The pigmented life of a redhead.

As a redhead I have had a personal interest in red hair, freckles and sunburns since childhood. An observation of a formaldehyde-induced fluorescence in human epidermal melanocytes initiated my scientific interest in these cells. Prota and Nicolaus demonstrated that oxidation products of cysteinyldopas are the main components of pheomelanin. Our identification of 5-S-cysteinyldopa as the source of formaldehyde-induced fluorescence of normal and pathological melanocytes started a series of investigations into this amino acid, enzymatic and non-enzymatic oxidation of catecholic compounds and the metabolism of thiols. All melanocytes with functioning tyrosinase produce cysteinyldopas and the levels of 5-S-cysteinyldopa in serum and urine are related to the size and pigment forming activity of the melanocyte population. The determination of 5-S-cysteinyldopa in serum or urine is a sensitive diagnostic method in the detection of melanoma metastasis. Some non-specific formation of cysteinyldopa is present in the body, as demonstrated by 5-S-cysteinyldopa in individuals with tyrosinase-negative albinism

Vascular endothelial growth factor augments the healing of demineralized bone matrix grafts

AbstractAimTo produce a totally allogeneic graft material that would eliminate the need for harvesting the autogenous bone from patients.Materials and methodsThirty-six (10×5mm) defects were created in the parietal bones of 18 rabbits. Two experimental groups of 12 defects each were grafted with DBMIM alone and VEGF+DBMIM, respectively. The remaining 12 defects were left empty as controls, and sacrificed on days 14, 30 and 60. Two rabbits, with four defects, of each group were sacrificed on day 14, 30 and 60 post grafting. The defects were retrieved for histological evaluation and quantitative analysis.ResultsNo bone formed across the defect in the controls. The difference in the amount of new bone formation between experimental groups was significant especially 30 and 60days post grafting (p<0.0001), which were 149% and 100% respectively.ConclusionVEGF+DBMIM powder is a promising graft material, and warrants further clinical investigation