Treatment of cranial cruciate ligament injuries in dogs using a combination of tibial tuberosity advancement procedure and autologous mesenchymal stem cells/multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells - A pilot study

In the present pilot study, we evaluated different supplemental therapies using autologous multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MMSCs) for the treatment of cranial cruciate ligament defects in dogs. We used tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA) and augmented it by supportive therapy with MMSCs in three patient groups. In the first patient group, the dogs were injected with MMSCs directly into the treated stifle one month after surgery. In the second group, MMSCs were delivered in a silk fibroin scaffold which was placed in the osteotomy gap during surgery. In the third group, MMSCs were first mixed with bone tissue and blood from the patient and delivered into the osteotomy gap during surgery. In the control group, patients underwent the TTA procedure but did not receive MMSC treatment. In the group of patients who received cells in the silk fibroin scaffold during surgery, the osteotomy gap did not heal, presumably due to the low absorption of silk fibroin. Patients who received MMSCs mixed with bone tissue and blood during surgery into the osteotomy gap recovered clinically faster and had better healing of the osteotomy gap than dogs from the other two treated groups and from the control group, as assessed by clinical examination and quantification of radiographs. In conclusion, dogs that received stem cells directly into the osteotomy gap (Group 3) recovered faster compared to dogs from Groups 1 (MMSCs injected into the joint one month after surgery), 2 (cells implanted into the osteotomy gap in a silk fibroin scaffold), and the control group that did not receive additional MMSCs treatment.

Structural characterization of self-assembled ZnO nanoparticles obtained by the sol-gel method from Zn(CH3COO)2·2H2O

Zinc oxide nanopowders were synthesized by the sol-gel method from an ethanol solution of zinc acetate dihydrate. Detailed structural and microstructural investigations were carried out using x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses, as well as high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The intermediate compound of the reaction was layered zinc hydroxide acetate that further transforms into hexagonally shaped ZnO crystalline nanoplates (d(m) = 4 nm), which aggregate into larger spherical particles. According to the TEM analysis the ZnO nanoparticles were self-assembled into larger particles with the same orientation, i.e. aligned lattice planes of the particles. A further solvothermal treatment resulted in hexagonal, prismatic ZnO mesocrystals.

Short-term effect of acarbose on specific intestinal disaccharidase activities and hyperglycaemia in CBA diabetic mice

The purpose of this study was to examine the short-term effects of 75, 100 and 150 mg of acarbose mixed in 100 g standard laboratory chow on specific intestinal disaccharidase activities and on hyperglycaemia in diabetic CBA strain mice on standard diet. The small intestine was excised and divided into three segments, from pylorus to duodenum, and two equal lengths of the jejunum and ileum of control and diabetic mice with or without added acarbose. Specific maltase and sucrase activities were determined using maltose and sucrose as substrates respectively. Increased specific activities of maltase and sucrase were detected in the intestines of CBA mice on standard laboratory diet seven days after alloxan-induced diabetes. Feeding for 7 days with 75, 100 or 150 mg acarbose uniformly mixed in 100 g standard laboratory chow, induced a decrease in the specific maltase and sucrase activities, compared with diabetic mice on standard laboratory diet. Feeding with 75 mg acarbose mixed in 100 g standard laboratory chow caused a statistically significant decrease of maltase in the duodenum and of sucrase in duodenum and jejunum, without a antihyperglycaemic effect. Feeding with 100 or 150 mg caused statistically significant decreases in specific maltase and sucrase activities in duodenum, jejunum and ileum. An antihyperglycaemic effect was observed only in the group of diabetic mice fed with 100 mg acarbose. This indicates that the antihyperglycaemic effect of acarbose involves factors other than these, related only to its inhibitory effect on disaccharidase activities.

Primary gastrointestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: increasingly AIDS-related

A retrospective study was conducted to determine the influence of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic on the incidence, clinical presentation, and outcome of primary gastrointestinal lymphoma (stages I and II) over a 20-year period at a single institution. Between 1971 and 1981, there were seven cases. Fifty-eight patients were diagnosed between 1983 and 1993, and 81 per cent were AIDS-related. The mean age overall was 50 years; 81 per cent were male, and 35 per cent presented with acute complications. All tumors were high or intermediate grade B cell lymphomas, and 48 per cent had bulky or advanced disease at presentation. The overall actuarial 5-year survival was 9 per cent. Human immunodeficiency virus status and stage were significant independent prognostic factors. The AIDS-related subgroup had a mean age of 43 years, and 91 per cent were male. Tumor resection was performed in 38 per cent, and the 5-year survival was 2 per cent. The mean age for the non-AIDS-related subgroup was 71 years, and 55 per cent were male. Resection was performed in 39 per cent, and 5-year survival was 28 per cent. AIDS-related disease accounted for the dramatic increase in incidence of primary gastrointestinal lymphoma since 1983. The prognosis for these patients is poor and is dominated by the underlying immunocompromise.