The authors analyzed the association between APOE epsilon4 genotype and clinical and MRI findings in 43 refractory temporal lobe epilepsy patients. The distribution of the alleles were normal. Ten patients (23%) had an APOE epsilon 4 allele and had an earlier onset of habitual seizures (with epsilon4 5 +/- 5 years; without epsilon4 15 +/- 10 years). Quantitative MRI findings were not influenced by the APOE epsilon4 genotype. APOE epsilon4 may shorten the latency between an initial injury and seizure onset.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are widely used in laboratory experiments as well as in human cell therapy. Their culture requires animal sera like fetal calf serum (FCS) as essential supplementation; however, animal sera pose a risk for clinical applications. Human blood derivatives, for example, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) releasates, are potential replacements of FCS; however, it is unclear which serum variant has the best effect on the given cell or tissue type. Additionally, blood derivatives are commonly used in musculoskeletal diseases like osteoarthritis (OA) or osteonecrosis as “proliferative agents” for the topical MSC pool. Hyperacute serum (HAS), a new serum derivative, has been designed to approximate the natural coagulation cascade with a single-step, additive-free preparation method. We investigated the effects of HAS on monolayer MSC cultures and in their natural niche, in 3D subchondral bone and marrow explants. Viability measurements, RT-qPCR evaluation for gene expression and flow cytometry for cell surface marker analysis were performed to compare the effects of FCS-, PRP-, or HAS-supplemented culture media. Monolayer MSCs showed significantly higher metabolic activity following 5 days' incubation in HAS, and osteoblast-specific mRNA expression was markedly increased, while cells also retained their MSC-specific cell surface markers. A similar effect was observed on bone and marrow explants, which was further confirmed with confocal microscopy analysis. Moreover, markedly higher bone marrow preservation was observed with histology in case of HAS supplementation compared to FCS. These findings indicate possible application of HAS in regenerative solutions of skeletal diseases like OA or osteonecrosis.

A similar pro-proliferation effect was observed with recombinant growth factors, indicating that HAS may be an alternative agent for enhancing the regeneration of damaged bone cells.

Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) was detected at 32.8 +/- 3.9 pmol 1-1 in uterine luminal fluid from immature rats treated with oestradiol. As mRNA encoding PTHrP has previously been localized to implantation sites in pregnant rats, the role of luminal PTHrP during pregnancy was explored. Infusion of a parathyroid hormone (PTH)/PTHrP receptor antagonist, [Asn10,Leu11]PTHrP(7-34) amide, into the uterine lumen during pregnancy in rats resulted in excessive decidualization. This effect was also observed after intrauterine infusion of a monoclonal antibody raised against PTHrP. The effect of infusion of PTH/PTHrP receptor antagonist was dependent upon successful implantation, was dose-dependent and confined to the treated horn. A decrease in the number of apoptotic decidual cells in antagonist-infused uterine horns compared with vehicle or non-infused horns was detected immunohistochemically at day 13 of pregnancy, and this decrease is likely to contribute to the 'over-decidualization' observed. In pseudopregnant rats, infusion of PTH/PTHrP receptor antagonist into the uterine lumen resulted in an increase in uterine wet weight of the infused horn compared with the non-infused horn, indicating a direct effect on deciduoma formation. Thus, activation of the PTH/PTHrP receptor by locally produced PTHrP appears to be crucial for normal decidualization during pregnancy in rats.

Aim: We compared the long-term results of two treatment regimes in avascular femoral head necrosis. Methods:We performed a retrospective clinical observational study on 19 hips that were operated on by core decompression and autologous bone impaction enhanced with platelet-rich plasma (platelet-rich plasma+bone autograft group). As a control, 13 hips were operated on by core decompression only (decompression group). Joint replacement was evaluated as the primary endpoint of the study, functional results were evaluated according to the Harris Hip Score and bone density measurements were performed.Results: Prosthesis implantation was significantly less frequent in the platelet-rich plasma+bone autograft group than in the decompression group (p<0.05). In the platelet-rich plasma+bone autograft group, operated hip function at follow-up declined according to advancement of the preoperative Ficat stages. No specific pattern in the bone density scoring was identified between the groups analyzed. Conclusion:The combination of platelet-rich plasma with core decompression and autologous bone impaction may be an effective method in lowering the need for hip prosthesis implantation in the treatment of femoral head avascular necrosis.