A prospective randomised controlled trial to investigate the effect of local anaesthetic in vivo on cell culture.

Cell culture is an important adjunct in the management of major burns in that it enables keratinocytes derived from the patient to be grown and used to attain cover when there is little autologous skin available. The purpose of this prospective randomised trial was to determine if the type of local anaesthetic used to harvest the skin biopsy in vivo affected the subsequent culture of keratinocytes. Lignocaine 1% was compared with a eutectic mixture of local anaesthetic (EMLA) and a control.

Gonosomal mosaicism for a nonsense mutation (R1947X) in the NF1 gene in segmental neurofibromatosis type 1.

Segmental neurofibromatosis type 1 (SNF1), characterized by the regionally limited distribution of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) features, has been attributed to mosaicism for an NF1 gene mutation. The occurrence of classical NF1 in the offspring of a parent with SNF1 suggests that cutaneous mosaicism may be accompanied by gonadal mosaicism. We studied a girl with generalized NF1, and her mother who has SNF1.

In vitro transfer of keratinocytes: comparison of transfer from fibrin membrane and delivery by aerosol spray.

There are a variety of approaches for the delivery of autologous keratinocytes to restore epithelial coverage of burns wounds that include utilizing cultured keratinocyte sheets, transfer of cultured keratinocytes using a membrane and more recently aerosol spraying of a keratinocyte suspension. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of direct aerosol delivery of a keratinocyte suspension with a fibrin transfer system to an in vitro wound model consisting of organotypical deepidermalized dermis (DED). A comparison was made between the number of keratinocytes delivered to DED with time, either by transfer from a fibrin membrane or using an aerosol.