Thu0349 autologous fat grafting in the treatment of patients with systemic sclerosis: current experience and future prospects

none13nomixedSpinella, Amelia; Pignatti, Marco; Citriniti, Giorgia; Lumetti, Federica; Cocchiara, Emanuele; Palermo, Adalgisa; Sighinolfi, Gianluca; Pacchioni, Lucrezia; Zaccaria, Giovanna; Lusetti, Irene Laura; Santis, Giorgio De; Salvarani, Carlo; Giuggioli, DiliaSpinella, Amelia; Pignatti, Marco; Citriniti, Giorgia; Lumetti, Federica; Cocchiara, Emanuele; Palermo, Adalgisa; Sighinolfi, Gianluca; Pacchioni, Lucrezia; Zaccaria, Giovanna; Lusetti, Irene Laura; Santis, Giorgio De; Salvarani, Carlo; Giuggioli, Dili

Arming Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cells Against Cancer: Has the Time Come?

Since mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) were discovered, researchers have been drawn to study their peculiar biological features, including their immune privileged status and their capacity to selectively migrate into inflammatory areas, including tumors. These properties make MSCs promising cellular vehicles for the delivery of therapeutic molecules in the clinical setting. In recent decades, the engineering of MSCs into biological vehicles carrying anticancer compounds has been achieved in different ways, including the loadingof MSCs with chemotherapeutics or drug functionalized nanoparticles (NPs), genetic modifications to force the production of anticancer proteins, and the use of oncolytic viruses. Recently, it has been demonstrated that wild-type and engineered MSCs can release extracellular vesicles (EVs) that contain therapeutic agents. Despite the enthusiasm for MSCs as cyto-pharmaceutical agents, many challenges, including controlling the fate of MSCs after administration, must still be considered. Preclinical results demonstrated that MSCs accumulate in lung, liver, and spleen, which could prevent their engraftment into tumor sites. For this reason, physical, physiological, and biological methods have been implemented to increase MSC concentration in the target tumors. Currently, there are more than 900 registered clinical trials using MSCs. Only a small fraction of these are investigating MSC-based therapies for cancer, but the number of these clinical trials is expected to increase as technology and our understanding of MSCs improve. This review will summarize MSC-based antitumor therapies to generate an increasing awareness of their potential and limits to accelerate their clinical translation

Thalassaemia intermedia: The role of erythroexchange in the treatment of an indolent wound

Thalassaemia intermedia: the role of erythroexchange in the treatment of an indolent wound

Management of complications caused by permanent fillers in the face: A treatment algorithm

Background: Nonresorbable substances are still injected to enhance soft-tissue volumes and fill subcutaneous defects. Inflammatory reactions (often termed granulomas) to these materials can be functionally and socially disabling. Most therapeutic options used until now are nonspecific antiinflammatory treatments, targeting an ill-defined immune reaction of undefined cause. The minimally invasive intralesional laser treatment can remove the foreign substance and the inflammatory reaction with an 808-nm diode laser. Methods: Two hundred nineteen consecutive patients referred from September of 2006 until June of 2013 for inflammatory reactions to permanent facial fillers and treated with this technique at the authors' institution with a minimum 6-month follow-up were studied. All patients were screened with an ultrasound soft-tissue examination and the lesions were classified as either cystic (implants inserted by bolus injections) or infiltrating (as in microdeposit injection). The authors' therapeutic approach is summarized in an algorithm: infiltrating patterns were treated with intralesional laser treatment alone, whereas cystic distribution cases were also drained through stab wound incisions. The mean patient age was 49 years (range, 23 to 72 years); 204 patients were women. Results: Partial improvement was obtained in 30 percent of patients, whereas 8 percent discontinued the treatment because of a lack of satisfaction. Lesions disappeared completely in 62 percent. Complications included transient swelling in all cases, hematoma in 2 percent, secondary sterile abscess in 9.5 percent, and minimal scarring in 10 percent. Conclusion: A problem-oriented systematic approach to inflammatory complications from permanent fillers is proposed, based on the comprehensive work from the past 7 years, with an overall improvement rate of 92 percent