Additive manufactured, highly resilient, elastic, and biodegradable poly(ester)urethane scaffolds with chondroinductive properties for cartilage tissue engineering.

Articular cartilage was thought to be one of the first tissues to be successfully engineered. Despite the avascular and non-innervated nature of the tissue, the cells within articular cartilage - chondrocytes - account for a complex phenotype that is difficult to be maintained in vitro. The use of bone marrow-derived stromal cells (BMSCs) has emerged as a potential solution to this issue. Differentiation of BMSCs toward stable and non-hypertrophic chondrogenic phenotypes has also proved to be challenging. Moreover, hyaline cartilage presents a set of mechanical properties - relatively high Young's modulus, elasticity, and resilience - that are difficult to reproduce. Here, we report on the use of additive manufactured biodegradable poly(ester)urethane (PEU) scaffolds of two different structures (500 µm pore size and 90° or 60° deposition angle) that can support the loads applied onto the knee while being highly resilient, with a permanent deformation lower than 1% after 10 compression-relaxation cycles. Moreover, these scaffolds appear to promote BMSC differentiation, as shown by the deposition of glycosaminoglycans and collagens (in particular collagen II). At gene level, BMSCs showed an upregulation of chondrogenic markers, such as collagen II and the Sox trio, to higher or similar levels than that of traditional pellet cultures, with a collagen II/collagen I relative expression of 2-3, depending on the structure of the scaffold. Moreover, scaffolds with different pore architectures influenced the differentiation process and the final BMSC phenotype. These data suggest that additive manufactured PEU scaffolds could be good candidates for cartilage tissue regeneration in combination with microfracture interventions.

Antibodies to beta(2)-glycoprotein I in ischemic stroke.

Antibodies to beta(2)-glycoprotein (beta(2)-GPI) have been associated with recurrent thrombotic events in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. The present study investigated the prevalence of antibodies to beta(2)-GPI in an unselected group of patients with ischemic stroke. One hundred and twenty-one sera from patients with ischemic stroke and 174 control sera from patients with nonischemic neurological disorders (n = 43) and healthy subjects (n = 131) were tested for antibodies to beta(2)-GPI by a solid-phase ELISA. Twenty-nine stroke patients (24%) had antibodies to beta(2)-GPI. Of the 43 patients in the neurological control group, 2 were positive. For comparison between the groups, Fisher's exact test was used for categorical variables and ANOVA for antibody titers. Antibody levels and frequencies of positivity were significantly different between the study groups. None of the sera from the healthy control group had abnormal antibody levels. When risk factors and associated diseases were taken into account, a marginal association was found between the presence of antibodies to beta(2)-GPI and hypertension (p = 0.036). This study demonstrates a significant prevalence of antibodies to beta(2)-GPI in an unselected stroke population.

beta2-Glycoprotein I - dependent anticardiolipin antibodies in ischemic stroke.

Our study was undertaken to investigate whether beta2-glycoprotein I (GPI) is relevant for enhancing anticardiolipin antibody (aCL) binding in stroke patients, in particular view of vascular risk factors and recurrence of previous cerebral ischemic events. One-hundred and twenty-one sera from patients with ischemic stroke and 154 control sera from patients with non-ischemic neurological disorders (n = 43) and healthy subjects (n = 111) were included in the study. All sera were tested for either GPI-independent aCL and GPI-dependent aCL. GPI-independent aCL were detected in two (1.7%) stroke patients. When GPI was added to the assay system, 13 (10.8%) sera were positive. Of the 43 sera in the neurological control group one was positive for both GPI-independent aCL and GPI-dependent aCL. Multiple linear regression in the stroke group revealed that GPI-dependent aCL are marginally associated with sex, prior TIA/strokes and embolism. More importantly, GPI-dependent aCL were significantly more frequent in stroke patients with a history of prior TIA/strokes compared with patients with a first ischemic stroke (p = 0.029). The present study demonstrates that aCL in stroke patients are of the GPI-dependent type and emphasizes the importance of adding GPI in the immunoassay for the optimal detection of aCL. Furthermore, it supports the recommendation of testing aCL in those patients who experience unexplained recurrent cerebral ischemic events.

[Neuropathy of the common peroneal nerve caused by giant cell arteritis]. / Neuropatia del peroneo comune da arterite a cellule giganti.

Mononeuritis multiplex involving median or common peroneal nerves, presumed to be caused by arteritis of the vasa nervorum, is a relatively rare complication of giant cell arteritis. We present two cases of popliteal neuritis complicating temporal arteritis during corticosteroid treatment.

[Multiple cerebral infarctions in Crohn's disease. Report of a case]. / Infarti cerebrali multipli in corso di morbo di Crohn. Descrizione di un caso.

Cerebrovascular occlusions are rare but well-documented complications of Crohn's disease. We report the case of a young man with regional enteritis and a history of three ischemic strokes, two of them preceded the occurrence of the bowel disease.

[Multiple gangrenous lesions of the scalp in a case of cranial arteritis]. / Lesioni gangrenose multiple dello scalpo in un caso di arterite craniale.

A case of a patient with headache, visual deficiency in his left eye quickly worsening up to blindness and ischemic necrosis in the scalp regions supplied by the superficial temporal arteries, is reported. This acute gangrene began as a bandlike ischemic lesion in the temporo-parietal regions of both sides, rapidly enlarged, and acquired bizarre irregular outlines. Laboratory investigations and particularly superficial temporal artery biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of Horton's temporal arteritis, in accordance with the anamnestic and clinical data assessed at admission.

[Periodic Cheyne-Stokes respiration caused by increased circulation time. Report of 2 clinical cases]. / Respiro periodico di Cheyne-Stokes da aumento del tempo di circolo. Descrizione di due casi clinici.

Two patients with heart failure and Cheyne-Stokes breathing are presented. We have discussed the possible physiopathological mechanism of Cheyne-Stokes breathing and clinical, instrumental and laboratory data for a correct diagnostic evaluation.

[Polyneuropathy in lithium therapy]. / Polineuropatia in corso di terapia con litio.

We hereby report a case of manic depressive psychosis. The patient had been treated for years with lithium carbonate (600 mg/die, lithium serum concentration equal to 0.7 mEq/l) and came to us under observation for a sensorimotor peripheral neuropathy with mostly axonal degeneration. The central nervous system had not been involved. Excluding any possible causes of peripheral neuropathy and since no precipitating circumstances were ascertained, a clinical improvement was noticed after suspending the therapy.