First experience with augmented reality neuronavigation in endoscopic assisted midline skull base pathologies in children.

Introduction: Endoscopic skull base approaches are broadly used in modern neurosurgery. The support of neuronavigation can help to effectively target the lesion avoiding complications. In children, endoscopic-assisted skull base surgery in combination with navigation systems becomes even more important because of the morphological variability and rare diseases affecting the sellar and parasellar regions.

Human nasoseptal chondrocytes maintain their differentiated phenotype on PLLA scaffolds produced by thermally induced phase separation and supplemented with bioactive glass 1393.

Damage of hyaline cartilage such as nasoseptal cartilage requires proper reconstruction, which remains challenging due to its low intrinsic repair capacity. Implantation of autologous chondrocytes in combination with a biomimetic biomaterial represents a promising strategy to support cartilage repair. Despite so far mostly tested for bone tissue engineering, bioactive glass (BG) could exert stimulatory effects on chondrogenesis.

PLLA scaffolds produced by thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) allow human chondrocyte growth and extracellular matrix formation dependent on pore size.

Damage of hyaline cartilage species such as nasoseptal or joint cartilage requires proper reconstruction, which remains challenging due to the low intrinsic repair capacity of this tissue. Implantation of autologous chondrocytes in combination with a biomimetic biomaterial represents a promising strategy to support cartilage repair. The aim of this work was to assess the viability, attachment, morphology, extracellular matrix (ECM) production of human articular and nasoseptal chondrocytes cultured in vitro in porous poly(l-lactic) (PLLA) scaffolds of two selected pore sizes (100 and 200μm).

Effect of nasal sprays on an in vitro survival and morphology of nasoseptal cartilage.

Nasal sprays were introduced several years ago to support the treatment of allergic rhinitis. These sprays may come in direct contact with directly exposed nasoseptal cartilage (e.g.

Safety and efficacy of Nasya/Prevalin in reducing symptoms of allergic rhinitis.

Background: Nasya/Prevalin is a natural, drug-free nasal spray for treatment and prevention of allergic rhinitis. Because of its thixotropic property, it forms a barrier on the nasal mucosa, preventing allergen contact. This study assesses the clinical efficacy and safety of Nasya/Prevalin in a nasal provocation test with house dust mite allergens.

Heterotopic and orthotopic autologous chondrocyte implantation using a minipig chondral defect model.

Implantation of non-articular (heterotopic) chondrocyte-based implants might be an alternative approach to articular cartilage repair. This strategy could be helpful in cases in which there are no or too few articular chondrocytes available. Therefore, this study was undertaken to compare joint cartilage defect healing in the minipig model after implantation of heterotopic auricular and orthotopic articular chondrocytes.

Cartilage tissue engineering of nasal septal chondrocyte-macroaggregates in human demineralized bone matrix.

Tissue Engineering is an important method for generating cartilage tissue with isolated autologous cells and the support of biomaterials. In contrast to various gel-like biomaterials, human demineralized bone matrix (DBM) guarantees some biomechanical stability for an application in biomechanically loaded regions. The present study combined for the first time the method of seeding chondrocyte-macroaggregates in DBM for the purpose of cartilage tissue engineering.

Human skeletal muscle-derived stem cells retain stem cell properties after expansion in myosphere culture.

Human skeletal muscle contains an accessible adult stem-cell compartment in which differentiated myofibers are maintained and replaced by a self-renewing stem cell pool. Previously, studies using mouse models have established a critical role for resident stem cells in skeletal muscle, but little is known about this paradigm in human muscle. Here, we report the reproducible isolation of a population of cells from human skeletal muscle that is able to proliferate for extended periods of time as floating clusters of rounded cells, termed "myospheres" or myosphere-derived progenitor cells (MDPCs).

Heterotopic autologous chondrocyte transplantation--a realistic approach to support articular cartilage repair?

Injured articular cartilage is limited in its capacity to heal. Autologous chondrocyte transplantation (ACT) is a suitable technique for cartilage repair, but it requires articular cartilage biopsies for sufficient autologous chondrocyte expansion in vitro. Hence, ACT is restricted by donor-site morbidity and autologous articular chondrocytes availability.

Characterization of auricular chondrocytes and auricular/articular chondrocyte co-cultures in terms of an application in articular cartilage repair.

Cartilage injury remains a challenge in orthopedic surgery as articular cartilage only has a limited capacity for intrinsic healing. Autologous chondrocyte transplantation (ACT) is a suitable technique for cartilage repair, but requires articular cartilage biopsies for autologous chondrocyte expansion. The use of heterotopic chondrocytes derived from non-articular cartilage sources such as auricular chondrocytes may be a novel approach for ACT.