Ask Dr. H: A cure for the common cold?
Question: Do you think that we'll ever have a cure for the "common cold"? Answer: A month ago, I would have given you the same answer that I've given for years: The "common cold" is caused by many viruses such as rhinoviruses, enteroviruses, parainfluenza, coronaviruses, respiratory syncytial viruses and adenoviruses. The fact that they all can mutate has made it impossible to find a vaccine that'll wipe out one or more of these viruses responsible for colds.
Question:
Do you think that we'll ever have a cure for the "common cold"?
Answer: A month ago, I would have given you the same answer that I've given for years: The "common cold" is caused by many viruses such as rhinoviruses, enteroviruses, parainfluenza, coronaviruses, respiratory syncytial viruses and adenoviruses. The fact that they all can mutate has made it impossible to find a vaccine that'll wipe out one or more of these viruses responsible for colds.
However, researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology may have found the magic bullet. It's called DRACO, which stands for "Double-stranded RNA Activated Caspase Oligomerizer," and so far in human and animal cell cultures and lab mice, it has killed all 15 viruses it has been tested against - including H1N1 flu virus, poliovirus, dengue fever virus and the viruses that cause deadly hemorrhagic fever. The mechanism of action for this potential wonder drug is that it targets the RNA (genetic coding information used by viruses) and gets the targeted viral cell to commit suicide. This novel approach in theory could work on any RNA-containing virus - including flu, the common cold viruses - even the HIV virus. Best yet, it is thus far nontoxic to healthy tissues and organs.
More extensive testing is needed in mice, followed by other animals and then human subjects before DRACO can be deemed safe and effective for the general population. But the results are exciting so far.
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Studies show some promise in promoting regrowth of hair
Q:
Is there anything doctors are working on to cure baldness? I've been using Propecia for several years with only modest hair regrowth. I'm considering hair transplantation.
A: Several new studies may lead to a cure for baldness someday. One study at Yale University is in lab mice, and they've found that multipurpose "stem" cells in the fatty layer of the scalp send signals that trigger hair growth. According to Valerie Horsley, senior author of a study published in the Sept. 2 issue of the journal Cell, if we can get fat cells in the scalp tissue to talk to the dormant stem cells at the base of hair follicles, we might be able to get hair to grow again. Horsley and her colleagues observed that when hair dies, the layer of fat that makes up most of the thickness on the scalp gets thinner. When hair growth begins, the layer of fat thickens. They're looking at whether the same signals that trigger hair growth in mice will regrow hair in humans.
Another study conducted at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies near San Diego may have stumbled on a cure for stress-related hair loss.
They were testing a new compound on mice genetically altered to overproduce a stress hormone that causes hair loss. They got five days of daily injections of their antistress hormone. Three months later, they all had regrown hair.
In December 2010, researchers at Berlin Technical University announced that they have grown the world's first artificial hair follicles from stem cells. Human clinical trials are under way.
In a January 2011 study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, George Cotsarelis and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found that hair follicle stem cells are preserved in a man's bald scalp. Follica Inc. has been behind this research which focuses on activating dormant hair follicle stem cells to regrow hair.