Latest news with #PlGF
SoraNews24
02-06-2025
- Health
- SoraNews24
Plant extract that may grow hair discovered by Japan's Rohto Pharmaceutical
Plants, you gotta love 'em. My whole life has felt like a race between medical science and my hair's desire to flee my head. Every few years there seems to be a 'breakthrough,' but so far nothing Earth-shattering, and on the Bruce Willis filmography scale of hair loss, I'm currently around Armageddon , which means there's not much time left. So, a recent discovery announced by Japan's Rohto Pharmaceutical may be my last chance until I hit the Moonrise Kingdom point of no return. According to Rohto, their research has confirmed that extracts from the Amur cork tree and chenpi (sun-dried orange peel) doubled the amount of placental growth factor (PlGF) in human hair papilla cells. PlGF is a protein that plays an important role in hair growth by making hairs grow longer, faster, and remain in the active growth period for a longer time. This is a somewhat unique approach that works on the cellular level rather than targeting hormones, blood vessels, or other levels that many popular treatments do. In other words, PlGF can be generated by a person's own body and more universally utilized by women as well as men and even be used to promote eyelash growth. ▼ It might even help our own Seiji Nakazawa get out of the top Google Search result for 'baldie.' Online comments show that not everyone is convinced, however, and seem to resemble the seven stages of grief, possibly indicating each poster's level of experience with hair growth treatments. 'The time has come.' 'Here we go with the hair again.' 'Is there any hope for people who are already bald?' 'How many times have we done this? Kinako… Kelp… It just keeps going on.' 'It's too late for me…' 'This is a victory not only for science but for humanity.' 'I wonder what would happen if someone who isn't bald used it.' 'It's a lie! It's a lie! It's a lie! I will not be fooled again.' 'Please hurry! I was going well into my 50s until my thyroid was removed and it all fell out.' Rohto's announcement marks the end of the testing phase and the company is currently working on developing hair growth products that utilize these extracts. As some of the comments pondered, although PlGF clearly promotes hair growth, it's not certain to reactivate dormant hair follicles. This means Rohto's upcoming products could be a good preventative treatment for those still in the Die Hard With a Vengeance realm but possibly not the savior of those who have already crossed over into A Good Day to Die Hard . Oh, well. If I can hang on to The Kid hair, that'll do. Source: Nikkei, PR Times, My Game News Flash Featured image: Pakutaso Insert image ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Sunday Post
26-05-2025
- Health
- Sunday Post
Seven-year-long campaign to secure test for pre-eclampsia recognised at Scottish Press Awards
Get a weekly round-up of stories from The Sunday Post: Thank you for signing up to our Sunday Post newsletter. Something went wrong - please try again later. Sign Up The work of Sunday Post journalist Janet Boyle in campaigning for a test for the killer pregnancy condition pre-eclampsia has been recognised at the prestigious Scottish Press Awards. Boyle's seven-year crusade was recognised when The Post won the hard-fought Campaign of the Year award at the event on Thursday evening. The paper's 'Test Today, Save Lives Tomorrow' campaign resulted in the licensing of the test for use in Scotland, and then the Scottish Government agreeing to provide extra funding for it. Pre-eclampsia, which affects as many as one in 10 pregnancies, risks babies being born too early to survive and their mothers ending up in high dependency or intensive care units because of organ failure and seizures. Boyle began her campaign for the adoption of the Placental Growth Factor (PlGF) test – which then cost just £60 each – back in 2018. Working with the charity Action on Pre-eclampsia (Apec), she told the harrowing stories of mums-to-be who had experienced the deadly condition. The Scottish Health Technologies Group finally approved the PlGF test in March 2023 – but the struggle was not yet over. A year on from that decision, Boyle revealed health boards were struggling to due to a lack of testing capacity and problems with infrastructure. Boyle and Apec resumed their campaign – this time calling for the Scottish Government to ensure the test was being made available. Finally, in September last year, the Scottish Government announced it was giving NHS boards £259,000 to make tests for pre-eclampsia available to all women at risk. Hailing Boyle's win, Marcus Green, CEO of Apec, said: 'It could only happen with the courage and ambition of The Sunday Post, who were brilliant in listening to harrowing stories from women and then treating those stories with dignity and sensitivity. 'The Sunday Post was relentless in pursing the truth and winning hearts and minds. Together we made the unnecessary suffering of women and their families in Scotland the most important health story of last summer and this recognition of the Sunday Post and especially Janet Boyle is richly deserved.' Sunday Post editor David Lord said: 'This is exactly what campaigning should be – identifying an issue that has a real impact and relentlessly examining and exposing it to ultimately achieve meaningful and lasting change. 'Janet worked tirelessly on the Test Today, Save Lives Tomorrow campaign and this award is just recognition of her remarkable efforts. Real people trusted Janet with their intensely personal stories – were it not for their bravery we could not have achieved this fantastic result. 'The award represents a victory for all of those who will now be offered pre-eclampsia tests. To say Janet's work could save lives in this instance is no exaggeration. 'The Sunday Post is absolutely committed to using whatever influence we may have for the good of society, and we are all delighted to see that commitment paying off.' Boyle is now campaigning for lifelong health check-ups for all women who have experienced the condition.
Time of India
29-04-2025
- Health
- Time of India
New test developed for early detection of pre-eclampsia
Chennai: A multi-institute team led by IIT Madras has developed a biosensor platform to test pregnant women for pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening complication, in just 30 minutes and ensure timely treatment. The point-of-care test uses fibre optics sensor technology, a plasmonic fibre optics absorbance biosensor (PFAB), which measures placental growth factor (PlGF) , a protein, to detect pre-eclampsia in early stages of pregnancy. The condition causes high blood pressure and signs of liver or kidney damage during the second half of pregnancy. "Placental growth factor (PlGF) is an angiogenic (process involved in the formation of blood vessels) blood biomarker for pre-eclampsia diagnosis," said Prof V V Raghavendra Sai, Biosensors Laboratory, department of applied mechanics and biomedical engineering, IIT Madras. The team said the usual method to detect pre-eclampsia is time-consuming, requiring large infrastructure and trained personnel, making it inaccessible to remote and resource-limited areas. The PlGF biomarker, which normally peaks at 28-32 weeks, decreases significantly in women with pre-eclampsia. The POF sensor probes developed by the team measured PlGF levels in 30 minutes using PFAB strategy. Clinical sample tests confirmed the platform's accuracy, reliability, specificity, and sensitivity, making it a cost-effective solution for early pre-eclampsia diagnosis. The study, involving IIT-M, Vellore Institute of Technology, Sri Sakthi Amma Institute of Biomedical Research, and Sri Narayani Hospital & Research Centre, Vellore, was published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics. Ramprasad Srinivasan from Sri Sakthi Amma Institute of Biomedical Research, said the test can detect PlGF as early as 11-13 weeks of gestation, enabling early intervention with low-dose aspirin for high-risk women, thereby improving maternal and neonatal outcomes. Ratan Kumar Chaudhary, the paper's first author and an IIT-M graduate, said the test requires only minimal sample volume, making it rapid, simple, and environmentally friendly.
New Indian Express
28-04-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
Pre-eclampsia: How a noble innovation from Chennai is poised to tackle a global pregnancy crisis
You might remember the health struggles of the iconic singer Mariah Carey during her pregnancy with twins in 2011. She faced serious complications and ultimately had to undergo a cesarean section. Carey was very open about her health challenges, particularly due to a condition called pre-eclampsia, which led to complications during her pregnancy. Similarly, US media celebrity Kim Kardashian has also spoken out about her experiences with pre-eclampsia. During both of her pregnancies with North and Saint West, she developed the condition. In her first pregnancy, she also dealt with placenta accreta, a condition where the placenta grows too deeply into the uterine wall. These complications caused significant challenges, resulting in premature deliveries and medical interventions. Pre-eclampsia is a severe pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and signs of organ damage, often affecting the kidneys or liver. It typically develops after the 20th week of pregnancy and can lead to serious complications for both the mother and the baby if left untreated. Symptoms include high blood pressure (above 140/90 mmHg), protein in the urine, swelling in the hands, face, or feet, severe headaches, vision changes (such as seeing spots or flashing lights), upper abdominal pain, and sudden weight gain due to fluid retention. If left unchecked, pre-eclampsia can progress to eclampsia, which involves seizures and can be life-threatening for both mother and child. Early detection and management are crucial, often through medication to lower blood pressure or early delivery when necessary. The detection and monitoring of pre-eclampsia involve several tests and assessments, including blood pressure monitoring, proteinuria testing, blood tests, and biomarker tests (some of which are still emerging). However, early detection remains challenging, and researchers around the world are working to improve these methods. Given the widespread impact of pre-eclampsia on pregnant women and newborns globally, there is a pressing need for rapid, affordable, on-site screening to ensure timely treatment and reduce both maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Currently, the usual methods to detect pre-eclampsia are time-consuming and require extensive infrastructure and trained personnel. This makes them inaccessible in remote and resource-limited settings, such as in low-income countries like India, where pre-eclampsia is a significant public health concern contributing to maternal morbidity and mortality. A Biosensor from IIT Madras A team of researchers from the There is a strong demand for a testing device that is easily accessible, quick, and highly sensitive—one with the "3S" features (Sensitivity, Specificity, and Speed) for the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia. In a paper published on PubMed , the IIT researchers described a plasmonic fiber optic absorbance biosensor (P-FAB) strategy for detecting Placental Growth Factor (PlGF) at femtomolar concentrations. They used polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)-based U-bent polymeric optical fiber (POF) sensor probes. The POF sensor probes are able to measure PlGF within 30 minutes, with clinical sample testing confirming the accuracy, reliability, specificity, and sensitivity of the platform. This innovation holds the potential to offer a cost-effective solution for PlGF detection, with applications for diagnosing pre-eclampsia. Prof. V.V. Raghavendra Sai, one of the lead scientists, explained in a recent statement that the biosensor platform is simple, reliable, and affordable, paving the way for more widespread use of PlGF biomarker tests. He also highlighted that the platform could have a significant impact on the management of pre-eclampsia, potentially reducing the global burden of morbidity and mortality from the condition. The researchers confirms that the technology has passed through all the necessary validation stages, from analytical to bioanalytical to clinical evaluation, progressing through the required Technology Readiness Levels (TRL). They note that further large-scale patient sample analysis in diverse clinical settings, along with robust prototyping, will smoothen the pathway to technology transfer and commercialisation in the near- and mid-term future. The team comprises Prof. V.V. Raghavendra Sai, Dr. Ratan Kumar Chaudhary (Department of Applied Mechanics and Biomedical Engineering, IIT Madras), Dr. Narayanan Madaboosi (Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras), Dr. Jitendra Satija (Centre for Nanobiotechnology, Vellore Institute of Technology), Dr. Balaji Nandagopal, and Dr. Ramprasad Srinivasan (Sri Sakthi Amma Institute of Biomedical Research, Sri Narayani Hospital & Research Centre, Vellore). According to the researchers, the P-FAB-based POF platform offers transformative technology not only for detecting pre-eclampsia but also for detecting other communicable and non-communicable diseases. Importantly, the technology is simple, cost-effective, rapid, and requires only a small sample volume (30 µL or a droplet). Furthermore, it eliminates the need for harsh chemicals and utilizes recyclable POF, making it both environmentally and user-friendly. This makes the technology suitable for use in remote and resource-limited settings. In India, approximately 8–10% of pregnancies are affected by pre-eclampsia. A 2022 study found that among 28,226 pregnant women, 13.8% had non-severe pre-eclampsia, and 3.19% had severe pre-eclampsia, excluding cases lost to follow-up.
