Publications by authors named "Montserrat Garcia-Balletbo"

The treatment of chondral and osteochondral defects is challenging. These types of lesions are painful and progress to osteoarthritis over time. Tissue engineering offers tools to address this unmet medical need.

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Articular hyaline cartilage injuries can occur as a result of either traumatic of progressive degeneration. When the articular cartilage in a joint is damaged, it can cause joint pain and dysfunction, predisposing patients for the development of early-onset osteoarthritis. There are many restoration procedures available to treat these injuries, such as bone marrow-stimulation techniques, osteoarticular auto/allograft transplants, and autologous chondrocyte implantation.

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Purpose: To report the clinical, functional, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based outcomes of a novel autologous-made matrix consisting of hyaline cartilage chips combined with mixed plasma poor rich in platelets clot and plasma rich in growth factors (PRGF) for the treatment of knee full-thickness cartilage or osteochondral defects.

Methods: Between July 2015 and January 2018, all patients with full-thickness cartilage or osteochondral defects undergoing this novel cartilage restoration surgical technique were approached for eligibility. Indications for this procedure included traumatic or atraumatic full-thickness knee cartilage defects or osteochondritis dissecans.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to evaluate the healing and clinical outcomes of ACL reconstruction in patients receiving adipose-derived regenerative stem cells (ADRC) versus those who did not.
  • It involved a comparison of 20 soccer players who received ADRC to 19 matched players without ADRC, assessing outcomes at various postoperative intervals using different measures like knee function and pain levels.
  • While both groups showed significant improvements in knee function and graft maturation after 12 months, there was no statistically significant difference in outcomes between the two groups, though both returned to sports with varying levels of activity.
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The cartilage injuries are related to femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). The prognostic of the injury depends on the grade of itself. Using bone marrow concentrate (BMC), which contains stem cells, is related to the improvement in diverse tissues.

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Knee cartilage or osteochondral lesions are common and challenging injuries. To date, most symptomatic lesions warrant surgical treatment. We present two cases of patients with knee osteochondral defects treated with a one-step surgical procedure consisting of an autologous-based matrix composed of healthy hyaline cartilage chips, mixed plasma poor-rich in platelets clot, and plasma rich in growth factors (PRGF).

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of serum type II collagen cleavage epitope and serum hyaluronic acid as biomarkers for treatment monitoring in osteoarthritic dogs. For this purpose, a treatment model based on mesenchymal stem cells derived from adipose tissue combined with plasma rich in growth factors was used. This clinical study included 10 dogs with hip osteoarthritis.

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Purpose: To assess the biomechanical effects of intra-tendinous injections of PRGF on the healing Achilles tendon after repair in a sheep model.

Methods: Thirty sheep were randomly assigned into one of the six groups depending on the type of treatment received (PRGF or placebo) and survival time (2, 4 and 8 weeks). The Achilles tendon injury was repaired by suturing the tendinous edges employing a three-loop pulley pattern.

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In part, people's quality of life depends on the "health" of their cartilage because its damage or deterioration causes pain that limits mobility and reduces autonomy. Predisposing genetic factors and modern-life environmental factors, such as diet, excessive physical exercise, or the absence of any physical exercise, in addition to injuries that can occur, all contribute to the onset and development of chronic degenerative diseases such as osteoarthritis. Regenerative medicine focuses on the repair, replacement, or regeneration of cells, tissues, or organs to restore impaired function from any cause, including congenital defects, disease, and trauma.

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Purpose: To determine whether the use of plasma rich in growth factors accelerates healing of the donor site in bone-tendon-bone anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (patellar graft). The use of the patellar graft presents post-operative problems such as anterior knee pain, which limits its use and leads to preference being taken for alternative grafts.

Methods: A double-blind, randomized, clinical trial was performed comparing two groups of patients who underwent ACL reconstruction using patellar tendon graft and comparing the use of plasma rich in growth factors at the donor site after graft harvest in terms of local regeneration by ultrasound assessment.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigated the effects of plasma rich in growth factors (PRGF) on healing Achilles tendon injuries in sheep, comparing it to a saline solution treatment.
  • PRGF-injected tendons showed elongated fibroblast nuclei and better organized collagen structure at eight weeks, indicating an improved healing process.
  • The results suggest that PRGF promotes faster healing, as evidenced by lower vascular density and enhanced morphometric features in the treated tendons.
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We report a 44-year-old woman with calcific tendinitis of the shoulder treated with platelet-rich plasma injection. Prior to this, she had no improvement of the symptoms after 6 weeks of ultrasound treatment, Codman exercises, and anti-inflammatory treatment. Platelet-rich plasma was injected into the subacromial area 3 times at 2-week intervals.

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Nonunion is an uncommon complication of fracture of the clavicle; it is usually treated surgically. The use of biological treatments in this type of condition is increasingly more common because of their ease of application. Plasma rich in growth factors (PRGF) has been used in delayed healing and in nonunion of fractures.

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Purpose: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a highly prevalent, chronic, degenerative condition that generates a high expense. Alternative and co-adjuvant therapies to improve the quality of life and physical function of affected patients are currently being sought.

Methods: A total of 808 patients with knee pathology were treated with PRGF (plasma rich in growth factors), 312 of them with OA of the knee (Outerbridge grades I-IV) and symptoms of >3 months duration met the inclusion criteria and were evaluated to obtain a sample of 261 patients, 109 women and 152 men, with an average age of 48.

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Partial or total meniscectomy are common procedures performed at Orthopedic Surgery departments. Despite providing a great relief of pain, it has been related to early onset knee osteoarthritis. Meniscal allograft transplantation has been proposed as an alternative to meniscectomy.

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Background: Superior dislocation of the patella is an uncommon condition that mainly occurs in knees with a high patella and medial femorotibial degenerative arthritis. There are no previous reports of this condition occurring in association with tibial valgus osteotomy.

Case Report: We report the case of a patient in whom vertical dislocation recurred twice at 4 months after tibial valgus osteotomy.

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