Myofibroblast persistence and collagen type I accumulation in the human stenotic trachea.

Background: Postintubation tracheal stenosis (PITS) is associated with an increased use of assisted ventilation in intensive care units. We investigated both collagen type I accumulation and myofibroblast localization in human PITS lesions excised for surgical therapeutic procedures, compared with normal tracheas.

Methods: We analyzed 2 segments of normal tracheas and 10 segments of PITS that were stained by hematoxylin-eosin and picrosirius red techniques and processed for immunohistochemistry using antibodies against both α-smooth muscle actin (α-sma) for myofibroblast detection, and collagen type I.

Strapping the spinal cord: an innovative experimental model of CNS injury in rats.

Experimental models of spinal cord (SC) lesion are essential for understanding a few of the primary and secondary mechanisms of injury and functional recovery of the central nervous system (CNS). We have developed an experimental model of SC injury in adult rats (n=32), that involves the use of a device (SC-STRAPPER) that straps the SC and promotes gradual and controlled SC injury similar to clinical compressive SC injuries. SC strapping is a less-invasive procedure in comparison to other SC injury models, and it performs compression with smaller infection risk and undetectable paravertebral or vertebral lesions.