Biostability, durability and calcification of cryopreserved human pericardium after rapid glutaraldehyde-stabilization versus multistep ADAPT(R) treatment in a subcutaneous rat model.

Objectives: Autologous pericardium rapidly fixed with glutaraldehyde (GA) in theatre is considered in many cardiac surgery centres the best material currently available for intracardiac, valvular or vascular repair. Implanted non-fixed autologous tissues suffer rapid degeneration, shrinkage and absorption whereas standard xenotypic fixed tissues cause local cytotoxicity and calcification. In the present study, using a subcutaneous rat model, we tested the biostability, durability and calcification potential of four different pericardium patches treated with GA and relevant to current clinical practice.

Primary localized cutaneous nodular amyloidosis successfully treated with cyclophosphamide.

Primary localized cutaneous nodular amyloidosis (PLCNA) is a rare subtype of localized cutaneous amyloidosis and can be associated with various connective tissue disorders. It can be difficult to treat and past therapies include surgical excision, dermabrasion, electrodessication and curettage, cryotherapy and laser therapy. We present a case of a middle-aged woman with PLCNA associated with CREST (calcinosis, Raynaud phenomenon, oesophageal motility disorders, sclerodactyly and telangiectasia) syndrome and Sjögren's syndrome responding to cyclophosphamide with no new amyloid deposits and resolution of skin ulceration after many years of resistance to drug therapy.

Mitigation of calcification and cytotoxicity of a glutaraldehyde-preserved bovine pericardial matrix: improved biocompatibility after extended implantation in the subcutaneous rat model.

Background And Aims Of The Study: Implanted non-crosslinked tissues suffer rapid degeneration, shrinkage and absorption, whereas standard crosslinked tissues cause local cytotoxicity and calcification. Both approaches diminish implant capacity for long-term function. The study aim was to examine the tissue-engineered characteristics (cytotoxicity, calcification potential, biocompatibility) of bovine pericardium, crosslinked with a low concentration of glutaraldehyde (GA) followed by ADAPT anti-mineralization, following prolonged implantation in a subcutaneous rat model.

Enhanced biostability and biocompatibility of decellularized bovine pericardium, crosslinked with an ultra-low concentration monomeric aldehyde and treated with ADAPT.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Matrix preparation remains controversial due to incomplete cell removal, inflammatory responses, reabsorption and thrombocyte activation. Previously, crosslinked matrices have been considered unsatisfactory due to cytotoxicity. In the present study, the biostability, biocompatibility and calcification potential of a decellularized matrix crosslinked with a low concentration of monomeric glutaraldehyde (GA) and treated with the ADAPT anti-calcification process were examined.

Kangaroo versus freestyle stentless bioprostheses in a juvenile sheep model: hemodynamic performance and calcification behavior.

Background: Glutaraldehyde-preserved bioprosthetic heart valve substitutes have limited performance and longevity due to tissue degeneration and calcification. The Freestyle valve (Medtronic Heart Valves, Inc, Minneapolis, MN) combines zero fixation pressure and proportional, variant-amino oleic acid (AOA) as antidegeneration and antimineralization measures. The aim of this study was to compare the calcification behavior of glutaraldehyde-preserved kangaroo aortic valves with Freestyle stentless bioprostheses in a juvenile sheep model.

ADAPT-treated porcine valve tissue (cusp and wall) versus Medtronic Freestyle and Prima Plus: crosslink stability and calcification behavior in the subcutaneous rat model.

Background And Aim Of The Study: The study aim was to compare the crosslink stability and calcification behavior of porcine tissue (cusp and wall), treated with a new antimineralization process (ADAPT) with that of commercially prepared Freestyle and Prima Plus bioprosthetic tissues.

Methods: Porcine aortic roots were divided into two groups: (i) tissue zero pressure-fixed with 0.625% glutaraldehyde (GA) for seven days and stored in 0.

Evaluation of stentless kangaroo aortic valves in the mitral position of juvenile sheep.

Background And Aim Of The Study: The performance and longevity of bioprosthetic heart valves are limited by tissue calcification and degeneration after implantation. Experimental valve replacement in large animal models forms an important component of the preclinical evaluation of these bioprosthetic heart valves. The study aim was to assess the feasibility of a mitral model for stentless valves and to evaluate the calcification behavior of stentless glutaraldehyde-preserved kangaroo heart valves in the mitral position of a sheep model.

Gangliocytic paraganglioma of the bronchus: a case report with follow-up and ultrastructural assessment.

We report a case of gangliocytic paraganglioma of bronchus. A 54-year-old woman underwent bronchoscopy following two episodes of right lower lobe pneumonia over the previous 5 months with unresolved chest radiographic changes. A computerized tomographic scan showed a right lower lobe endobronchial lesion, and at bronchoscopy there was a mass partly occluding the lumen of the bronchus.