The future of meniscus science: international expert consensus.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the main focus areas for research and development for furthering the state of meniscus science in 2021.

Methods: An electronic survey including 10 questions was sent in a blind fashion to the faculty members of the 5 International Conference on Meniscus Science and Surgery. These faculty served as an expert consensus on the future of research and development areas of meniscus science.

Chelation therapy and bone metabolism markers in thalassemia major.

The aim of our study was to investigate the effects of subcutaneous desferrioxamine (DFX) and oral deferiprone (L1) therapy on bone metabolism markers in patients with thalassemia major. We studied 17 patients with thalassemia receiving long-term treatment with desferrioxamine, 20 patients receiving long-term treatment with deferiprone, and 15 healthy age-matched controls. The following investigations were performed: a) intact parathyroid hormone (PTH), 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D] as endocrine parameters; b) alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bone alkaline phosphatase (BALP), osteocalcin (OC); c) bone resorption biochemical markers in serum and urine pyridinium crosslinks: hydroxylysyl-pyridinoline (HP) and lysyl-pyridinoline (LP); d) serum levels of cytokines and growth factors: transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGFbeta1), insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-a (TNFalpha); e) serum levels of IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3).

The microbial infection of biomaterials: A challenge for clinicians and researchers. A short review.

The increasing use of biomaterials and medical devices has led to the development of new families of diseases related precisely to the use of the biomaterials and medical devices themselves. Microbial contamination of the devices is a serious and widespread problem in surgery because it often causes devastating infections and loss of the implanted devices. The methods of contamination in medical devices are dependent on many peculiar factors including the chemistry of the biomaterial, the physical properties of the surface, the design of the medical device, the implanted anatomical site, the extension of surgical invasion, and the time of application.

In vitro experimental research of rabbit condrocytes biostimulation with diode laser Ga-Al-As: a preliminary study.

The scope of our study was to verify the effects of a new diode laser device with active material composed of Gallium, Aluminum and Arsenic (Ga-Al-As) configured as MOCVD (780 nm., 3000 mW) for the biostimulation of the cartilage cells in vitro. The condrocytes cells, withdrawn from the cartilage of the medial condyle of the femur of the rabbit, were cultivated, incubated and subject to biostimulation treatment with the laser.

In vitro methods to evaluate metal-cell interactions.

The aim of this study was to test different metals, widely employed in constructing prosthetic devices, by in vitro methods. Biological effects of such materials were analyzed through four different assays on human lymphocytes and granulocytes. The lymphocyte proliferation assay gave quantitative results, while the viability test showed the morphological appearance of the cells correlated well with previous results.