ABSTRACT
Introduction: Various neuroregenerative procedures have been recently employed along with neurorehabilitation programs to promote neurological function after Spinal Cord Injury [SCI], and recently most of them have focused on the acute stage of spinal cord injury. In this report, we present a case of acute SCI treated with neuroprotective treatments in conjunction with conventional rehabilitation program
Methods: A case of acute penetrative SCI [gunshot wound], 40 years old, was treated with intrathecal bone marrow derived stem cells and parenteral Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor [G-CSF] along with rehabilitation program. The neurological outcomes as well as safety issues have been reported
Results: Assessment with American Spinal Injury Association [ASIA], showed neurological improvement, meanwhile he reported neuropathic pain, which was amenable to oral medication
Discussion: In the acute setting, combination therapy of G-CSF and intrathecal Mesenchymal Stem Cells [MSCs] was safe in our case as an adjunct to conventional rehabilitation programs. Further controlled studies are needed to find possible side effects, and establish net efficacy
ABSTRACT
Stem cells are applied in the treatment of wide range of diseases and can be separated from different tissues of the body. These cells can treat diseases by cytokine and growth factor secretion and also cell differentiation. Burn wound is a challenging problem of reconstructive surgery and stem cells may help wound healing process. We designed this study to evaluate the beneficial effect of fat derived stem cells for coverage of 3[rd] degree burn wound. This study was experimental and has been done in Burn Research Center of Iran University of Medical Sciences during January 2012 to April 2013. Thirty rats randomly divided to three equal groups. Inguinal fat of 10 rats [one group] were used for preparation of autologous adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells. Acellular amnion was used as a scaffold for stem cell transfer. Each of the thirty rats had been exposed to a cm deep 3rd degree burn on back area. 24 hours after surgery, the wound was excised and it had been covered by three conventional dressing in the first group, acellular amnion in the second group and acellular amnion seeded with adipose-derived stem cell in the third group. The rate of wound healing and pathologic characteristics was compared in all three groups. Healing rate and decrease in wounds size was significantly better in acellular amnion seeded with adipose- derived stem cells compared with other two groups at 3[rd] and 15[th] days after surgery P<0.01. Also in histopathology examination, fibroplasia and neovascularization of wounds were significantly better in stem cells group than the other two groups P<0.001. Acellular amnion seeded with adipose-derived stem cell can result in faster wound healing and better histopathology characteristic. The amnion as a scaffold and the fat derived stem cells as healing accelerator are recommended for coverage of the 3rd degree burn wounds after excision and it may reduce the need for skin graft
ABSTRACT
Nowadays, cell -based and tissue engineered products have opened new horizons in treatment of incurable nervous system disorders. The number of studies on the role of Schwann cells [SC] in treating nervous disorders is higher than other cell types. Different protocols have been suggested for isolation and expansion of SC which most of them have used multiple growth factors, mitogens and fetal bovine sera [FBS] in culture medium. Because of potential hazards of animal-derived reagents, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of replacing FBS with human autologous serum [HAS] on SC's yield and culture parameters. Samples from 10 peripheral nerve biopsies were retrieved and processed under aseptic condition. The isolated cells cultured in FBS [1st group] or autologous serum [2nd group]. After primary culture the cells were seeded at 10000 cell/cm[2] in a 12 wells cell culture plate for each group. At 100% confluency, the cell culture parameters [count, viability, purity and culture duration] of 2 groups were compared using paired t-test. The average donors' age was 35.80 [SD=13.35] and except for 1 sample the others cultured successfully. In first group, the averages of cell purity, viability and culture duration were 97% [SD=1.32], 97/33% [SD=1.22] and 11.77 [SD=2.58] days respectively. This parameters were 97.33% [SD=1.00], 97.55% [SD=1.33] and 10.33 days [SD=1.65] in second group. The difference of cell count, purity and viability were not significant between 2 groups [P>0.05]. The cells of second group reached to 100% confluency in shorter period of time [P=0.03]. The results of this study showed that autologous serum can be a good substitute for FBS in human SC culture. This can reduce the costs and improve the safety of cell product for clinical application
ABSTRACT
The gamma irradiation has been used for end sterilization of allograft bones and its effects with a 25 kGy dosage on the osteoinductive properties of demineralized bone allograft powder was studied. This work carried out using an experimental method in an animal model. In this study the demineralized bone allograft powder which had been sterilized and prepared with gamma irradiation in a 25 kGy dosage in 18 hours, was used as a study group and the demineralized bone allograft powder which had been prepared aseptically was used as the reference group. 30 mg of bone powder from each group were implanted into right and left paravertebral muscles of eighteen rats, separately. After four weeks, the implanted samples were harvested with a 0.5 cm border and then the osteoinductivity of implants in two groups were compared with histopathologic studies. In 94.4% of the reference samples a new bone formation was observed. In the study group, this difference was observed only in 27.7% of samples [P<0.002]. It appears that using gamma irradiation may lead to a reduction in osteoinduction properties of demineralized bone allograft powder
ABSTRACT
The clinical effectiveness of heart valve replacement surgery has been well documented. Mechanical and homograft valves are used routinely for replacement of damaged heart valves. Homograft valves are produced in our country but we import the mechanical valves. To our knowledge the cost-effectiveness of homograft valve has not been assessed. The objective of the present study was to compare the cost-effectiveness of homograft valve replacement with mechanical valve replacement surgery. Samples were selected from 200 patients that underwent homograft and mechanical heart valve replacement surgery in Imam-Khomeini hospital [2000 - 2005]. In each group we enrolled 30 patients. Quality of life was measured using the SF-36 health survey and efficacy was measured in QALYs. For each group we calculated the price of heart valve and hospitalization charges. Finally the cost-effectiveness of each treatment modalities were summarized as costs per QALYs gained. Forty males and 20 females participated in the study. The mean score of quality of life was 66.06 [SD= 9.22] in homograft group and 57.85 [SD= 11.30] in mechanical group [P< 0.05]. The mean QALYs gained in homograft group was 0.67 more than mechanical group. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio [ICER] revealed a cost savings of 9,604,440 IRRials for each quality-adjusted life year gained in homograft group. Despite limitation of this introductory study, we concluded that homograft valve replacement was more effective and less expensive than mechanical valve. These findings can encourage healthcare managers and policy makers to support the production of homograft valves and allocate more recourse for developing such activities