Latest Melanocortin 1 receptor Stories
Because the incidence of malignant melanoma is rising faster than any other cancer in the U.S., researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and colleagues at Tampa-based Intezyne Technologies, Inc., Western Carolina University and the University of Arizona are working overtime to develop new technologies to aid in both malignant melanoma diagnosis and therapy. A tool of great promise comes from the world of nanomedicine - where tiny drug delivery systems are measured in the...
Researchers led by Vanderbilt's Roger Cone, Ph.D., have discovered a new member of a gene family that has powerful influences on pigmentation and the regulation of body weight.The gene is the third member of the agouti family. Two agouti genes have been identified previously in humans. One helps determine skin and hair color, and the other may play an important role in obesity and diabetes. The new gene, called agrp2, has been found exclusively in bony fish, including zebrafish, trout and...
In the future, summer sun may never be viewed the same way again: New research in the FASEB Journal will help doctors predict your likelihood to develop skin cancer, and promises next-generation sunscreensAs people head to the beach this summer, very few if any, really know how likely they are to develop skin cancer from their outdoor fun. That's about to change, thanks to a new discovery by an international team of scientists that makes it possible for doctors to access people's personal...
Does it matter if nature solves the same problem multiple ways? A NSF-supported study of lizard populations in White Sands, New Mexico has helped researcher Erica Rosenblum of the University of Idaho begin to answer that question. Published December 28 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the article describes genetic differences between lizards found in habitats that contain white or dark soils. These stark differences in color are an ideal environment to study natural...
Studies have suggested that redheads may be more sensitive to pain and may require more anesthetics. This month's Journal of the American Dental Association published new research findings that the expectation of painful experiences at the hand of a dentist might incite greater trepidation for redheads. They proved to be twice as likely to avoid the dentist as those with dark hair."Redheads are sensitive to pain," said co-author Dr. Daniel Sessler, an Outcomes Research Department...
 New genetic research suggests that the traditional risk factors for melanoma may not be as helpful in predicting risk in all people as previously thought, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009."Traditionally, a clinician might look at a person with dark hair who did not sunburn easily and classify them as lower risk for melanoma, but that may not be true for all people in the population," said Peter Kanetsky, Ph.D.,...
By Abdel-Malek, Zalfa A Knittel, James; Kadekaro, Ana Luisa; Swope, Viki B; Starner, Renny ABSTRACT Cutaneous pigmentation is the major photoprotective mechanism against the carcinogenic and aging effects of UV. Epidermal melanocytes synthesize the pigment melanin, in the form of eumelanin or pheomelanin. Synthesis of the photoprotective eumelanin by human melanocytes is regulated mainly by the melanocortins alpha- melanocortin (alpha-MSH) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which bind...
By David Douglas NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a Mediterranean population typically at low risk for developing melanoma, carriers of mutations in the pigmentation gene MC1R are at increased risk of developing the skin cancer and having it progress, a study hints. This seems to be particularly true for mutation carriers who do not have other strong risk factors for melanoma such as freckles or moles. As Dr. Maria Teresa Landi told Reuters Health, "people with red hair, light skin, many moles...
A new study has found that long-duration regular use of aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen) may be associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer. Use of aspirin and other NSAIDs has been consistently associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer in epidemiological studies, and aspirin reduced risk of colorectal polyp recurrence in two randomized trials. There has also been some evidence from laboratory and epidemiological studies that...
