6-Gingerol Inhibits Hair Shaft Growth in Cultured Human Hair Follicles and Modulates Hair Growth in Mice.

6-gingerol inhibits hair shaft growth in cultured human hair follicles and modulates hair growth in mice.

PLoS One. 2013; 8(2): e57226
Miao Y, Sun Y, Wang W, Du B, Xiao SE, Hu Y, Hu Z

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) has been traditionally used to check hair loss and stimulate hair growth in East Asia. Several companies produce shampoo containing an extract of ginger claimed to have anti-hair loss and hair growth promotion properties. However, there is no scientific evidence to back up these claims. This study was undertaken to measure 6-gingerol, the main active component of ginger, on hair shaft elongation in vitro and hair growth in vivo, and to investigate its effect on human dermal papilla cells (DPCs) in vivo and in vitro. 6-Gingerol suppressed hair growth in hair follicles in culture and the proliferation of cultured DPCs. The growth inhibition of DPCs by 6-gingerol in vitro may reflect a decrease in the Bcl-2/Bax ratio. Similar results were obtained in vivo. The results of this study showed that 6-gingerol does not have the ability to promote hair growth, on the contrary, can suppress human hair growth via its inhibitory and pro-apoptotic effects on DPCs in vitro, and can cause prolongation of telogen phase in vivo. Thus, 6-gingerol rather than being a hair growth stimulating drug, it is a potential hair growth suppressive drug; i.e. for hair removal. HubMed – drug

Metropolitan Social Environments and Pre-HAART/HAART Era Changes in Mortality Rates (per 10,000 Adult Residents) among Injection Drug Users Living with AIDS.

PLoS One. 2013; 8(2): e57201
Friedman SR, West BS, Pouget ER, Hall HI, Cantrell J, Tempalski B, Chatterjee S, Hu X, Cooper HL, Galea S, Des Jarlais DC

Among the largest US metropolitan areas, trends in mortality rates for injection drug users (IDUs) with AIDS vary substantially. Ecosocial, risk environment and dialectical theories suggest many metropolitan areas characteristics that might drive this variation. We assess metropolitan area characteristics associated with decline in mortality rates among IDUs living with AIDS (per 10,000 adult MSA residents) after highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was developed.This is an ecological cohort study of 86 large US metropolitan areas from 1993-2006. The proportional rate of decline in mortality among IDUs diagnosed with AIDS (as a proportion of adult residents) from 1993-1995 to 2004-2006 was the outcome of interest. This rate of decline was modeled as a function of MSA-level variables suggested by ecosocial, risk environment and dialectical theories. In multiple regression analyses, we used 1993-1995 mortality rates to (partially) control for pre-HAART epidemic history and study how other independent variables affected the outcomes.In multivariable models, pre-HAART to HAART era increases in ‘hard drug’ arrest rates and higher pre-HAART income inequality were associated with lower relative declines in mortality rates. Pre-HAART per capita health expenditure and drug abuse treatment rates, and pre- to HAART-era increases in HIV counseling and testing rates, were weakly associated with greater decline in AIDS mortality.Mortality among IDUs living with AIDS might be decreased by reducing metropolitan income inequality, increasing public health expenditures, and perhaps increasing drug abuse treatment and HIV testing services. Given prior evidence that drug-related arrest rates are associated with higher HIV prevalence rates among IDUs and do not seem to decrease IDU population prevalence, changes in laws and policing practices to reduce such arrests while still protecting public order should be considered. HubMed – drug

Is drug treatment for dementia followed up in primary care? A Swedish study of dementia clinics and referring primary care centres.

PLoS One. 2013; 8(2): e57161
Sonde L, Johnell K

It is largely unknown how the medical treatment of patients diagnosed with dementia is followed up in primary care. Therefore, we studied patient medical records from two dementia clinics and from the referring primary care centres.A retrospective study of 241 patients was conducted from April to October 2011 in north west Stockholm, Sweden. Over half (51.5%) of the patients had Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the remainder had mixed AD/vascular dementia (VaD). Eighty-four medical reports from primary care (35% of the study group) were analysed at follow-up 18 months after diagnosis.All four dementia drugs available on the Swedish market (three cholinesterase inhibitors [donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine] and memantine) were prescribed at the two dementia clinics. The most commonly used dementia drug was galantamine. There were differences between the two dementia clinics in preference and combination of drugs and of treatment given to male and female patients. At follow-up, 84% were still on dementia medication. Drug use was followed up by the general practitioners (GPs) in two-thirds of the cases. Eighteen per cent of the GPs’ medical records made no reference to the patient’s dementia or treatment even though dementia drugs were included in the list of medications prescribed.The results indicate that the Swedish guidelines for treatment of cognitive symptoms in AD are being followed in primary care. However, documentation of follow-up of drug treatment was sometimes insufficient, which calls for development of guidelines for complete medical records and medication lists. HubMed – drug

Genotypic Analysis of Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolates in a Beijing Hospital Reveals High Genetic Diversity and Clonal Population Structure of Drug-Resistant Isolates.

PLoS One. 2013; 8(2): e57091
Wang Q, Li B, Tsang AK, Yi Y, Woo PC, Liu CH

The genetic diversity and the clinical relevance of the drug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates from hospital settings are largely unknown. We thus conducted this prospective study to analyze the molecular epidemiology of K. pneumoniae isolates from patients being treated in the 306 Hospital in Beijing, China for the period of November 1, 2010-October 31, 2011.Antibiotic susceptibility testing, PCR amplification and sequencing of the drug resistance-associated genes, and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) were conducted. A total of 163 isolates were analyzed. The percentage of MDR, XDR and PDR isolates were 63.8% (104), 20.9 (34), and 1.8% (3), respectively. MLST results showed that 60 sequence types (STs) were identified, which were further separated by eBURST into 13 clonal complexes and 18 singletons. The most dominant ST was ST15 (10.4%). Seven new alleles and 24 new STs were first identified in this study. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that certain clinical characteristics were associated with those prevalent STs such as: from ICU, from medical ward, from community acquired infection, from patients without heart disease, from patients with treatment success, susceptible to extended spectrum cephalosporin, susceptible to cephamycins, susceptible to fluoroquinolones, and with MDR.Our data indicate that certain drug-resistant K. pneumoniae clones are highly prevalent and are associated with certain clinical characteristics in hospital settings. Our study provides evidence demonstrating that intensive nosocomial infection control measures are urgently needed. HubMed – drug