The research was trialled in pigs and tested on the liver cancer chemotherapy drug doxorubicin. The device, dubbed the “chemofilter” has a honeycomb structure coated with a polymer which reacts with the drug and prevents it being released – similar to the catalytic convertor in a car exhaust.

In the pig trials the device captured 64 per cent of the drug that would otherwise have circulated around the body, damaging the immune system and causing ulcers, nausea and other symptoms. Side-effects of doxorubicin in humans include hair loss, anaemia and increased risk of infection, as the circulating drugs kill off sensitive hair follicles and blood cells, according to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Dr Steven Hetts, another of the authors, said if it’s shown to work in humans the device could be rapidly approved for patients because it’s a removable implant.

​“We are developing this around liver cancer because it is a big public health threat – there are tens of thousands of new cases every year,” he added.

“But if you think about it, you could use this sort of approach for any tumour or any disease that is confined to an organ, and you want to absorb the drug on the venous side before it can distribute and cause side effects elsewhere in the body.”

This news story is from Independent

You can still shave your head in solidarity with cancer patients, but finding a place to donate that ponytail will become a lot harder by the end of the year.

The Pantene Beautiful Lengths campaign, which has been collecting donations and creating wigs made from real hair for the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) since 2006, announced in a statement on its website that in the new year it will no longer accept hair donations in Canada and the United States.

The campaign noted the technology behind synthetic wigs has vastly improved — which makes them lighter, cooler to wear and easier to style — and has driven down the demand for products made of real hair.

Although donations will close, Carly Schur, national director of corporate partnerships with the Canadian Cancer Society, said the Beautiful Lengths program already has enough donations to continue creating and donating real hair wigs for the next four years.

“Patients have been providing feedback that synthetic wigs are now actually the preferred wig choice for many,” Schur said. “So we have time now to educate our community about this change and also look for ways to help people donate their hair to other organizations.”

Kerry Bishop, owner of Pink Tree the Fitting Shop, which stocks wigs and other products for women battling cancer, said the move makes sense.

“We mostly only sell synthetic wigs for lots of reasons — we might only sell one real hair wig a year,” she said, adding that staff usually advise against purchasing real hair wigs for a variety of reasons, including the high cost and that they lack the longevity and ease of use that synthetic versions offer.

While hair shaving fundraisers are popular among many groups to raise funds and awareness for cancer research, Bishop said she doesn’t think the decision to move away from real hair products will negatively affect these efforts, noting that for most people the decision to shave their head is generally to show solidarity with someone battling cancer.

Laddie James, general manager of the Hairstyle Inn, who works with C95 to organize its head shave fundraisers, agrees. He said the awareness and attention a head shave event draws won’t be degraded by the fact that it will become more difficult to donate the hair.

“There are still other options that people can do with the hair that they can’t source out,” he said. “It can also be utilized and recycled for other purposes — anything from making oil absorption buoys to making mats. Hair is an incredibly tough fabric, and as a result it can be used for a number of different things.”

People who get their heads shaved for the C95 marathon can rest easy knowing all those donations end up with Locks of Love — a non-profit that creates high quality hair prosthetics for financially disadvantaged children. The nonprofit’s office in Florida confirmed it has no plan to stop accepting donations.
​
Every year, the Canadian Cancer Society provides about 2,500 wigs free of charge to cancer patients across the country, Schur said, noting that each wig takes between eight and 15 ponytail donations to complete. The Beautiful Lengths campaign has accepted more than 100,000 ponytail donations since its inception.

​Cold myths debunked: Here are 3 common cold myths that parents still rely on
 
Going outside with wet hair will not lead to a cold.

It’s a belief passed on by generation after generation, and although experts say it’s not backed by science, a new poll suggests many of us still believe it.

Researchers at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Michigan found this myth, along with a few others, is still popular among parents, CNN reported.

Polling more than 1,000 parents with children between the ages of five and 12, researchers found 70 per cent believed in these “folklore strategies.”

“For example, 52 per cent of parents reported that they tell their child not to go outside with wet hair, while 48 per cent said they encourage their child to spend more time indoors to avoid catching a cold. In contrast, 23 per cent of parents said they encourage their child to spend more time outdoors to prevent colds,” authors wrote in a statement.

Dr. Isaac Bogoch, a clinical researcher at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, told Global News it’s hard to pinpoint why people still believe these myths.

“A lot of these beliefs started well before germ theory,” he said. “Some of these myths and quirks just get passed down from generation to generation but it’s hard to know why. Simply being cold doesn’t mean you’re going to get a cold.”

The poll in detail
The poll also found half of parents believed giving their child over-the-counter products, like vitamins or supplements, can prevent colds.

“These products generally have no or limited evidence of effectiveness in preventing colds,” authors continued. “The most common product that parents gave their child in the past year for cold prevention was vitamin C. Around 25 per cent of parents had tried giving their child products advertised to boost their immune system.”

But the poll also uncovered some good news: 99 per cent of parents encouraged personal hygiene like washing hands. Parents also told their children to avoid others who were sick and to clean shared toys.

Getting through cold season
Bogoch stressed that colds have nothing to do with the weather. Instead, colds are viruses that circulate. “They can cause nuisance symptoms like low-grade fever, sneezing, coughing, runny noses, and people generally feeling crummy until it passes.”

Colds can be more prevalent in colder months because people typically are more clustered together.

“Preventing the cold can be challenging [in colder months], but good hygiene is key,” he said, adding viruses can live on surfaces like doorknobs, keyboards, and elevator buttons.

Tips for parents
Besides encouraging children to wash their hands, parents should also know there isn’t a way to fully prevent the cold.

“The vast majority of these infections are self-limited and most of the time it will be over in a few days,” Bogoch said. “There is no silver bullet… there is nothing you can do to shorten the duration.”

Authors who conducted the research said parents should also teach children not to put their hands near their nose or mouth, and avoid sharing utensils or drinks with others.

Bogoch said always monitor how your children feel. If colds are consistent or last for a long period of time (even with off-the-counter products), speak with your health-care provider.


This article is from Global News

New HairWand delivers better, faster rinsing.

Water Pik, Inc., perhaps best known for its oral care devices line, is expanding into the hair care with the new Waterpik HairWand Spa System. The launch comes via the Fort Collins, CO-based compay’s replacement shower heads business.  

The Waterpik HairWand has three therapeutic wand streams and nine modes in the fixed shower head that provide a complete rinse in less than one minute. The company contends it will  improve hair manageability; help to naturally detangle hair and promote a healthy scalp; and offer consumers a daily space experience, too. 

According to a consumer study, up to 94% of users reported superior rinsing action; and 82% reported a complete rinse in less than a minute. 

"After realizing that consumers were frustrated with the increased difficulty in rinsing out haircare products, we wanted to give them a more purposeful, yet still powerful experience in the shower," said Michael Wakeman, vice president of marketing, Water Pik, Inc. "We are very excited to launch the HairWand Spa System as a new and easy-to-install option to elevate both the shower experience and wellness."   

The HairWand’s PowerComb stream is targeted and powerful, effectively rinsing out product no matter the texture or length, leaving hair less tangled and more manageable.

The Waterpik HairWand Spa System is now available on Home Depot shelves nationwide for a suggested retail price of $59.98.
 
Breaking News from Happi

Nobody knows. But we have some theories.

Blame your kids--you’re going grey. It’s not so bad. Silver foxes are still in styleand, hey, anything beats being bald. But why are you going grey like that? Why does grey hair start at the temples? Why do beards change hue? Why can’t your eyebrows just match your chest hair?

Scientists aren’t sure. There have been almost no studies on hair greying patterns, and preliminary surveys suggest we may not even really go grey at the temples first. But there’s a lot of research out there on what makes hair go grey in the first place, and the differences between body hair and head hair. Just as good? You decide. Here’s what we know about going grey.

The Science Of Going Grey (What We Know)

You may be grey, but you’re not alone. Studies suggest that three-quarters of people between the ages of 45 and 65 have grey hair covering at least one-third of their scalps. Men go grey before women, on average, and Asians and Africans have fewer grey hairs than Caucasians.

Your hair’s erstwhile hue came to your scalp courtesy of cells called melanocytes, which produce either eumelanin pigments (black and brown) or pheomelanin pigments (yellow and red). Eyelashes contain the most eumelanin, which is why they tend to be the darkest. Pubic hair, underarm hair, and beard hair skew lighter, because those hairs contain the most pheomelanin. Melanocytes wear out as time goes on, and they’re usually replenished by a stem cell reservoir conveniently planted near each hair follicle. Eventually, those reservoirs die. That’s when pigment production stops, and salt and pepper begin seasoning your scalp with impunity.

Why And Where We Go Grey (An Evolving Science)

Genes are probably a big part of the mystery. One 2016 study of 6,000 genomes highlighted the first gene ever associated with hair greying. This gene appears to be involved in maintaining melanocyte stem cell reservoirs and protecting the hair follicle against chemical stressors.

Genetics may also explain why your brain and the hair near your temples tend to go grey first. Different regions of the scalp have different genetic origins in the womb, and researchers have linked this quirk of development to male pattern baldness. In an interview with VICE, Dr. Paradi Mirmirani, regional director for hair disorders at Kaiser Permanente, suggested that we may go grey in waves for the same reason — the skin on our faces and heads are simply not on a single genetic schedule. It’s also possible that hairs in the temples and beard are more sensitive to hormones, Mirmirani says, which increase the speed at which melanin needs to be replenished.

Then again, the premise itself may be off. True, a lot of men seem to go grey at the temples and beard first. But when L’Oreal asked trained evaluators to examine the heads of 4,000 adult men and women from around the world in 2012, they found no indication of this trend. And when VICE asked hair stylists to weigh-in, they were unequivocal. “I haven’t seen that,” said Quentin Gholar, a career barber in New York City. “In my experience, it tends to come in all over.”

How To Stop It (A Pseudoscience)
​
We know a lot about the biology of grey hair. We know considerably less about the reason why our hair follicles don’t simply transition from color to colorless in one fell swoop. But what we really don’t know anything about is how to prevent grey hair or rejuvenate it. Natural remedies are a sham and, and while legitimate studies have had promising results, rumor of a burgeoning cure for grey hair is just that — a rumor. But don’t let that get you down. Embrace your greys.

“There are lots of grey role models out there,” The Record points out. “Gandalf the wizard, for example. He’s grey and he’s great. Then there’s, uh, um, Dumbledore the wizard. Also grey-t. So there you go. If grey is good enough for…two fictional wizards, it’s good enough for me.”


This information is from the site, Fatherly.