Resistance of a novel ceramic acetabular cup to critical impact loads.

A novel thin-walled direct-to-bone fixation ceramic cup was tested under critical impact loads simulating lateral fall and car crash scenarios. Three sizes of BIOLOX delta ceramic cups (total hip replacement cup with bearing diameter of 32 mm and two hip resurfacing cups with bearing diameters of 40 and 64mm) were implanted into reamed Sawbones blocks representing acetabulae. Three cups of each size were fully supported by the block and three were implanted with 15° of the cup's outer diameter unsupported by the block.

Potential new treatment strategies for COVID-19: is there a role for bromhexine as add-on therapy?

Of huge importance now is to provide a fast, cost-effective, safe, and immediately available pharmaceutical solution to curb the rapid global spread of SARS-CoV-2. Recent publications on SARS-CoV-2 have brought attention to the possible benefit of chloroquine in the treatment of patients infected by SARS-CoV-2. Whether chloroquine can treat SARS-CoV-2 alone and also work as a prophylactic is doubtful.

The Role of Reactive Oxygen Species in Adipogenic Differentiation.

Interest in reactive oxygen species and adipocyte differentiation/adipose tissue function is steadily increasing. This is due in part to a search for alternative avenues for combating obesity, which results from the excess accumulation of adipose tissue. Obesity is a major risk factor for complex disorders such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

Retrieval analysis of ceramic-coated metal-on-polyethylene total hip replacements.

Purpose: Ceramic coatings have been used in metal-on-polyethylene (MOP) hips to reduce the risk of wear and also infection; the clinical efficacy of this remains unclear. This retrieval study sought to better understand the performance of coated bearing surfaces.

Methods: Forty-three coated MOP components were analysed post-retrieval for evidence of coating loss and gross polyethylene wear.

Measurement outcomes from hip simulators.

Simulation of wear in total hip replacements has been recognised as an important factor in determining the likelihood of clinical success. However, accurate measurement of wear can be problematic with factors such as number and morphology of wear particles produced as well as ion release proving more important in the biological response to hip replacements than wear volume or wear rate alone. In this study, hard-on-hard (CoCr alloy, AgCrN coating) and hard-on-soft (CoCr alloy and CrN coating on vitamin E blended highly cross-linked polyethylene) bearing combinations were tested in an orbital hip simulator under standard and some adverse conditions.

Novel flow cytometric approach for the detection of adipocyte subpopulations during adipogenesis.

The ability of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) to differentiate into adipocytes provides a cellular model of human origin to study adipogenesis in vitro. One of the major challenges in studying adipogenesis is the lack of tools to identify and monitor the differentiation of various subpopulations within the heterogeneous pool of MSCs. Cluster of differentiation (CD)36 plays an important role in the formation of intracellular lipid droplets, a key characteristic of adipocyte differentiation/maturation.

Lessons from retrievals: Retrievals help understand the reason for revision of coated hip arthroplasties.

Coatings have been applied to all surfaces of hip implants with the majority performing well in the laboratory, but there are few reports of their performance in humans. The rationale for coating the metal-on-metal bearing surfaces includes a reduction in metal ion release and risk of adverse reaction to metal debris; yet there are no reports of retrieved coated metal-on-metal hip implants despite the concern that they may delaminate. The aim of this study was to better understand the performance of coated hip implants in humans through findings of three coated metal-on-metal hip resurfacings, retrieved after failure for unexplained pain.

Clinical relevance of corrosion patterns attributed to inflammatory cell-induced corrosion: A retrieval study.

In vitro studies have shown that human osteoclasts can corrode stainless steel and titanium leading to the production of metal ions responsible for inflammatory reactions. Moreover, traces of cellular activities on metal orthopaedic explants have recently been reported as inflammatory cell-induced (ICI) corrosion being the result of the cells sealing on the metal surfaces and releasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) through Fenton-like reactions. The extent and clinical relevance of this phenomenon has yet to be understood.

The increase in cobalt release in metal-on-polyethylene hip bearings in tests with third body abrasives.

Hypersensitivity reactions in patients receiving metal-on-metal hip replacements have been attributed to corrosion products as observed by elevated cobalt and chromium ions in the blood. Although the majority of cases are reported in metal-on-metal, incidences of these reactions have been reported in the metal-on-polyethylene patient population. To date, no in vitro study has considered cobalt release for this bearing combination.