Publications by authors named "Gemma Pascual"

Prosthetic mesh infection constitutes one of the major postsurgical complications following abdominal hernia repair. Antibacterial coatings represent a prophylactic strategy to reduce the risk of infection. This study assessed the in vitro response of two antibacterial gels made of 1% carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) functionalized with an antiseptic (chlorhexidine, CHX) or an antibiotic (rifampicin, RIF), developed for the coating of polypropylene (PP) meshes for hernia repair.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Wound healing includes dynamic processes grouped into three overlapping phases: inflammatory, proliferative, and maturation/remodeling. Collagen is a critical component of a healing wound and, due to its properties, is of great interest in regenerative medicine. This preclinical study was designed to compare the effects of a new collagen-based hydrolysate powder on wound repair to a commercial non-hydrolysate product, in a murine model of cutaneous healing.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Atraumatic mesh fixation for abdominal hernia repair has been developed to avoid the disadvantages of classical fixation with sutures, which is considered a cause of chronic pain and discomfort. This study was designed to analyze, in the short and medium term, the biological and mechanical behavior of two self-fixing meshes compared to that of a polypropylene (PP) mesh fixed with a cyanoacrylate (CA) tissue adhesive.

Methods: Partial abdominal wall defects (6 × 4 cm) were created in New Zealand rabbits (n = 36) and repaired using a self-adhesive hydrogel mesh (Adhesix™), a self-gripping mesh (ProGrip™) or a PP mesh fixed with CA (Surgipro™ CA).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pterygium is a benign fibrovascular lesion of the bulbar conjunctiva with frequent involvement of the corneal limbus. Its pathogenesis has been mainly attributed to sun exposure to ultraviolet-B radiation. Obtained evidence has shown that it is a complex and multifactorial process which involves multiple mechanisms such as oxidative stress, dysregulation of cell cycle checkpoints, induction of inflammatory mediators and growth factors, angiogenic stimulation, extracellular matrix (ECM) disorders, and, most likely, viruses and hereditary changes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Abdominal hernia repair using prosthetic materials is among the surgical interventions most widely performed worldwide. These materials, or meshes, are implanted to close the hernial defect, reinforcing the abdominal muscles and reestablishing mechanical functionality of the wall. Meshes for hernia repair are made of synthetic or biological materials exhibiting multiple shapes and configurations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Prosthetic mesh infection is a devastating complication of abdominal hernia repair which impairs natural healing in the implant area, leading to increased rates of patient morbidity, mortality, and prolonged hospitalization. This preclinical study was designed to assess the effects on abdominal wall tissue repair of coating meshes with a chlorhexidine or rifampicin-carboxymethylcellulose biopolymer gel in a () infection model. Partial abdominal wall defects were created in New Zealand white rabbits ( = 20).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Biomaterials and their applications are perhaps among the most dynamic areas of research within the field of biomedicine. Any advance in this topic translates to an improved quality of life for recipient patients. One application of a biomaterial is the repair of an abdominal wall defect whether congenital or acquired.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Antibacterial meshes for hernia repair seek to avoid infection in the patient. As these biomaterials are especially prone to bacteria settling at their sutured borders, this study examines whether the use of a cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive could improve mesh behavior at the fixation zones.

Methods: First, antibacterial polypropylene meshes were prepared by soaking in 0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: When using a prosthetic material in hernia repair, the behaviour of the mesh at the peritoneal interface is especially important for implant success. Biomaterials developed for their intraperitoneal placement are known as composites and are made up of two different-structure materials, one is responsible for good integration within host tissue and the other is responsible to make contact with the viscera. This study examines the behaviour at the peritoneal level of two composites, the fully degradable Phasix-ST® and the partially degradable Symbotex®.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The development of a biocomposite polymeric system for the antibacterial coating of polypropylene mesh materials for hernia repair is reported. Coatings were constituted by a film of chitosan containing randomly dispersed poly(d,l-lactide--glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles loaded with chlorhexidine or rifampicin. The chlorhexidine-loaded system exhibited a burst release during the first day reaching the release of the loaded drug in three or four days, whereas rifampicin was gradually released for at least 11 days.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The prophylactic coating of prosthetic mesh materials for hernia repair with antimicrobial compounds is commonly performed before implantation of the mesh in the abdominal wall. We propose a novel alternative, which is a rifampicin-loaded thermo-responsive hydrogel formulation, to be applied on the mesh after its implantation. This formulation becomes a gel in-situ once reached body temperature, allowing an optimal coating of the mesh along with the surrounding tissues.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: In hernia surgery, soaking of meshes in antibiotics before implantation is a prophylactic strategy for minimizing the risk of infection while providing minimal, local, drug doses. This study describes the development and application of an antibacterial mesh coating comprising a carboxymethylcellulose gel loaded with rifampicin in a preclinical model of Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis infection in rabbits.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Tissue adhesives are a feasible option to fix a hernia repair mesh, avoiding tissue trauma of suture fixation. Classically, they are applied in the form of a drop, although novel applications such as spray are emerging. This study compares the use of a new experimental cyanoacrylate (n-butyl) in the form of a spray or drops.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Pterygium is a conjunctival fibrovascular tissue growth on the cornea. The pathogenesis of pterygium involves several factors such as the presence of active angiogenic factors. Expansion of the lymphatic microvasculature has also been hypothesized.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Reticular hybrid meshes represent an alternative material for intraperitoneal repair of abdominal hernias. These consist of a reticular mesh coated or interwoven/knitted with inert materials. This study assesses the performance of two reticular polypropylene-containing hybrid meshes, TiMESH (coated with titanium) and DynaMesh (interwoven with polyvinylidene fluoride), in vitro, as well as their efficiency in adhesion prevention and tissue incorporation in an intraperitoneal model.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Lightweight (LW) polypropylene (PP) meshes better adapt to host tissue, causing less fibrosis and inflammatory responses than high-density meshes. Mesh fixation using tissue adhesives (TA) that replace conventional sutures may improve the process of hernia repair and tissue trauma. This preclinical study compares the behavior of different cyanoacrylate-based adhesives in the fixation of LW-PP meshes for hernia repair.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In this study, rat models of wound closure by first and second intention were developed to evaluate the influence that two immunosuppressants for treating multiple sclerosis (fingolimod, azathioprine) have on wound healing. Sixty-three Sprague-Dawley rats were daily treated with fingolimod (0.6 mg/kg), azathioprine (2.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In chronic venous insufficiency of the lower limbs, data show that the clinical manifestation is varicose veins (VVs), and VV epidemiology suggests that sex hormones directly influence disease development through intracellular receptors. This study aimed to determine the presence and localization of oestrogen receptors (ERs), progesterone receptors (PRs), and androgen receptors (ARs) in both healthy and VV wall cells and their relationship with gender. In this study, samples from patients without a history of venous disease (CV) ( = 18) and with VV ( = 40) were used.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: As an alternative to sutures, meshes used for hernia repair can be fixed using cyanoacrylate-based adhesives. Attempts to improve these adhesives include alkyl-chain lengthening to reduce their toxicity. This preclinical study compares the long-term behavior of cyanoacrylates of different chain lengths already used in hernia repair and new ones for this application.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In this report, we review the use of the New Zealand White rabbit as the experimental animal for several models of abdominal wall repair. For the repair of an abdominal wall defect, such as a hernia in clinical practice, multiple types of prosthetic material exist. Before their marketing, each of these biomaterials needs to be tested in a preclinical setting to confirm its biocompatibility and appropriate behavior at the different tissue interfaces.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To assess the feasibility of characterizing and following up the mechanical behavior of the corneal tissue after corneal cross-linking (CXL) by using a combined mechanical (in vivo indentation and in vitro uniaxial tensile tests) and morphological (immunohisto-chemistry) experimental protocol.

Methods: CXL (3 mW/cm; 370 nm) for 20 minutes (total dose 3.6 J/cm) was performed on 12 New Zealand rabbits.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The less traumatic use of surgical adhesives rather than sutures for mesh fixation in hernia repair has started to gain popularity because they induce less host tissue damage and provoke less postoperative pain. This study examines the host tissue response to a new cyanoacrylate (CA) adhesive (n-octyl, OCA). Partial defects (3 × 5 cm) created in the rabbit anterior abdominal wall were repaired by mesh fixation using OCA, Glubran2(n-butyl-CA), Ifabond(n-hexyl-CA) or sutures.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Synthetic tissue adhesives (TA) are sometimes used in hernia repair surgery. This study compares the use of a new, noncommercial, long-chain cyanoacrylate (n-octyl) TA and Ifabond for mesh fixation.

Materials And Methods: In two implant models in the rabbit, expanded polytetrafluorethylene meshes were fixed to the parietal peritoneum using a TA or tacks (intraperitoneal model), or polypropylene meshes used to repair partial abdominal wall defects were fixed with a TA or sutures (extraperitoneal model).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The article deals with a comparative analysis of the parameters of the polymerization in physiological conditions of three commercially available alkyl cyanoacrylates, n-butyl cyanoacrylate (GLUBRAN 2), n-hexyl cyanoacrylate (IFABOND), and n-octyl cyanoacrylate (EVOBOND), the cell behavior of the corresponding polymers and the application of these adhesives in the fixation of surgical polypropylene meshes for hernia repair in an animal model of rabbits. The results obtained demonstrate that the curing process depends on the nature of the alkyl residue of the ester group of cyanoacrylate molecules, being the heat of polymerization lower for the octyl derivative in comparison with the hexyl and butyl, and reaching a maximum temperature of 35 °C after a time of mixing with physiological fluids of 60-70 s. The cell behavior demonstrates that the three systems do not present toxicity for fibroblasts and low adhesion of cells, which is a positive result for application as tissue adhesives, especially for the fixation of abdominal polypropylene meshes for hernia repair.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention for reducing social stigma towards mental illness in adolescents. The effect of gender and knowledge of someone with mental illness was measured.

Methods: Two hundred and eighty secondary school students were evaluated using the Community Attitudes towards Mental Illness (CAMI) questionnaire.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF