Evaluation of a Cell-Free Collagen Type I-Based Scaffold for Articular Cartilage Regeneration in an Orthotopic Rat Model.

The management of chondral defects represents a big challenge because of the limited self-healing capacity of cartilage. Many approaches in this field obtained partial satisfactory results. Cartilage tissue engineering, combining innovative scaffolds and stem cells from different sources, emerges as a promising strategy for cartilage regeneration. The aim of this study was to evaluate the capability of a cell-free collagen I-based scaffold to promote cartilaginous repair after orthotopic implantation in vivo. Articular cartilage lesions (ACL) were created at the femoropatellar groove in rat knees and cell free collagen I-based scaffolds (S) were then implanted into right knee defect for the ACL-S group. No scaffold was implanted for the ACL group. At 4-, 8- and 16-weeks post-transplantation, degrees of cartilage repair were evaluated by morphological, histochemical and gene expression analyses. Histological analysis shows the formation of fibrous tissue, at 4-weeks replaced by a tissue resembling the calcified one at 16-weeks in the ACL group. In the ACL-S group, progressive replacement of the scaffold with the newly formed cartilage-like tissue is shown, as confirmed by Alcian Blue staining. Immunohistochemical and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analyses display the expression of typical cartilage markers, such as collagen type I and II (ColI and ColII), Aggrecan and Sox9. The results of this study display that the collagen I-based scaffold is highly biocompatible and able to recruit host cells from the surrounding joint tissues to promote cartilaginous repair of articular defects, suggesting its use as a potential approach for cartilage tissue regeneration

COLORECTAL CANCER IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS: PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM AN ONGOING CASE-CONTROL STUDY

Background and Aim:Understanding the risk factors for colorectal cancer (CRC) is crucial to the development of effective strategies for its prevention. meta-analysis and epidemiological studies have already shown that type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with an increased risk of CRC and have provided data to support a positive relationship between these diseases. Material and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 741 consecutive caucasian patients with type 2 DM who underewnt colonoscopic screening cof CRC and followed in our tertiary referrral center in 200-208 for incidence of CRC. Patients were stratified based on gender, age, body mass index (MBI), alchool and NSAIDS assumption, family history for cancer blood glycated hemoglobin levels, hypertension, hypertrigliceridemia, age at diabetes onset and duration, treatment with insulin or other hypoglicemic drugs. A total of 257 consecutive control patients were selected from a cohort of patients followed as outpatients for thyroid diseases. Results: At a median follow-up of 132,5 months (range 33,3-175,7) 56 cases of cancer (prevalence 7,56%) occurred; among these, 14 cases of CRC were reported (prevalence 18,8%) among the diabetic patients, while only one case (prevalence 0,004%) occurred in the control group, although this difference is not statistically significant (chi-square 2,9, P=0,08). Median duration of DM to CRC diagnosis was 156 months (range 1-768). At the univariate analysis older age (p=0,001), and diabetes duration (p=0,001) were related to higher risk of cancer, while metformin seems to be protective towards cancer (p=0,058). in the subset of patients with CRC, older age (p=0,001) and diabetes duration (p=0,001) were related to higher risk of CRC, such as treatment with sulphonylureas (p=0,01). Conclusions: Our preliminbar data show that the prevalence of CRC in the cohort of patients with type 2 DM was higher compared to that from our control group, and to that from the National Tumor Register up 2010 (0,5%). Furthermore we could interestingly hypotize that sulphonylureas may play a role in CRC carcinogenesis altering the physiological insulin secretion

The giant 1960 tsunami in the context of a 6000-year record of paleotsunamis and coastal evolution in south-central Chile

The tsunami associated with the giant 9.5 Mw 1960 Chile earthquake deposited an extensive sand layer above organic-rich soils near Queule (39.3°S, 73.2°W), south-central Chile. Using the 1960 tsunami deposits, together with eye-witness observations and numerical simulations of tsunami inundation, we tested the tsunami inundation sensitivity of the site to different earthquake slip distributions. Stratigraphically below the 1960 deposit are two additional widespread sand layers interpreted as tsunami deposits with maximum ages of 4960–4520 and 5930–5740 cal BP. This \u3e4500-year gap of tsunami deposits preserved in the stratigraphic record is inconsistent with written and geological records of large tsunamis in south-central Chile in 1575, 1837, and possibly 1737. We explain this discrepancy by: (1) poor preservation of tsunami deposits due to reduced accommodation space from relative sea-level fall during the late Holocene; (2) recently evolved coastal geomorphology that increased sediment availability for tsunami deposit formation in 1960; and/or (3) the possibility that the 1960 tsunami was significantly larger at this particular location than other tsunamis in the past \u3e4500 years. Our research illustrates the complexities of reconstructing a complete stratigraphic record of past tsunamis from a single site for tsunami hazard assessment

COLORECTAL CANCER IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS: A SINGLE-CENTRE EXPERIENCE.

type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of the study is to evaluate the prevalence of CRC in a cohort of caucasian patients with T2DM and the association with other variables previously known to be related with increased risk of CRC, We retrospectively evaluated the data of 741 consecutive Caucasian patients with T2DM who underwent colonscopic screening in our tertuary refererral center. A control cohort of 333 patients with thyroid disease was selected to evaluate the difference in the incidence of CRC. at a median follow-up of 132,5 months (range 33,3-175,7), 67 cases of cancer (prevalence 9%) occured; among these, 14 cases of were reported (prevalence 1,88%) among the diabetic partients, while only two caase (one of this was a CRC) (owerall prevalence 0,0006%) prevalence of CRC 0,003) occurred in the control group; the difference between the prevalence of CRC was statistically significant (chi-square 4,21, p=0,04). The median duration of T2DM to CRC diagnosis was 168 months 8range 12-768). At the univariate analysis, older age (p=0,001, r 0,138) and diabetes duration (p=0,0001, r 0,138) were related to higher risk of cancer, while metformin seems to be protective towards cancer (p=0,07, r-0,098). In the subset of patients with CRC, the age (RR=2,25; 95% CI: 0,30-17,31; p< 0,001), the diabtees duration (RR=1,93; 95% CI0,25-14,77; p=0,001) and the sulphonylureas treatment (RR=2,33; 95% CI 0.78-7,38; p = 0,007) were independently correlated with CRC. In our study, the prevalence of CRC in a cohort of patients with T2DM was higher compared to that from the national Tumor Register in 2010 (0,5%). Furthermore, we could speculate that sulphonylureas may play a role in CRC carcinogenesis impairing the physiological insulin secretion