Customized tissue engineering for ear reconstruction.

Tissue engineering (TE) of cartilage for reconstructive surgery has proven to be a promising option for obtaining tissue for 3D structures that results in minimal donor site morbidity. Technological advances in this area are important since many defects can only be treated with customized implants. Most TE strategies rely on the use of resorbable 3D scaffolds to guide the growing tissue, with each tissue requiring a specific scaffold that has precisely defined properties depending on the physiological environment.

Binding properties of the cerebral alpha4beta2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor ligand 2-[18F]fluoro-A-85380 to plasma proteins.

Introduction: To determine the availability of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in different human brain regions using the positron emission tomography (PET) radioligand 2-[18F]fluoro-A-85380 (2-[18F]FA) and invasive approaches for quantification, it is important to correct the arterial input function as well for plasma protein binding (PPB) of the radioligand as for radiolabeled metabolites accumulating in blood. This study deals with some aspects of PPB of 2-[18F]FA.

Methods: Patients with different neurological disorders (n=72), such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis, and a group of healthy volunteers (n=15) subjected for PET imaging were analyzed for their PPB level of 2-[18F]FA using ultrafiltration.