A new cell‐free bandage‐type artificial skin for cutaneous wounds

Engineered skin substitutes are widely used in skin wound management. However, no currently available products satisfy all the criteria of usability in emergency situations, easy handling, and minimal scar formation. To overcome these shortcomings, we designed a cell‐free bandage‐type artificial skin, named “VitriBand” (VB), using adhesive film dressing, silicone‐coated polyethylene terephthalate film, and collagen xerogel membrane defined as a dried collagen vitrigel membrane without free water. We analyzed its advantages over in‐line products by comparing VB with hydrocolloid dressing and collagen sponge. For evaluation, mice inflicted with full‐thickness skin defects were treated with VB, hydrocolloid dressing, and collagen sponge. A plastic film group treated only with adhesive film dressing and silicone‐coated polyethylene terephthalate film, and a no treatment group were also compared. VB promoted epithelization while inhibiting the emergence of myofibroblasts and inflammation in the regenerating tissue more effectively than the plastic film, hydrocolloid dressing, and collagen sponge products. We have succeeded in establishing a cell‐free bandage‐type artificial skin that could serve as a promising first‐line medical biomaterial for emergency treatment of skin injuries in various medical situations.     

Reconstruction of bilateral branch pulmonary artery stenosis caused by Takayasu's aortitis.

A 63 year-old female presented with dyspnea on exertion. Her chest X-ray showed cardiomegaly, and right ventricular overload and tricuspid regurgitation were detected. Her pulmonary ventilation and blood flow scintigraphy findings were suspicious of pulmonary vascular disease; the diagnosis was pulmonary hypertension and bilateral branch pulmonary artery stenosis. After the inflammation settled, the stenotic bilateral branch pulmonary artery was reconstructed with a prosthetic vessel and the pulmonary pressure normalized immediately. A resected specimen revealed that the stenotic changes were from Takayasu's disease. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful, and pulmonary ventilation and blood scintigraphy returned to an almost normal range. At follow-up 5 years and 6 months after the operation, there was no evidence of pulmonary artery disease (eg, stenosis and/or ischemia) or of any change in the central vessels of the retina, the so-called Takayasu's retinopathy.     

Risk factors for patients developing a fulminant course with acute myocarditis.

BACKGROUND: A fulminant course can be difficult to predict at the onset of acute myocarditis, so the aim of the present study was to identify the predictive clinical symptoms/signs or laboratory findings. METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty-nine patients with acute lymphocytic myocarditis, excluding 8 who manifested shock at admission, were studied. The fulminant group was defined as 12 patients who developed shock after admission, requiring intraaortic balloon pumping or percutaneous cardiopulmonary support, and the non-fulminant group comprised the 27 patients without shock. Various parameters at admission were compared between the 2 groups, together with multiple logistic regression analysis, excluding 6 patients with partially missing values. In the fulminant group, C-reactive protein (7.0 +/- 7.0 vs 2.3 +/- 2.2 mg/dl, p<0.01) and creatine kinase (1,147 +/- 876 vs 594 +/- 568 IU/L, p<0.05) concentrations were higher, intraventricular conduction disturbances were more frequent (9/12 vs 7/27 patients, p<0.01) and the left ventricular ejection fraction was lower (40.7 +/- 13.9 vs 50.1 +/- 10.6%, p<0.05) than in the non-fulminant group. In the multiple logistic regression analysis model with the presence/absence of a fulminant course considered as the independent variable, and C-reactive protein, creatine kinase, intraventricular conduction disturbances, and left ventricular ejection fraction as dependent variables, a high-risk group (expected proportion of fulminant course > or = 0.5) and a low-risk group (<0.5) could be differentiated. A fulminant course occurred in 9/13 (69%) patients in the high-risk group, but in only 2/20 (10%) patients in the low risk group (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of a fulminant course of acute myocarditis was high in patients with elevated C-reactive protein, and creatine kinase concentrations, decreased left ventricular ejection fraction, and intraventricular conduction disturbances at the time of admission.     

Usefulness of autotaxin for the complications of liver cirrhosis

BACKGROUND Autotaxin(ATX) has been reported as a direct biomarker for estimating the evaluation of liver fibrosis. But available data on ATX as a useful biomarker for the complications of liver cirrhosis(LC) are scant.AIM To assess the clinical usefulness of ATX for assessing the complications of LC.METHODS This multicenter, retrospective study was conducted at six locations in Japan. We include patients with LC, n = 400. The ATX level was evaluated separately in men and women because of its high level in female patients. To assess the clinical usefulness of ATX for the complications of LC, the area under the curve(AUC) of ATX assessing for the severe complications was analyzed in comparison with the model for end-stage liver disease score, albumin-bilirubin(ALBI) score, fibrosis-4 index, and aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index.RESULTS The mean age was 68.4 ± 11.4 years, 240 patients(60.0%) were male. A total of 213(53.3%) and 187(46.8%) patients were compensated and decompensated,respectively. The numbers of patients with varix rupture, hepatic ascites, and hepatic encephalopathy were 35(8.8%), 131(32.8%), and 103(25.8%),respectively. The AUCs of ATX in men for hepatic encephalopathy, hepatic ascites, and varix ruptures were 0.853, 0.816, and 0.706, respectively. The AUCs of ATX in women for hepatic encephalopathy, hepatic ascites, and varix rupture were 0.759, 0.717, and 0.697, respectively. The AUCs of ATX in men were higher than those in women, as were all the other biomarkers used to detect encephalopathy and varix ruptures. However, for detecting ascites, the AUC of ALBI in men was more effective than using ATX.CONCLUSION ATX in men was more effective than any other biomarkers for detecting hepatic encephalopathy and varix ruptures.