Among the regularly prescribed natural remedies for hair loss are amino acids. We take a closer look at these building blocks of life. 

Amino Acids

These organic compounds are what our body uses to create proteins. There are a total of 21 different amino acids. Some are more important than others, but they combine to provide essential processes. Using amino acids for hair loss is becoming popular and for good reasons. 

We are going to focus on three particular acids that are found in our hair. Each plays a vital role.

Cystine –

Vital for providing strength and rigidity between keratin strands.

Lysine –

It is found in meat and dairy products. In the body, lysine is thought to assist to play a pivotal role in how we absorb iron. 

Methionine –

One of the amino acids vital for keratin. Methionine is believed to be important in deciding at which point we go grey. 

Hair Loss and Amino Acids

So what makes these amino acids unusual, compared to almost any other natural hair loss remedy?  The answer is that two of them have been clinically studied. Because they naturally occur in the human body there is a motivation to understand them. This has led, in turn, to a much deeper understanding of their functions.

Building on that understanding to develop natural hair loss remedies has seen more ambitious research undertaken. Research aimed at turning that deeper understanding into something useful. Something like a hair loss cure.

Cystine, for example, was combined with another amino acid, histidine, copper, and zinc. Taken orally during a 50-week study it was seen to increase hair count significantly. Lysine, this time in combination with iron, vitamin B, vitamin C, and selenium, resulted in a 39% reduction in hair loss after 6 months. This same study also reported increased ferritin in the blood. This happened even for women for whom iron supplements had proved ineffective. Studies have suggested that methionine might be another critical part of the picture. It is certainly involved in the process, and has that reputation for defining when we go grey. To date, no study has shown its benefit as a supplement.

HIS Hair Clinic

Hair is made of keratin. In amino acids, we have the micro-components that make hair possible at all. These tiny biological miracles are fundamental to our existence, never mind our hair. But with our focus on hair, they play a key role in every stage. 

Of all the natural remedies available, those based on amino acids might be the solution of choice for many. They combine a natural regime with a scientific basis for their efficacy. A rare thing indeed. You can see a relevant published paper on the role of amino acids in hair loss here. 

If you would like to discuss your hair loss situation with one of our friendly team of experts simply complete the contact form at the side of this page, or click here to find your nearest clinic.

Contact:
Tessa Gatz, Director of Communications, CureSearch for Children’s Cancer
Phone: (240) 235-2204  |  tessa.gatz@curesearch.org

Bethesda, MD – October 28, 2019 – CureSearch for Children’s Cancer is proud to announce funding for two CureSearch Young Investigator Awards supporting promising new therapies for pediatric neuroblastoma and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST). Each project will receive $225,000 over three years with the intent to move new therapies quickly into clinical trials within 2-5 years.

Adam Durbin, MD, PhD of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute will investigate druggable targets in neuroblastoma, a pediatric tumor of the peripheral sympathetic nervous system that impacts nearly 700 children in the U.S. each year. Current neuroblastoma therapies contribute to a survival rate of only 50% and have significant long-term toxicities, including deafness, cardiac insufficiency, infertility and increased risks of additional malignancies.

Dr. Durbin identified a protein, EP300, that is necessary for neuroblastoma growth and worked to develop a novel, bioavailable compound that is able to selectively destroy EP300. If successful, this project will not only offer an innovative treatment strategy for high-risk neuroblastoma, but has the potential to expand into other EP300-dependent pediatric tumors, including myeloid leukemia and rhabdomyosarcoma.

“As both a scientist and pediatric oncologist, I am focused on developing new drugs for children with challenging-to-treat cancers,” said Dr. Durbin. “Funding from CureSearch for Children’s Cancer is critical to the early steps of our work to try to deal with these issues by developing less toxic, more effective therapies for children with cancer.”

Kathryn Lemberg, MD of Johns Hopkins University is pursuing a new treatment strategy for MPNST, an aggressive cancer that is typically seen in adolescence and young adulthood. These tumors can arise in patients with the cancer predisposition syndrome neurofibromatosis type I, without a known cause or as secondary cancers in response to radiation therapy. MPNSTs are incredibly challenging to treat as they often metastasize and do not respond well to chemotherapy or radiation therapy. When incompletely removed at diagnosis, the 4-year event-free survival rate is only 30% and the median overall survival rate in the pediatric population is 30 months.

“Pediatric and young adult patients deserve more effective treatments with fewer side effects than have been classically available for these tumors,” stated Dr. Lemberg. “As a Young Investigator I look forward to collaborating with others in the CureSearch community to successfully develop new medicines for sarcoma.”

Dr. Lemberg’s research aims to exploit a common characteristic of tumor cells to trigger their destruction. It will attempt to block the ability of cells to use glutamine, an essential nutrient needed to survive. If successful in MPNST, the findings of this study have the potential to expand to more than 1,700 kids who are diagnosed in the U.S. each year with pediatric soft tissue sarcomas.

“CureSearch Young Investigators are held to incredibly high standards. They are expected to move potential therapies out of the lab and into the clinic in an accelerated timeframe,” stated Caitlyn Barrett, CureSearch National Director of Research and Programs. “These two researchers are focused on promising therapeutics for deadly pediatric cancers where treatments are currently lacking. Their work over the next three years will propel the therapeutics toward clinical trials and more importantly to where they can reach children”.

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About CureSearch for Children’s Cancer

CureSearch for Children’s Cancer, a national nonprofit organization based in Bethesda, MD, works to end childhood cancer by driving targeted and innovative research with measurable results in an accelerated time frame. CureSearch focuses on advancing the strongest research out of the laboratory and into clinical trials and development, where better, less-toxic treatments can quickly help children.

CureSearch Young Investigator Awards support researchers early in their careers to drive transformational science and deliver the next generation of cancer treatments.

For more information, visit curesearch.org, follow CureSearch on Twitter @curesearch or join the conversation on Facebook at facebook.com/curesearch.

The post CureSearch Announces $450,000 in New Research Funding to Drive Innovative Treatments for Pediatric Neuroblastoma and MPNST appeared first on CureSearch for Children's Cancer.

The U.S. is currently facing a shortage of vincristine, a critical standard treatment for many childhood cancers. Vincristine is a sterile generic injectable that has been approved to treat (and cure) children with cancer for over 5 decades. Vincristine is utilized by nearly every child with cancer and is a critical component of treatment regimens for children with leukemias, lymphoma, brain tumors, bone tumors, neuroblastoma, Wilms tumor, rhabdomyosarcoma. This shortage represents a true crisis, as there is no alternative or recommended substitution for vincristine.

If you are being directly and currently impacted by the shortage, please work with your care team and contact the FDA at drugshortages@fda.hhs.gov. 

Read the latest update and plan of action from Dr. Peter Adamson, Chair of the Children’s Oncology Group.

The post An Update on the Vincristine Shortage appeared first on CureSearch for Children's Cancer.

Join supporters around the nation this National Take a Hike Day and raise critical funds for pediatric cancer research. 

Trek for 43, CureSearch’s newest program, empowers people to come together to tell children’s cancer to “take a hike” during National Take a Hike Day weekend, November 15-17. 

“This program is great because it can fit in every workplace, community or school,” said CureSearch National Manager, Brecka Putnam. “Trekstarters have the ability to select the length and location of their hike, from challenging treks up the side of a mountain to mall walks and everything in between” 

Join supporters from across the country participating in a volunteer-led Trek for 43 event or create your own to show your support for the 43 kids diagnosed with cancer each day and raise funds for innovative children’s cancer research

Creative Trek for 43 plans are emerging across the nation. In Atlanta, Georgia, medical staff at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta are organizing multiple hikes in order to accommodate as many people as possible by providing options for distance and difficulty. In St. Louis, Missouri, CureSearch Ultimate Hike alumnae Susan Pregon is organizing a company-wide event and the workplace is paying registration costs for the first 20 employees to join.

Interested in becoming a Trekstarter in your community or participating in an event near you? Visit trekfor43.org for more information, or contact brecka.putnam@curesearch.org.

The post Trek for 43 appeared first on CureSearch for Children's Cancer.