Biomedical subjects

F Benazzo

Publications and source records attributed to F Benazzo.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Calcified matrix production by SAOS-2 cells inside a polyurethane porous scaffold, using a perfusion bioreactor.

The repair and regeneration of damaged or resected bone are problematic. Bone autografts show optimal skeletal incorporation, but often bring about complications. Hence, there is increasing interest in designing new biomaterials that could potentially be used in the form of scaffolds as bone substitutes. In this study we used a hydrophobic cross-linked polyurethane in a typical tissue-engineering approach, that is, the seeding and in vitro culturing of cells within a porous scaffold. The polyurethane porous scaffold had an average pore diameter of 624 microm. Using a perfusion bioreactor, we investigated the effect of shear stress on SAOS-2 human osteoblast proliferation and calcified matrix production. The physical, morphological, and compressive properties of the polyurethane foam were characterized. At a scaffold perfusion rate of 3 mL/min, in comparison with static conditions without perfusion, we observed 33% higher cell proliferation; higher secretion of osteopontin, osteocalcin, decorin, and type I collagen (9.16-fold, 71.9-fold, 30.6-fold, and 18.12-fold, respectively); and 10-fold increased calcium deposition. The design of the bioreactor and the design of the polyurethane foam aimed at obtaining cell colonization and calcified matrix deposition. This cultured biomaterial could be used, in clinical applications, as an osteoinductive implant for bone repair.

Biocompatible Materials↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Milwaukee shoulder syndrome (apatite associated destructive arthritis): therapeutic aspects].

Milwaukee shoulder is a well defined clinical entity that can be observed in particular in older women. It is a destructive arthropathy associated with the deposition of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystals, characterized by the presence of large amount of synovial fluid and a complete tear of the rotator cuff. Clinical features include pain, swelling and progressive functional impairment. The first-line treatment include the use of analgesic drugs and repeated arthrocentesis followed by intra-articular steroid administration; closed-needle tidal irrigation has been reported to be useful. In late phase we can observe narrowing of the acromion-humeral and of the gleno-humeral joint and progressive degenerative changes at the humeral head, leading to almost complete functional impairment. In these cases a surgical approach with total shoulder arthroplasty may be considered.

Editorial↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Surgery in massive ruptures of the rotator cuff: results as related to prognosis.

The results obtained in the surgical treatment of massive lesions of the rotator cuff are quite often inferior to what is expected, because prognosis is not respected. To demonstrate that the quality of the results obtained is directly proportional to the preoperative prognostic factors a retrospective study was conducted on 28 patients submitted to massive lesion repair of the rotator cuff between 1990 and 1996; the criteria of inclusion was: a) patients aged under 65 years; b) preoperative radiographic findings with acromiohumeral distance not less than 6 mm; c) degeneration of the tendons not greater than a Goutallier stage 2; d) absence of inveterate pseudoparalysis of the limb involved; e) absence of anterosuperior subdislocation of the humeral head. The results obtained with a mean follow-up of 5 years revealed a mean Constant score of 85 points (minimum 79, maximum 91) that may correspond to excellent results, showing how this type of surgery may guarantee good results only when factors of prognosis are respected preoperatively.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[The approach to Achilles tendinopathies in athletes. Echographic aspects].

The recent great diffusion of sports has significantly increased the traumatic pathology of Achilles tendon. Owing to the importance of a correct diagnosis and prognosis and of an adequate therapy (especially for professionals), a clinical and radiological study has been performed. Echotomography has been associated with xeroradiography in 185 athletes with painful symptoms; among these 79 were normal while 106 showed various types of tendinopathies. The main results can be summarized; peritendinitis: non uniform thickening; hyperechogenicity of Kager's triangle; insertional tendinopathies: thickening; calcifications; tendinosis: thickening; degeneration nodules; tendinous ruptures: rough contours of the rupture; degeneration nodules. The good echotomographic results allowed a correct diagnosis in about 85% of the 39 surgically treated patients.

Achilles Tendon↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Multiple subtotal somatectomy. Technique and evaluation of a series of 39 cases.

The authors describe a surgical procedure called multiple subtotal somatectomy. This operation is indicated when canal stenosis is caused by posterior protrusions of the anterior wall of the spinal canal (due to osteophytes, posttraumatic deformities, or tumoral lesions) involving three or more cervical segments. The procedure's principal phases are (1) removal up to the posterior longitudinal ligament of the central portion of three or more vertebral bodies, and (2) insertion into the prepared trench (15-mm wide) of an autologous graft, previously obtained from the iliac wing. Thirty-nine cases are presented (29 spondylosic myelopathies, 10 posttraumatic myelopathies), with follow-up periods varying from 6 months to 13 years. All grafts united, and 36 patients were benefited, while only three failed to improve.

Adolescent↗