Background:Alopecia is one of the most important hair follicle (HF) disorders, which is divided into scarring (cicatricial) and nonscarring (noncicatricial) types.Objective:The aim of this study is to investigate the expression of stem cell (SC) markers such as cytokeratin (CK) 17 and CK19 in scarring and nonscarring alopecia.Materials and Methods:Thirty patients with scalp alopecia (15 with scarring alopecia and 15 without) together with ten healthy volunteers were included in this study. Biopsies were taken from all participants and stained for CK17 and CK19 using immunohistochemistry.Results:There was a statistically significant difference between the nonscarring group and the control group with regard to CK17 expression in the outer layers of the HFs (P = 0.00) and CK19 staining of the inner layers of the HFs (P = 0.008). There was a statistically significant difference between the scarring and the control groups regarding CK17 expression in the outer (P = 0.00) and the inner layers (P = 0.00) of the HFs and CK19 expression in the inner layers of the HFs (P = 0.00). CK17 expression in the outer layers (P = 0.02) and the inner layers of the HFs (P = 0.00) together with CK19 expression in the inner layers of the HFs (P = 0.00) showed statistically significant differences between scarring and nonscarring alopecia groups.Conclusions:The presence of SC markers (CK17 and CK19) in the HFs was affected in both scarring and nonscarring alopecia, but the defect in scarring alopecia is more evident than that of nonscarring alopecia. The persistence of SC markers in some types of scarring alopecia could give a hope for the recovery of these lesions. Further studies are recommended to clarify the benefit from using HF SCs in the treatment of alopecia.

Improvements have been made to chemotherapies because drugs are still not reaching the tumor site at effective doses and are often associated with high systemic toxicities and poor pharmacokinetics. The nanotechnology allows more effective and less toxic chemotherapy. It has been shown that, many anticancer drugs are not able to penetrate more than 40-50 mm (equivalent to combined diameter of 3-5 cells from the vasculature). These defects lead to incomplete tumor response, multiple drug resistance and therapeutic failure. The best way to increase the efficacy and reduce the toxicity of a cancer drug is to direct the drug to its target and maintain its concentration at the site for a sufficient time for therapeutic action to take effect. Cu(II), Zn(II) and mixed Cu(II) /Zn(II) nano complexes center on opportunities for improving this process. Nano complexes of bioactive ligands had been prepared and spectroscopically characterized. The electron microscopic data confirmed the nanoform of these complexes in the range (12.2 -85.0 nm). Invitro antitumor activity of the complexes had been studied against breast cancer cell lines and the IC50 values were detected to show that the order of the cytotoxic effect was complex (4) (Cu(II) acetate) > complex (1) (Cu(II) chloride) > complex (2) (mixed Cu(II)/Zn(II) acetate) > complex (3), (Zn(II) acetate). The invivo cytotoxicity of the complexes showed that, the complexes have no side effects after six weeks was confirmed by clinical and histopathological studies. The results augur well for breast cancer treatment.

New series of Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) organometallic complexes with hydroxyl benzylidene malonohydrazide ligand have much potential as therapeutic and diagnostic agents. The ligand allows the thermodynamic and kinetic reactivity of the metal ion to be controlled and also provide a scaffold for functionalization. The establishment of structure activity relationships and elucidation of the specification of complexes under conditions relevant to drug testing and formulation are crucial for the further development of promising medicinal applications of organometallic complexes. Specific examples involving the design of metal complexes as anticancer agents are discussed. These complexes have been synthesized and characterized by ( 1 H-NMR, mass, IR, UV-VIS and ESR) spectroscopy, as well as magnetic moments, conductance, elemental and thermal analyses. Molar conductance in DMF solution indicates that, the complexes are non-electrolytes. The ESR spectra of solid Cu(II) complexes (7) and (8) showed isotropic and anisotropic types indicating an octahedral geometry with covalent bond character. However, Co(II) complexes (3) and (4) showed anisotropic type where, g┴ > g|| >2.0023, indicating compressed tetragonal distortion around Co(II) ion. Cytotoxic evolution of the ligand and its complexes have been carried out. Complexes showed enhanced activity in comparison to the parent ligand or standard drug applied