Impressive tissue regeneration of severe oral mucositis post stem cell transplantation using cord blood platelet gel.

BACKGROUND: Platelet gel from cord blood (CBPG) is a recently developed blood component for topical use. We report a case of life-threatening mucositis after high-dose chemotherapy with fotemustine and cytarabine that was successfully treated with CBPG. CASE REPORT: A patient with non-Hodgkin lymphoma who was undergoing autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation developed severe oral and esophageal mucositis with severe bacterial sepsis and cytomegalovirus infection, causing prolonged neutropenia. CBPG was topically administered daily to the oral cavity. The CBPG was partially reabsorbed and partially swallowed. RESULTS: After 8 consecutive days of administration, the patient's oral mucosa markedly improved, showing restitutio ad integrum, and the patient's clinical status progressively improved. No side effects were seen after CBPG application. CONCLUSION: This case supports the need to conduct controlled studies comparing the efficacy of autologous and allogeneic platelet gel from adult and umbilical cord blood for the topical treatment of severe oral mucositis occurring after high-dose chemotherapy.

Platelet gel: a new therapeutic tool with great potential.

Chronic wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers, represent a serious clinical problem for patients and clinicians. Management of these wounds has a strong economic impact worldwide. Complications resulting from injuries are a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality. Chronic wounds lead to infections, painful dressings and prolonged hospitalisation. This results in poor patient Quality of Life and in high healthcare costs. Platelet concentrates (PC) are defined as autologous or allogeneic platelet derivatives with a platelet concentration higher than baseline. PC are widely used in different areas of Regenerative Medicine in order to enhance wound healing processes; they include platelet-rich plasma (PRP), platelet gel (PG), platelet-rich fibrin (PRF), serum eye drops (E-S), and PRP eye drops (E-PRP). This review highlights the use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet gel (PG) preparation for clinical use.

A thicker intima-media carotid wall was found in a cohort of children with recent onset migraine.

AIM: Migraine affects approximately 10-20% of the general population, including children and adolescents, and an association between migraine and increased risks for cardiovascular disease and stroke have been reported in adult patients. This study aimed to address the lack of data on children with migraine. METHODS: This study comprised 30 children and adolescents (16 male) with migraine. We evaluated their biochemical profile, glucose homeostasis, vascular function by flow-mediated dilatation and arterial structure by carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT). A group of 32 age, sex and auxologically matched children (17 male) served as controls. RESULTS: The group of children with migraine had a normal biochemical profile and glucose homeostasis, but presented with significantly thicker cIMT than the control group (0.48 ± 0.07 mm versus 0.45 ± 0.04, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: We observed a significantly thicker cIMT in children with migraine compared with the controls. The brief time interval between the onset of the disease and the time of the study makes it unlikely that repetitive migraine attacks could be responsible for the thickening of the cIMT. Thus, it may be speculated that primitive vascular function abnormalities were wholly or partly responsible for the development of migraine in this paediatric cohort.

Healing of a soft tissue wound of the neck and jaw osteoradionecrosis using platelet gel.

AIM: Bone osteoradionecrosis is a serious complication of radiation treatment. Current treatment approaches are not curative and treatment response is often poor leading to high social and healthcare costs. CASE REPORT: We report on the first case of osteoradionecrosis with successful restitutio ab integro by repeated administration of platelet gel (PLT-gel) and surgery in a critically ill patient. The administration of PLT-gel during a severe septic episode helped regeneration of bone and soft tissues, shortening the hospital stay of the patient. It was also noted that following applications of PLT-gel, both the use of morphine and the numbers of infective episodes were reduced. CONCLUSION: Additional studies are needed to confirm the promising effect of PLT-gel for the treatment of osteoradionecrosis.