Modification of titanium alloys surface properties by plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) and influence on biological response.

Surface characteristics can mediate biological interaction improving or affecting the tissue integration after implantation of a biomaterial. Features such as topography, wettability, surface energy and chemistry can be key determinants for interactions between cells and materials. Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) is a technique used to control this kind of parameters by the addition of chemical species and the production of different morphologies on the surfaces of titanium and its alloys.

Osseointegration improvement by plasma electrolytic oxidation of modified titanium alloys surfaces.

Titanium (Ti) is a material frequently used in orthopedic applications, due to its good mechanical properties and high corrosion resistance. However, formation of a non-adherent fibrous tissue between material and bone drastically could affect the osseointegration process and, therefore, the mechanical stability of the implant. Modifications of topography and configuration of the tissue/material interface is one of the mechanisms to improve that process by manipulating parameters such as morphology and roughness.

European consensus conference on diagnosis and treatment of germ cell cancer: a report of the second meeting of the European Germ Cell Cancer Consensus group (EGCCCG): part I.

Objectives: The first consensus report presented by the European Germ Cell Cancer Consensus Group (EGCCCG) in the year 2004 has found widespread approval by many colleagues throughout the world. In November 2006, the group met a second time under the auspices of the Department of Urology of the Amsterdam Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Methods: Medical oncologists, urological surgeons, radiation oncologists as well as pathologists from several European countries reviewed and discussed the data that had emerged since the 2002 conference, and incorporated the new data into updated and revised guidelines.

European consensus conference on diagnosis and treatment of germ cell cancer: a report of the second meeting of the European Germ Cell Cancer Consensus Group (EGCCCG): part II.

Objectives: The first consensus report that had been presented by the European Germ Cell Cancer Consensus Group (EGCCCG) in 2004 has found widespread approval by many colleagues throughout the world. In November 2006, the group met a second time under the auspices of the Department of Urology of the Amsterdam Medical Center, The Netherlands.

Methods: Medical oncologists, urologic surgeons, radiation oncologists as well as pathologists from several European countries reviewed and discussed the data that had emerged since the 2002 conference and incorporated the new data into updated and revised guidelines.