Comparing the incidence of postoperative painful bladder spasm between malecot catheter and 3-way Foley catheter: a clinical trial.

Background: In this study, the effect of Pezzer (as a Pezzer catheter) and three-way Foley catheters, used for suprapubic catheterization after open prostatectomy, was investigated in terms of early incidence of painful bladder spasms. Materials and methods: In this single-blind clinical trial study, 160 patients diagnosed with LUTS/BPH were placed in two groups of 80 Pezzer catheter (Pezzer(size 28)) and three-way Foley catheters (size 24) for suprapubic catheterization. The evaluated variables in this study are age, prostate weight, narcotics dose, Spasm frequency, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), visual analogue scale (VAS), catheterization period. Results: The frequency of spasm in Foley group was significantly lower (4.4±7.26 vs. 6.28±4.4; P value=0.000). There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding the frequency of dysuria (P value=0.3). Conclusion: The findings of our study showed that despite slightly favourable results in using suprapubic Foley catheter compared to Pezzer catheters in patients with open prostatectomy in terms of pain and spasm frequency, there was no significant difference between the use of these two types of catheters.

Towards the development of sensation-enabled skin substitutes.

Recent advances in cell and biofabrication technologies have contributed to the development of complex human organs. In particular, several skin substitutes are being generated using tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) technologies. However, recent studies mainly focus on the restoration of the dermis and epidermis layers rather than the regeneration of a fully functional innervated skin organ. Innervation is a critical step in functional tissue repair which has been overlooked in the current TERM studies. In the current study, we highlight the importance of sensation in the skin as the largest sensory organ in the human body. In large non-healing skin wounds, the skin sensation is severely diminished or completely lost and ultimately lead to chronic pain and wound healing process interruption. Current therapeutics for restoring skin sensation after trauma are limited. Recent regenerative medicine-based studies could successfully induce neural networks in skin substitutes, but the effectiveness of these technologies in enhancing sensory capability needs further investigation.

Emerging biomaterials and technologies to control stem cell fate and patterning in engineered 3D tissues and organoids.

The ability to create complex three-dimensional cellular models that can effectively replicate the structure and function of human organs and tissues in vitro has the potential to revolutionize medicine. Such models could facilitate the interrogation of developmental and disease processes underpinning fundamental discovery science, vastly accelerate drug development and screening, or even be used to create tissues for implantation into the body. Realization of this potential, however, requires the recreation of complex biochemical, biophysical, and cellular patterns of 3D tissues and remains a key challenge in the field. Recent advances are being driven by improved knowledge of tissue morphogenesis and architecture and technological developments in bioengineering and materials science that can create the multidimensional and dynamic systems required to produce complex tissue microenvironments. In this article, we discuss challenges for in vitro models of tissues and organs and summarize the current state-of-the art in biomaterials and bioengineered systems that aim to address these challenges. This includes both top-down technologies, such as 3D photopatterning, magnetism, acoustic forces, and cell origami, as well as bottom-up patterning using 3D bioprinting, microfluidics, cell sheet technology, or composite scaffolds. We illustrate the varying ways that these can be applied to suit the needs of different tissues and applications by focussing on specific examples of patterning the bone-tendon interface, kidney organoids, and brain cancer models. Finally, we discuss the challenges and future prospects in applying materials science and bioengineering to develop high-quality 3D tissue structures for in vitro studies.

Carrageenans for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications: A review.

Biomaterials are considered a substantial building block for tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and drug delivery. Despite using both organic and inorganic biomaterials in these fields, polymeric biomaterials are the most promising candidates because of their versatility in their characteristics (i.e., physical, chemical, and biological). Mainly, naturally-derived polymers are of great interest due to their inherent bioactivity. Derived from red seaweeds, carrageenan (CG) is a naturally-occurring polysaccharide that has shown promise as a biopolymer for various biomedical applications. CG possesses unique characteristics, including antiviral, immunomodulatory, anticoagulant, antioxidant, and anticancer properties, making it an appealing candidate for tissue engineering and drug delivery research. This review summarizes the versatile properties of CG and the chemical modifications applied to it. In addition, it highlights some of the most promising research that takes advantage of CG to formulate and fabricate scaffolds and/or drug delivery systems with high potential for tissue repair and disease curing.

Polymeric long-acting drug delivery systems (LADDS) for treatment of chronic diseases: Inserts, patches, wafers, and implants.

Non-oral long-acting drug delivery systems (LADDS) encompass a range of technologies for precisely delivering drug molecules into target tissues either through the systemic circulation or via localized injections for treating chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer, and brain disorders as well as for age-related eye diseases. LADDS have been shown to prolong drug release from 24 h up to 3 years depending on characteristics of the drug and delivery system. LADDS can offer potentially safer, more effective, and patient friendly treatment options compared to more invasive modes of drug administration such as repeated injections or minor surgical intervention. Whilst there is no single technology or definition that can comprehensively embrace LADDS; for the purposes of this review, these systems include solid implants, inserts, transdermal patches, wafers and in situ forming delivery systems. This review covers common chronic illnesses, where candidate drugs have been incorporated into LADDS, examples of marketed long-acting pharmaceuticals, as well as newly emerging technologies, used in the fabrication of LADDS.

Wound Healing: From Passive to Smart Dressings.

The universal increase in the number of patients with nonhealing skin wounds imposes a huge social and economic burden on the patients and healthcare systems. Although, the application of traditional wound dressings contributes to an effective wound healing outcome, yet, the complexity of the healing process remains a major health challenge. Recent advances in materials and fabrication technologies have led to the fabrication of dressings that provide proper conditions for effective wound healing. The 3D-printed wound dressings, biomolecule-loaded dressings, as well as smart and flexible bandages are among the recent alternatives that have been developed to accelerate wound healing. Additionally, the new generation of wound dressings contains a variety of microelectronic sensors for real-time monitoring of the wound environment and is able to apply required actions to support the healing progress. Moreover, advances in manufacturing flexible microelectronic sensors enable the development of the next generation of wound dressing substrates, known as electronic skin, for real-time monitoring of the whole physiochemical markers in the wound environment in a single platform. The current study reviews the importance of smart wound dressings as an emerging strategy for wound care management and highlights different types of smart dressings for promoting the wound healing process.