Impact of oral clefts on the oral health-related quality of life of preschool children and their parents.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of preschool children with cleft lip and palate (CLP) and their relatives. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 55 2-5-year-old children with the history of CLP were randomly selected from those referred to Shiraz Lip and Palate Cleft Research Center and treated with single-stage closure (Push back palatoplasty). Furthermore, same number of children with the same age who attended the Shiraz School of Dentistry for routine dental care were selected as control group using randomized sampling. Children's demographic data were obtained from their parents. Farsi version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (F-ECOHIS) was used for evaluating these children's QoL. RESULTS: We found a significant difference in OHRQoL between children with CLP and children without CLP in the overall score of F-ECOHIS and all of subscales. In the impact on children subscale, the difference between these groups was remarkable in limitations' domain. As for difficulties faced by children, question on "difficulty in pronouncing words" had the highest average score. Furthermore, in impact on family, in parental distress domain, the difference between these groups was remarkable. For difficulties faced by family, financial impact got the highest average score. No significant difference was found between boys and girls with CLP in all subscales. While according to the score of total F-ECOHIS in unilateral and bilateral CLP children, there was statistically significant difference in these groups. CONCLUSION: Since oral clefts affect the QoL of children and their families even after the usual treatments, the implementation and maintenance of multidisciplinary interventional strategies are required for establishment of facial esthetics, oral function, and psychological support for such individuals.

Peptide-biofunctionalization of biomaterials for osteochondral tissue regeneration in early stage osteoarthritis: challenges and opportunities.

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease characterized by the progressive deterioration of articular cartilage, synovial inflammation and changes in periarticular and subchondral bone, being a leading cause of disability. Conventional treatments present several side effects and can involve the use of painkillers and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. In this sense, researchers have shifted the focus of new therapeutics to biomolecular agents and/or their combination with cells. However, the efficacy of these molecules is dependent on their metabolization which can differ according to the administration route and delivery approach. Consequently, a tissue engineering strategy comprising the use of biomaterials can provide support for neo-tissue osteochondral repair/regeneration whilst conferring proper mechanical and functional features as well as protecting biomolecular agents from premature degradation. The current strategies and challenges used in biomaterials functionalization with peptides that can mimic ECM proteins or other natural soluble biomolecules, important to induce the complex interactions between cells and the ECM, are discussed herein. Many opportunities for treating OA are being explored by means of peptide-biofunctionalization of biomaterials which can be designed to be recognizable, induce differentiation, prevent infection, degrade at an intended rate or act as drug delivery systems for controlled release or even as simple triggers of cell behavior.

Augmenting the bioactivity of polyetheretherketone using a novel accelerated neutral atom beam technique.

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is an alternative to metallic implants in orthopedic applications; however, PEEK is bioinert and does not osteointegrate. In this study, an accelerated neutral atom beam technique (ANAB) was employed to improve the bioactivity of PEEK. The aim was to investigate the growth of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), human osteoblasts (hOB), and skin fibroblasts (BR3G) on PEEK and ANAB PEEK. METHODS: The surface roughness and contact angle of PEEK and ANAB PEEK was measured. Cell metabolic activity, proliferation and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was measured and cell attachment was determined by quantifying adhesion plaques with cells. RESULTS: ANAB treatment increased the surface hydrophilicity [91.74 ± 4.80° (PEEK) vs. 74.82 ± 2.70° (ANAB PEEK), p < 0.001] but did not alter the surface roughness. Metabolic activity and proliferation for all cell types significantly increased on ANAB PEEK compared to PEEK (p < 0.05). Significantly increased cell attachment was measured on ANAB PEEK surfaces. MSCs seeded on ANAB PEEK in the presence of osteogenic media, expressed increased levels of ALP compared to untreated PEEK (p < 0.05) CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated that ANAB treatment increased the cell attachment, metabolic activity, and proliferation on PEEK. ANAB treatment may improve the osteointegration of PEEK implants. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 1438-1446, 2017.