Articular cartilage repair by genetically modified bone marrow aspirate in sheep

Bone marrow presents an attractive option for the treatment of articular cartilage defects as it is readily accessible, it contains mesenchymal progenitor cells that can undergo chondrogenic differentiation and, once coagulated, it provides a natural scaffold that contains the cells within the defect. This study was performed to test whether an abbreviated ex vivo protocol using vector-laden, coagulated bone marrow aspirates for gene delivery to cartilage defects may be feasible for clinical application. Ovine autologous bone marrow was transduced with adenoviral vectors containing cDNA for green fluorescent protein or transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1. The marrow was allowed to clot forming a gene plug and implanted into partial-thickness defects created on the medial condyle. At 6 months, the quality of articular cartilage repair was evaluated using histological, biochemical and biomechanical parameters. Assessment of repair showed that the groups treated with constructs transplantation contained more cartilage-like tissue than untreated controls. Improved cartilage repair was observed in groups treated with unmodified bone marrow plugs and Ad.TGF-beta1-transduced plugs, but the repaired tissue from TGF-treated defects showed significantly higher amounts of collagen II (P<0.001). The results confirmed that the proposed method is fairly straightforward technique for application in clinical settings. Genetically modified bone marrow clots are sufficient to facilitate articular cartilage repair of partial-thickness defects in vivo. Further studies should focus on selection of transgene combinations that promote more natural healing

Chlamydia trachomatis infections in heterosexuals attending sexually transmitted disease clinics in Slovenia

ABSTRACTThis study assessed the age and gender distribution of Chlamydia trachomatis infections among patients attending two clinics for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in Slovenia. Between January 1999 and December 2003, 1714 heterosexual male and 892 heterosexual female patients were tested for C. trachomatis. The prevalence of C. trachomatis infection was 19.5% (n = 334) for male patients and 10.7% (n = 96) for female patients, with the highest prevalence in the group aged 15–30 years. The prevalence decreased between 2000 and 2003 among female patients. The results support the implementation of routine screening for C. trachomatis genital infection among male and female patients aged < 30 years attending STD clinics in Slovenia

Ovariectomy of a brown bear (Ursus arctos): a case report

ABSTRACT: Reproductive control is regularly implemented in bear facilities to prevent crowding of enclosures and surplus animals. Ovariectomy may represent an efficient method of sterilizing bears yet has not been reported in the literature. A 73 kg female brown bear, age two years and three months, was anesthetized for ovariectomy with tiletamin and zolazepam (Zoletil ® , Virbac S.A., Carros Cedex, France) and medetomidin hydrochloride (Domitor ® , Pfizer Animal Health, New York, USA). A 25 cm midline incision that extended from the umbilicus to the pubic brim was made. The suspensory ligament was stretched and blunt dissected so that ovaries in bursa were exposed on the surgical field. A &quot

The benefits of hepatitis C virus cure : Every rose has thorns

To examine mid-term benefits on hepatic complications, extrahepatic clinical syndromes and quality of life associated with HCV cure; to review the few safety issues linked to oral direct-acting antivirals (DAAs); and to discuss the potential population benefits of reducing the burden of HCV infection. DAAs cure HCV infection in more than 95% of patients. The halting of liver inflammation and fibrosis progression translates into both hepatic and extrahepatic benefits and reduces the need for liver transplantation. A reduction in the frequency of extrahepatic manifestations such as mixed cryoglobulinaemia and vasculitis and improvements in quality of life and fatigue have also been described. A few safety issues linked to DAAs such as the potential recurrence of aggressive HCC, the flares of hepatitis B virus in patients with overt or occult HBV infection are been discussed. Curing HCV infection also has a high potential to reduce the burden of HCV infection at the population level. With widespread scaling up of HCV treatment, several modeling studies suggest that major reductions in HCV prevalence and incidence are possible, and that elimination of viral hepatitis is an achievable target by 2030