A Cellular Automata Model of Infection Control on Medical Implants

S. epidermidis infections on medically implanted devices are a common problem in modern medicine due to the abundance of the bacteria. Once inside the body, S. epidermidis gather in communities called biofilms and can become extremely hard to eradicate, causing the patient serious complications. We simulate the complex S. epidermidis-Neutrophils interactions in order to determine the optimum conditions for the immune system to be able to contain the infection and avoid implant rejection. Our cellular automata model can also be used as a tool for determining the optimal amount of antibiotics for combating biofilm formation on medical implants

Constructing One-Dimensional Continuous Models from Two-Dimensional Discrete Models of Medical Implants

Medically implanted devices are becoming increasingly important in medical practice. Over 4 million people in the United States have long-term biomedical implants. However, many medical implants have to be removed because of infection or because their protein coating causes excessive inflammation and decrease in the immune system response. In this work, a discrete two-dimensional model of blood cells and bacteria interactions on the surface of a medical implant is transformed into a discrete one-dimensional model. This one-dimensional model is then upscaled into a partial differential equation model. The results from the discrete two-dimensional model and the continuous one-dimensional model are then compared for different protein coating mixtures. Two medical treatment alternatives are also explored and the two models are compared again

Atherogenesis

This monograph will bring out the state-of-the-art advances in the dynamics of cholesterol transport and will address several important issues that pertain to oxidative stress and inflammation. The book is divided into three major sections. The book will offer insights into the roles of specific cytokines, inflammation, and oxidative stress in atherosclerosis and is intended for new researchers who are curious about atherosclerosis as well as for established senior researchers and clinicians who would be interested in novel findings that may link various aspects of the disease

Avances en el uso del plasma rico en factores de crecimiento en la regeneración periodontal.

293 p.El envejecimiento global de la población está aumentando de manera acelerada. Estos cambios demográficos conllevan un aumento en la prevalencia de enfermedades crónicas y degenerativas relacionadas con la edad y asociadas a un incremento en la ingesta de medicamentos. En la medida en que las necesidades sociales y sanitarias de la sociedad varían, la presión por desarrollar nuevas alternativas aumenta. En los últimos años, el creciente conocimiento de los procesos biológicos implicados en la regeneración tisular ha favorecido el camino para desarrollar nuevas terapias con el objetivo final de promover y acelerar dicha regeneración. En este contexto, la medicina personalizada está emergiendo como una opción terapéutica prometedora que se basa en la compleja singularidad de cada paciente ofreciendo tratamientos a medida.La compleja estructura del periodonto y la interacción estructural de múltiples tejidos blandos y duros convierte a la regeneración periodontal en un proceso único. Las enfermedades periodontales se caracterizan por afectar a la composición e integridad de todas esas estructuras involucradas en el periodonto cuyo funcionamiento sólo se alcanza mediante la integración estructural de todos sus componentes. La periodontitis está considerada como la condición inflamatoria crónica más común en los humanos, cuya prevalencia aumenta con la edad. La carga mundial como consecuencia de la morbilidad, costes e impacto socioeconómico es notoriamente elevada. Por el contrario, la patología de la osteonecrosis de los maxilares inducida por bifosfonatos (BRONJ) es relativamente poco común, sin embargo, presenta importantes repercusiones tanto para la calidad de vida del paciente como para los recursos médicos. El tratamiento terapéutico para estas patologías sigue siendo controvertido y aún no se ha establecido una terapia estándar para estas enfermedades. Teniendo en cuenta las actuales limitaciones de los enfoques terapéuticos disponibles, los esfuerzos en investigación se están dirigiendo hacia la ingeniería de tejidos. Este enfoque alternativo, se centra en superar las deficiencias de las modalidades de tratamiento convencionales para restaurar la arquitectura y funcionalidad originales. El uso efectivo y pertinente de la ingeniería de tejidos requiere la integración de tres componentes esenciales: una población de células progenitoras multipotentes, moléculas de señalización y matrices biocompatibles[8]. En este sentido, la terapia con células madre representa una herramienta emergente y prometedora por su gran potencial terapéutico en la medicina regenerativa. Las células madre de pulpa dental se obtienen mediante métodos de aislamiento no invasivos, representando así una fuente valiosa de fácil acceso y con propiedades biológicas especiales de células madre mesenquimales y células madre de la cresta neural. Dado que la cantidad de células madre presentes en un determinado tejido es reducida, se requiere una expansión ex vivo para producir una dosis adecuada con el fin de lograr resultados terapéuticos. El suero bovino fetal se ha utilizado durante mucho tiempo como un suplemento de cultivo celular estándar ampliamente aceptado tanto para investigación como para uso clínico. Sin embargo, cuestiones como la limitada disponibilidad, el riesgo de contaminación por patógenos, los problemas éticos relacionados con el bienestar animal o la inducción de reacciones inmunológicas en el huésped, han llevado a explorar otras alternativas para proporcionar productos de terapia celular seguros, regulados y efectivos para los pacientes. Actualmente, se están explorando numerosos productos autólogos derivados de la sangre humana como posibles alternativas al uso del suero bovino fetal.En los últimos años, los derivados plaquetarios han surgido como nuevas herramientas para ser utilizadas por sus propiedades en la reparación tisular. En este sentido, la tecnología del plasma rico en factores de crecimiento (PRGF) es pionera en el uso autólogo de factores de crecimiento, proteínas y biomateriales derivados del plasma y de las plaquetas con fines curativos. La versatilidad de esta tecnología le ha permitido ser aplicada con seguridad y eficacia en diferentes campos de la biomedicina (ortopedia, oftalmología, cirugía oral y maxilofacial y dermatología), así como alternativa al uso de productos xenogénicos en la expansión celular ex vivo.Por todo ello, mediante esta tesis se pretende realizar un trabajo de investigación que evalúe in vitro el potencial terapéutico de la tecnología autóloga PRGF en el tratamiento de dos patologías orales: periodontitis y BRONJ, y su aplicabilidad en terapias celulares, con objeto de estimular la regeneración tisular.Uirmi:University Institute for Regenerative Medecine and Oral Implantolog

Age-related Remodeling is Associated with Altered Cardiac Resident and Circulation-derived Macrophage Phenotype and Function

Increased age is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease incidence. This increased risk can be attributed to several processes which occur with increasing age - including an accumulation of intracellular damage, altered resident cell metabolism, increased secretion of cytokines characteristic of the senescence-associated cell phenotype, and altered deposition of matrix proteins within the extracellular microenvironment. Considering the limited regenerative therapeutic availability for heart failure patients coupled with the limited availability of donor organs, understanding the mechanisms by which these processes induce altered cardiac cell function will be important to attenuate the cardiovascular disease risk which faces the aging United States population. Cardiac resident macrophages have been identified as both essential mediators of cardiac homeostasis as well as important regulators of the cardiac tissue remodeling response. Given the numerous changes which occur in the aging cardiac microenvironment coupled with the importance of microenvironmental stimuli in inducing macrophage phenotype, in vitro and in vivo models of differing cardiac microenvironments were developed to better understand the consequences of this remodeling on cardiac macrophage phenotype and function. Significant alterations in macrophage morphology and function were observed in response to the differing in vitro culture conditions, with substrates of increased stiffness promoting increasingly inflammatory functional responses. Additionally, macrophage culture with decellularized cardiac extracellular matrix isolated from aged individuals was found to attenuate macrophage functional capacity. An in vivo model of cardiac microenvironmental remodeling was then developed and flow cytometry was utilized to characterize any changes in cardiac resident macrophage regulation. The developed in vivo model was found to recapitulate several hallmark cardiac tissue remodeling features observed in aged individuals, including cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and increased perivascular fibrosis. These microenvironmental alterations were found to promote CX3CR1+ macrophage subset expansion and increased pro-inflammatory CD86 expression in all characterized subsets. Cardiac microenvironmental remodeling was also found to induce increased expression of pro-inflammatory, pro-fibrotic, and stress response-associated genes. Murine echocardiographic assessment also suggested some impaired ventricular relaxation resultant of the experimentally induced cardiac remodeling. These models help elucidate the impact that age-related cardiac microenvironmental biochemical and biomechanical change plays in promoting altered macrophage phenotype and function

Clinical Management of Complicated Urinary Tract Infection

Complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs) are a major cause of hospital admissions and are associated with significant morbidity and health care costs. Knowledge of baseline risk of urinary tract infection can help clinicians make informed diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. Prevalence rates of UTI vary by age, gender, race, and other predisposing risk factors. In this regard, this book provides comprehensive information on etiology, epidemiology, immunology, pathology, pathogenic mechanisms, symptomatology, investigation and management of urinary tract infection. Chapters cover common problems in urinary tract infection and put emphasis on the importance of making a correct clinical decision and choosing the appropriate therapeutic approach. Topics are organized to address all of the major complicated conditions frequently seen in urinary tract infection. The authors have paid particular attention to urological problems like the outcome of patients with vesicoureteric reflux, the factors affecting renal scarring, obstructive uropathy, voiding dysfunction and catheter associated problems. This book will be indispensable for all professionals involved in the medical care of patients with urinary tract infection

PLGA Based Drug Carrier and Pharmaceutical Applications

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is one of the most successful polymers used for producing therapeutic devices, such as drug carriers (DC). PLGA is one of the few polymers that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved for human administration due to its biocompatibility and biodegradability. In recent years, DC produced with PLGA has gained enormous attention for its versatility in transporting different type of drugs, e.g., hydrophilic or hydrophobic small molecules, or macromolecules with a controlled drug release without modifying the physiochemical properties of the drugs. These drug delivery systems have the possibility/potential to modify their surface properties with functional groups, peptides, or other coatings to improve the interactions with biological materials. Furthermore, they present the possibility to be conjugated with specific target molecules to reach specific tissues or cells. They are also used for different therapeutic applications, such as in vaccinations, cancer treatment, neurological disorder treatment, and as anti-inflammatory agents. This book aims to focus on the recent progress of PLGA as a drug carrier and their new pharmaceutical applications

New Insights on Biofilm Antimicrobial Strategies

Over the last few decades, the study of microbial biofilms has been gaining interest among the scientific community. These microbial communities comprise cells adhered to surfaces that are surrounded by a self-produced exopolymeric matrix that protects biofilm cells against different external stresses. Biofilms can have a negative impact on different sectors within society, namely in agriculture, food industries, and veterinary and human health. As a consequence of their metabolic state and matrix protection, biofilm cells are very difficult to tackle with antibiotics or chemical disinfectants. Due to this problem, recent advances in the development of antibiotic alternatives or complementary strategies to prevent or control biofilms have been reported. This book includes different strategies to prevent biofilm formation or to control biofilm development and includes full research articles, reviews, a communication, and a perspective