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Multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) promise a therapeutic alternative for many debilitating and incurable diseases. However, one of the major limitations for the therapeutic application of human MSC (hMSC) is the lengthy ex vivo expansion time for preparing a sufficient amount of cells due to the low engraftment rate after transplantation. To solve this conundrum, a porous biodegradable polymeric microsphere was investigated as a potential scaffold for the delivery of MSCs. The modified water/oil/water (W1/O/W2) double emulsion solvent evaporation method was used for the construction of porous microspheres. PEI1.8k was blended with Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) to enhance electrostatic cellular attachment to the microspheres. The porous PLGA/PEI1.8k (PPP) particles demonstrated an average particle size of 290 µm and an average pore size of 14.3 µm, providing a micro-carrier for the MSC delivery. PPP particles allowed for better attachment of rMSCs than nonporous PLGA/PEI1.8k (NPP) particles and non-porous (NP) and porous PLGA (PP) microspheres. rMSC successfully grew on the PPP particles for 2 weeks in vitro. Next, PPP particles loaded with 3 different amounts of hMSC showed increased in vivo engraftment rates and maintained the stemness characteristics of hMSC compared with hMSCs-alone group in rats 2 weeks after intramyocardial administration. These customized PPP particles for MSC delivery are a biodegradable and injectable scaffold that can be used for clinical applications.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVESRecent studies showed vitamin D deficiency is linked to chronic diseases in addition to skeletal metabolism which could threaten the elderly. We analyzed health conditions and socio-demographic factors associated with vitamin D deficiency in community dwelling people aged 65 years and older.SUBJECTS/METHODData from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2010 to 2012 were obtained. A total of 2,687 subjects aged 65 years and older were participated. The cutoff value of the Vitamin D deficiency was considered as serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] ≤ 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L).RESULTSThe overall prevalence rate of vitamin D deficiency in the elderly was 62.1%. The factors such as female, obesity, metabolic syndrome, current smoker, and skipping breakfast were positively associated with vitamin D deficiency, but high intensity of physical activity and more than 9 hours of sleep duration were negatively associated with vitamin D deficiency (all P < 0.05).CONCLUSIONSIt is important that health professions know that the factors proved in this study are connected to vitamin D deficiency thus provide information and intervention strategies of vitamin D deficiency to old aged people.

ObjectiveTo establish the reliability and validity the Korean version of the Stroke Impact Scale (K-SIS) 3.0.MethodsA total of 70 post-stroke patients were enrolled. All subjects were evaluated for general characteristics, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Modified Barthel Index, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The SF-36 and K-SIS 3.0 assessed their health-related quality of life. Statistical analysis after evaluation, determined the reliability and validity of the K-SIS 3.0.ResultsA total of 70 patients (mean age, 54.97 years) participated in this study. Internal consistency of the SIS 3.0 (Cronbach's alpha) was obtained, and all domains had good co-efficiency, with threshold above 0.70. Test-retest reliability of SIS 3.0 required correlation (Spearman's rho) of the same domain scores obtained on the first and second assessments. Results were above 0.5, with the exception of social participation and mobility. Concurrent validity of K-SIS 3.0 was assessed using the SF-36, and other scales with the same or similar domains. Each domain of K-SIS 3.0 had a positive correlation with corresponding similar domain of SF-36 and other scales (HADS, MMSE, and NIHSS).ConclusionThe newly developed K-SIS 3.0 showed high inter-intra reliability and test-retest reliabilities, together with high concurrent validity with the original and various other scales, for patients with stroke. K-SIS 3.0 can therefore be used for stroke patients, to assess their health-related quality of life and treatment efficacy.

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