The present invention provides piperine and analogues or derivatives thereof for the treatment of skin conditions treatable by stimulation of melanocyte proliferation, such as vitiligo, and also for treating skin cancer. The piperine and analogues or derivatives thereof may also be used to cosmetically promote or enhance the natural coloration of the skin.

The present invention is directed to the use of compounds of Formula (I), as active principals for treating skin conditions and compositions containing these compounds; ##STR1## wherein R.sub.4 is (CR.sub.5 R.sub.6 --CR.sub.7 R.sub.8 --X.sub.1).sub.n --CR.sub.9 R.sub.10 R.sub.11, n is an integer from 1 to 18; R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3, R.sub.5, R.sub.6, R.sub.7, R.sub.8, R.sub.9, R.sub.10 and R.sub.11, are independently, hydrogen or non-hydrogen substituents; and X, X.sub.1, Y and Z are independ...

The invention provides methods and materials related to the diagnosis of eosinophil degranulating conditions. Specifically, the invention provides methods and materials that involve visual types of analysis (e.g., microscopic analysis) that are used to determine the presence or absence of a horseshoe-shaped eosinophil granule structure within a mucus sample collected from a mammal. The presence of a horseshoe-shaped eosinophil granule structure within a patient's mucus indicates that the patient...

The invention relates to a method for evaluating skin conditions, which comprises applying at least two chemical substances to the skin, measuring amounts of said at least two chemical substances penetrated into the skin and calculating out the ratio between the amounts penetrated into the skin; and a kit for evaluating skin conditions, comprising a reagent containing at least two chemical substances and a measuring device of amounts of the chemical substances penetrated into the skin, wherein s...

Apparatus and method of managing conditions in a network of network devices. A management system identifies conditions on the network by periodically polling the network devices or in response to a message from a network device. The management system maintains an event list that keeps track of the network conditions. The event list is automatically updated (entries added or removed) by the management system as conditions appear or become resolved.

The present invention provides a number of screening methods for evaluating compounds capable of suppressing cytokine production either in vitro or in vivo. The methods generally involve stimulating the production of a cytokine in a cell, exposing a portion of the cells to a putative cytokine modulating agent and determining subsequent levels of cytokine production in the cells. Additionally, the present invention provides certain compounds identified by this method.

A combination for administration to a mammal which combination employs a therapeutically effective amount of a medicinal and/or therapeutic agent to treat a disease or condition and an amount of hyaluronic acid and/or salts thereof and/or homologues, analogues, derivatives, complexes, esters, fragments and subunits of hyaluronic acid sufficient to facilitate the agent's penetration through the tissue (including scar tissue) at the site to be treated, through the cell membranes into the individua...

An apparatus for optically measuring marine conditions comprising a tunnel defining a sampling volume for water, a laser diode line generator for generating a beam of light and reflector means for directing the beam of light across the sampling volume through the water in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of flow of the water, and a plurality, of photo-sensor elements of similar size disposed for receiving and measuring the intensity of the light beam after passage through...

A signal representing a physiological condition of a patient is used to modulate an electromagnetic signal received by a transponder so that a modulated electromagnetic signal representative of the signal is re-radiated by the transponder. The transponder includes an antenna and a diode coupled between the antenna and ground. Changing states of a digital signal from an analog-to digital converter that receives an input from a physiological transducer cause the diode to selectively conduct, which...

The invention provides peptide compositions and methods of making and using therapeutic compositions comprising peptides for the treatment of a subject having a demyelinating condition.