Subchondral bone cyst surgical treatment using the application of stem progenitor cells combined with alginate hydrogel in small joints in horses.

One of the most common reasons for horse lameness is subchondral bone cysts (SBCs), which are especially evident in young horse athletes. It is believed that SBC development is strongly associated with an individual's bone growth and/or bone microstructure impairment. Current methods of SBC treatment include pharmacological treatment or surgical procedures which may allow the bone within the cyst to rebuild and be restored to properly developed bone tissue. Thus, we propose filling the SBCs with a 3D complex of alginate hydrogel and autologous adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs). We have observed at the in vitro level, that this hydrogel complex induces osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation potential through the upregulation of bone morphogenetic protein, osteopontin, collagen type I and aggrecan mRNA levels. Moreover, we detected the creation of a 3D extracellular matrix (EM). To investigate the complex in vivo, we chose 8 horses of varying age suffering from SBC, which resulted in lameness, to undergo experimental surgery. We documented the horses' clinical appearance, lameness and radiographic appearance, to determine that there was clinical improvement in 87.75% of the patients (n=7, out of 8 horses) 6 months postoperatively and 100% (n=8, out of 8 horses) a year after surgery. These results are promising for the potential of this procedure to become the standard in SBC treatment.

High tech, high touch: common denominators in patient satisfaction.

An ongoing Patient Satisfaction Study at Foothills Hospital, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, has surveyed 1,300 discharged patients in the past year as a means of empirically measuring levels of satisfaction during the patients' hospital experiences. The survey was designed according to proven market attitude research techniques and uses those dimensions identified as important by patients interviewed in the preliminary research. The study indicates that "being treated as an individual" and "having timely, adequate information about my condition" are more important to patient satisfaction than medical outcome. Patients have expressed strong support for the study, indicating that they want to be more actively involved in the decision-making process concerning their care and treatment. The feedback generated by the study offers hospitals a marketing tool and a valuable opportunity to work together with patients to provide the best healthcare possible at the best cost.