth analysis and forecast for GvHD. In this analysis, The publisher epidemiologists provided detailed, clinically relevant segmentations for the diagnosed aGvHD and cGvHD incident cases. Further, The publisher epidemiologists used country-specific estimates using valid diagnostic criteria to present aGvHD and cGvHD prevalent, grades and mortality cases.

The following data describes epidemiology of GvHD cases. In 2018, the 5GM had 8,794 diagnosed incident cases of GvHD (aGvHD and cGvHD). This is expected to increase to 13,673 diagnosed incident cases by 2028, at an Annual Growth Rate (AGR) of 5.55%. This increase is partly attributed to the moderately rising trend in incidence in transplantation in the 5GM. In the 5GM, the diagnosed incident cases of aGvHD will increase from 4,650 cases in 2018 to 7,212 cases in 2028, at an Annual Growth Rate (AGR) of 5.51% per year, and the diagnosed incident cases of cGvHD will increase from 4,144 cases in 2018 to 6,461 cases in 2028, at an AGR of 5.59% per year.

Scope

Reasons to Buy

Key Topics Covered:

1 Table of Contents1.1 List of Tables1.2 List of Figures

2 Graft-Versus-Host Disease: Executive Summary2.1 Related Reports2.2 Upcoming Reports

3 Epidemiology3.1 Disease Background3.2 Risk Factors and Comorbidities3.3 Global and Historical Trends3.3.1 Australia3.3.2 China3.3.3 India3.3.4 Japan3.3.5 South Korea3.4 Forecast Methodology3.4.1 Sources Used3.4.2 Sources Not Used3.4.3 Forecast Assumptions and Methods3.5 Epidemiological Forecast for GvHD (2018-2028)3.5.1 Incident Cases of First Allogeneic HSCT3.5.2 Incident Cases of aGvHD in First Allogeneic HSCT3.5.3 Incident Cases of cGvHD in First Allogeneic HSCT3.5.4 Age-Specific Incident Cases of aGvHD and cGvHD3.5.5 Diagnosed Incident Cases of aGvHD by Grade3.5.6 Diagnosed Incident Cases of cGvHD by Severity3.5.7 100-Day Mortality in Diagnosed Incident Cases of aGvHD3.5.8 One-Year Mortality in Diagnosed Incident Cases of cGvHD3.5.9 Three-Year Diagnosed Prevalent Cases of aGvHD3.5.10 Three-Year Diagnosed Prevalent Cases of cGvHD3.6 Discussion3.6.1 Epidemiological Forecast Insight3.6.2 Limitations of Analysis3.6.3 Strengths of Analysis

4 Appendix4.1 Bibliography4.2 About the Authors4.2.1 Epidemiologist4.2.2 Reviewers4.2.3 Global Director of Therapy Analysis and Epidemiology4.2.4 Global Head and EVP of Healthcare Operations and Strategy4.3 About the publisher4.4 Contact Information4.5 Disclaimer

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/8yhcjq

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

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Insights into the Asia-Pacific Graft-Versus-Host Disease Industry to 2028 - Develop Business Strategies by Understanding the Trends Shaping and...

Skin Stem Cells Comments Off on Insights into the Asia-Pacific Graft-Versus-Host Disease Industry to 2028 – Develop Business Strategies by Understanding the Trends Shaping and… | April 1st, 2020

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

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

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

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

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

Dr. Takeichi

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

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

Dr. Kemler

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

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

Dr. Takeichi

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

Dr. Kemler

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

About the Gairdner Foundation:

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

http://www.gairdner.org

SOURCE Gairdner Foundation

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2020/31/c7291.html

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

John Morstad/The Globe and Mail, handouts

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

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

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

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Guy Rouleau works in a Montreal lab in 2017.

Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Al Drago/Reuters

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

They include:

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

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

Sign up for the Coronavirus Update newsletter to read the days essential coronavirus news, features and explainers written by Globe reporters.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Reversing The Ageing Process With Stem Cell Therapy - Version Weekly

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The campaign did not react to HuffPosts ask for remark.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We will not be using this vendor going forward.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Calling all HuffPost superfans!

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

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

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