Minimizing the mandibular advancement in an oral appliance for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.

Objective: In the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with an oral appliance (OA), there is no gold standard method to fine-tune the mandibular advancement. This study aimed to analyze the effect of gradual increment of mandibular advancement on the evolution of the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI).

Methods: OSA patients were recruited from a sleep unit.

The Effect of Plasma Rich in Growth Factors on Pattern Hair Loss: A Pilot Study.

Background: Autologous growth factors have proved to promote tissue regeneration in various medical fields. Recent findings suggest that platelet rich plasma may also play an important role in hair follicle restoration.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and clinical efficacy of plasma rich in growth factors (PRGFs) for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia (AGA).

Cellular acidification as a new approach to cancer treatment and to the understanding and therapeutics of neurodegenerative diseases.

During the last few years, the understanding of the dysregulated hydrogen ion dynamics and reversed proton gradient of cancer cells has resulted in a new and integral pH-centric paradigm in oncology, a translational model embracing from cancer etiopathogenesis to treatment. The abnormalities of intracellular alkalinization along with extracellular acidification of all types of solid tumors and leukemic cells have never been described in any other disease and now appear to be a specific hallmark of malignancy. As a consequence of this intracellular acid-base homeostatic failure, the attempt to induce cellular acidification using proton transport inhibitors and other intracellular acidifiers of different origins is becoming a new therapeutic concept and selective target of cancer treatment, both as a metabolic mediator of apoptosis and in the overcoming of multiple drug resistance (MDR).

Balancing microbial and mammalian cell functions on calcium ion-modified implant surfaces.

Implant integration is a complex process mediated by the interaction of the implant surface with the surrounding ions, proteins, bacteria, and tissue cells. Although most implants achieve long-term bone-tissue integration, preventing pervasive implant-centered infections demands further advances, particularly in surfaces design. In this work, we analyzed classical microrough implant surfaces (only acid etched, AE; sandblasted then acid etching, SB + AE) and a new calcium-ion-modified implant surface (AE + Ca) in terms of soft- and hard-tissue integration, bacterial adhesion, and biofilm formation.

Biologically active and biomimetic dual gelatin scaffolds for tissue engineering.

We have designed, developed and optimized Genipin cross-linked 3D gelatin scaffolds that were biologically active and biomimetic, show a dual activity both for growth factor and cell delivery. Type B gelatin powder was dissolved in DI water. 100mg of genipin was dissolved in 10ml of DI water.

Opening new horizons in regenerative dermatology using platelet-based autologous therapies.

Biological therapeutic therapies are gaining the attention of scientists and medical doctors. Accumulating evidence suggests that blood-derived autologous therapies are safe and effective treatments for skin repair and wound healing. The fibrin network formed after plasmatic activation and the autologous growth factors released when platelets degranulate constitute a real biological medicine that has been shown to promote cell recruitment, stimulate new blood vessel formation, reduce inflammation as well as protect from local infections.

Autologous method for ex vivo expansion of human limbal epithelial progenitor cells based on plasma rich in growth factors technology.

Purpose: Develop an autologous culture method for ex vivo expansion of human limbal epithelial progenitor cells (LEPCs) using Plasma Rich in Growth Factors (PRGF) as a growth supplement and as a scaffold for the culture of LEPCs.

Methods: LEPCs were cultivated in different media supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) or 10% PRGF. The outgrowths, total number of cells, colony forming efficiency (CFE), morphology and immunocytochemistry against p63- α and cytokeratins 3 and 12 (CK3-CK12) were analyzed.

Human-Based Biological and Biomimetic Autologous Therapies for Musculoskeletal Tissue Regeneration.

Repairing and regenerating damaged musculoskeletal tissues is one of the greatest challenges in regenerative medicine. Blood contains the essential ingredients to biologically engineer drug delivery devices that provide spatiotemporal control over the availability of a wide range of autologous agents, including small molecules, cytokines, and growth factors. This opinion article summarizes our current knowledge of blood-derived biological drug delivery therapies.

Allogeneic Platelet-Rich Plasma: At the Dawn of an Off-the-Shelf Therapy?

A new therapeutic tool is emerging based on a biomimetic strategy: platelet-rich plasma (PRP) technology. Allogeneic off-the-shelf PRP represents a safe and cost-effective treatment for osteoarthritis and related diseases. This breakthrough opens the door not only to improved treatments and opportunities but also to new challenges with multiple uncertainties.

Intradiscal and intra-articular facet infiltrations with plasma rich in growth factors reduce pain in patients with chronic low back pain.

Context: Low back pain (LBP) is a complex and disabling condition, and its treatment becomes a challenge.

Aims: The aim of our study was to assess the clinical outcome of plasma rich in growth factors (PRGF-Endoret) infiltrations (one intradiscal, one intra-articular facet, and one transforaminal epidural injection) under fluoroscopic guidance-control in patients with chronic LBP. PRGF-Endoret which has been shown to be an efficient treatment to reduce joint pain.

Platelet-rich plasma, a source of autologous growth factors and biomimetic scaffold for peripheral nerve regeneration.

In mammals, axons of injured peripheral nerves (PNI) can and do regenerate, but often the functional recovery is incomplete or suboptimal. In recent years, in vivo tissue engineering approaches through molecular intervention and scaffolding are offering promising outcomes. Evidence is accumulating in both preclinical and clinical settings indicating that Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and fibrin scaffolds obtained from this technology hold an important adjuvant therapeutic potential.

Plasma rich in growth factors promotes dermal fibroblast proliferation, migration and biosynthetic activity.

Objective: The use of plasma rich in growth factors (PRGF) has gained importance in many medical fields due to its regenerative potential. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of PRGF on primary skin fibroblasts assessing cell proliferation, migration and secretion of growth factors. The age of the patients from who PRGF was prepared was also studied to determine whether it influenced the outcomes.

Is Alveolar Ridge Split a Risk Factor for Implant Survival?

Purpose: There is a paucity of studies that have assessed the long-term outcomes of the alveolar ridge split (ARS). This study evaluated the intraoperative and postoperative complications and assessed the placed dental implant and prosthesis.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective study of the ARS was conducted in a single private dental clinic.

Frequency of Prosthetic Complications Related to Implant-Borne Prosthesis in a Sleep Disorder Unit.

Sleep bruxism and higher clench index have been associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, there is no study that reports on the prosthetic complications in patients with OSA. Records of patients who had performed a sleep study to diagnose OSA were examined for the occurrence of prosthetic complications in implant-borne reconstructions.

Validation of a new domiciliary diagnosis device for automatic diagnosis of patients with clinical suspicion of OSA.

Background And Objective: Obstructive sleep apnoea is a prevalent and considerably underdiagnosed disease. The development of cost-effective, home-based, automatic diagnostic devices to improve the diagnosis accessibility is therefore essential.

Methods: In this study, a new portable polygraph (BTI-APNiA) was used to validate automatic scoring.

Long-Term Outcomes of Immediate Implant Placement Into Infected Sockets in Association With Immediate Loading: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: There is a paucity of studies examining long-term outcomes of immediate loading of dental implants immediately placed into infected sites. This study aims to evaluate long-term outcomes of immediate loading of postextraction implants placed in infected sites.

Methods: Patients were selected if they had postextraction implants in the anterior maxilla that were inserted in the period from December 2006 to June 2015 and immediately loaded.

Implementation of a more physiological plasma rich in growth factor (PRGF) protocol: Anticoagulant removal and reduction in activator concentration.

Unlabelled: Plasma rich in growth factors (PRGF) is a biological therapy that uses patient's own growth factors for promoting tissue regeneration. Given the current European regulatory framework in which anticoagulant solution in blood extraction tubes could be considered as a medicinal product, a new PRGF protocol has been developed. The actual protocol (PRGF-A) and the new one (PRGF-B) have been performed and compared under Good Laboratory Practices.

A new strategy to tackle severe knee osteoarthritis: Combination of intra-articular and intraosseous injections of Platelet Rich Plasma.

Introduction: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a mechanically induced, cytokine and enzyme-mediated disorder involving all the joint tissue of the knee. Rebuilding a physiological-homeostatic network at the tissue level following knee organ failure, such as in severe KOA, is a daunting task with therapeutic targets encompassing the articular cartilage, synovium and subchondral bone. Intraarticular infiltration of plasma rich in growth factors (PRP) has emerged as a promising symptomatic approach, although it is insufficient to reach the subchondral bone.

Transcrestal Sinus Lift Using Platelet Concentrates in Association to Short Implant Placement: A Retrospective Study of Augmented Bone Height Remodeling.

Background: No evidence has been reported yet about dimensional changes in maxillary sinuses grafted with autologous platelet concentrate.

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the augmented height alterations around short implants (length ≤ 8.5 mm) placed after transcrestal sinus lift surgery in association with plasma rich in growth factors.

Closing regulatory gaps: new ground rules for platelet-rich plasma.

The Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS) has drawn up a comprehensive report and resolution that regulates for the first time the use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) as a human-use medicinal product. This regulatory framework offers emerging challenges to adapt the use of PRP to the new requirements of safety and efficacy. The heterogeneity of the different products can hinder their regulation, which today differs substantially in the different worldwide regulatory frameworks.