INTRODUCTION In the United States, race/ethnicity is a strong determinant of tobacco use patterns, biomarkers of tobacco smoke components and metabolites, and likelihood of successful cessation. Although Black smokers tend to smoke fewer cigarettes than White smokers, they have higher cotinine levels and disease risk and lower cessation success. We examined racial differences in hair nicotine c...

Alopecia areata is a common form of nonscarring alopecia. It affects males and females equally and has no racial predilection. It usually affects the scalp, but any hair-bearing area can be involved. It presents as patchy hair loss, loss of hair on the entire scalp (alopecia totalis), or the whole body (alopecia universalis). The histopathology varies according to the disease stage, but usually...

Sensory hair cells in the cochlea, like most neuronal populations that are postmitotic, terminally differentiated, and non-regenerating, depend on robust mechanisms of self-renewal for lifelong survival. We report that hair cell homeostasis requires a specific sub-branch of the DNA damage nucleotide excision repair pathway, termed transcription-coupled repair (TCR). Cockayne syndrome (CS), caus...

Alström Syndrome is a life-threatening disease characterized primarily by numerous metabolic abnormalities, retinal degeneration, cardiomyopathy, kidney and liver disease, and sensorineural hearing loss. The cellular localization of the affected protein, ALMS1, has suggested roles in ciliary function and/or ciliogenesis. We have investigated the role of ALMS1 in the cochlea and the pathogenesis...

BACKGROUND Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease mediated by T lymphocytes. Many treatments have been used but their results remain disappointing. There is a need to propose new therapeutic alternatives. METHODS During a period of 3 years, 26 patients with recalcitrant or severe AA (>40% hair loss) were enrolled in an open-label uncontrolled clinical trial. According to the response t...

In humans, most hearing loss results from death of hair cells, the mechanosensory receptors of the inner ear. Two goals of current hearing research are to protect hair cells from degeneration and to regenerate new hair cells, replacing those that are lost due to aging, disease, or environmental challenges. One limitation of research in the auditory field has been the relative inaccessibility of...

BACKGROUND Lichen planopilaris (LPP) is an inflammatory disease characterized by a lymphomononuclear infiltrate surrounding the isthmus and infundibulum of the hair follicle of the scalp, that evolves into atrophic/scarring alopecia. In the active phase of the disease hairs are easily plucked with anagen-like hair-roots. In this study we focused on the expression of integrins and basement membr...

Although hair loss or alopecia is a common disease, its exact mechanisms are not yet well understood. The present study investigated the hypothesis that the homeostatic regulation of genes during hair regeneration may participate in hair loss, based on the cyclicity of hair growth. A cluster of such genes was identified by an expression gene-array from the dorsal skin in a depilated mouse model...

Hair color reflects the health of an individual and discolored hair indicates pathological state. Palitam is a physiological process when it occurring in old age. Whereas Akala (premature graying) condition manifests early stages life. It characterized byVivarna Kesha (discolored hair) along with altered texture predominant Dosha attributes Vivarnata to Kesha.
 determined by pigment called...

Notice This booklet includes the panelists' pre-meeting responses to the charge questions. It should be noted that the pre-meeting comments are preliminary in nature. The purpose of these comments is to stimulate meeting discussions. Some panelists' technical findings might change based on discussions during the meeting; therefore, pre-meeting comments should not necessarily be considered the p...