Differences in parents of pediatric liver transplantation and chronic liver disease patients.

BACKGROUND: With advancements in the treatment of chronic liver disease (CLD), including liver transplantation (LT), quality of life and satisfaction after LT have become an important issue for pediatric patients and their parents. More evidence-based information is needed to describe and assess the impact of pediatric CLD on parents and the satisfaction of parents with treatment to better understand their needs. AIM: To assess the satisfaction of parents of pediatric LT patients and that of parents of pediatric CLD patients. METHODS: During this survey, data were collected from parents of pediatric patients who underwent LT between January 2010 and April 2017 (LT group; n = 91) and parents of pediatric patients with chronic liver disease (CLD group; n = 94). Group comparisons were made based on the pediatric health-related quality of life (PedsQL) health care parent satisfaction scale, impact on family scale (IFS) and demographic characteristics. The PedsQL was administered to parents during a phone interview and the results were used to assess the health care-related satisfaction of parents. The IFS was used to assess the impact of the child's CLD status on the family. Demographic variables such as education level (elementary vs middle vs high vs university), monthly income (low vs middle vs high), and place of residence (village vs town vs city) were compared between CLD and LT parent groups. Finally, PedsQL and IFS results were also analyzed according to demographic variables. RESULTS: A total of 185 parents aged 19 to 65 years were included. There were statistically significant differences between the LT and CLD groups in terms of career (P < 0.001), monthly income (P = 0.016), and education level (P = 0.041). According to the PedsQL results, family inclusion, communication, technical skills, emotional needs, and overall satisfaction were significantly different between the groups; the LT group had consistently higher scores (P < 0.001). Additionally, scores for the IFS parameters of financial impact, familial-social impact, personal strain, and total impact were consistently higher for the LT group (P < 0.001). There were statistically significant relationships between education level, monthly income, and place of residence according to the IFS results but not the PedsQL results. There were inverse relationships between the difficulties that parents experience because of their child's health and education levels, monthly income, and place of residence. However, no relationship was found between education level, monthly income, or place of residence and satisfaction with health care services provided in the hospital according to the PedsQL results. CONCLUSION: Parents of children who underwent LT were very satisfied with the health care services provided to their children. However, they had more difficulties than parents of children with CLD.

Computational design of Phe-Tyr dipeptide and preparation, characterization, cytotoxicity studies of Phe-Tyr dipeptide loaded PLGA nanoparticles for the treatment of hypertension.

Phe-Tyr dipeptide which was investigated in Wakame food with greatest ACE-inhibitory activity is used as a pharmaceutical drug for the treatment of hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetic nephropathy. To improve the bioavailability of Phe-Tyr, a delivery system based on poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles loaded with Phe-Tyr (Phe-Tyr-PLGA NPs) for treating hypertension and cardiovascular diseases was prepared in this study. In the experiments, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and Phe-Tyr dipeptide-loaded PLGA nanoparticles were prepared using the double emulsion (w/o/w) method. The characterizations of the nanoparticles were performed with a UV-vis spectrometer, the Zeta-sizer system, and FTIR spectrometer. The optimum size of the Phe-Tyr dipeptide-loaded PLGA nanoparticle was obtained with a 213.8 nm average particle size, and a 0.061 polydispersity index, -19.5 mV zeta potential, 34% of loaded and 90.09% of encapsulation efficiency. From TEM analysis, it was clearly seen that the dipeptide loaded nanoparticles had the spherical and non-aggregated morphology and Phe-Tyr dipeptide loaded-PLGA nanoparticles were obtained successfully. Cell toxicity of nanoparticles at different concentrations was assayed with XTT methods on L929 fibroblast cells. This study determined that the nanoparticles have low toxicity at lower concentration and toxicity augmented with increasing concentration of dipeptide. To analyze the effect of solvents on structure of Phe-Tyr, Molecular dynamics simulation was performed with GROMACS program and molecular orbital calculations were carried out to obtain structural and electronic properties of dipeptide. Moreover, molecular docking calculations were also employed to model and predict protein-drug interactions.

Evaluation of collagen foam, poly(l-lactic acid) nanofiber mesh, and decellularized matrices for corneal regeneration.

Corneal tissue engineering efforts to obtain corneal tissue matrices through various types of materials for the replacement of damaged tissues. In this study, three different corneal constructs were prepared and evaluated in terms of morphological, optical, and biological characteristics. Type-I collagen was used to obtain collagen foam scaffolds through dehydrothermal crosslinking, while poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) was used to produce both random and aligned oriented electrospun corneal constructs. Bovine corneas were decellularized as third matrix. Software analyses showed that average pore size of collagen scaffolds was 88.207 ± 29.7 µm, while the average fiber diameter of aligned and random PLLA scaffolds were 0.69 ± 0.03 and 0.65 ± 0.03 µm, respectively. Degradation profiles revealed that collagen foam exhibits high degradation (20% mass loss) while electrospun PLLA scaffolds hold low degradation (9% mass loss) rates at day-28. Transmittance values of the obtained scaffolds were calculated as 92, 80, and 70% for collagen, PLLA, and decellularized cornea constructs, respectively. The evaluation of stromal keratocyte behavior on the constructs revealed that the cells exhibited their own morphology mostly on the aligned PLLA constructs, while they were mostly active on random PLLA electrospun corneal scaffolds. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 106B: 2157-2168, 2018.

Supercritical Carbon Dioxide-Assisted Decellularization of Aorta and Cornea.

Tissue engineering approaches utilize both natural and synthetic materials in the repair and regeneration processes. A naturally sourced material for this purpose is required to be free from any antigenic matter such as cells or cellular components. Decellularization of tissues may be achieved through chemical or physical removal agents. Supercritical carbon dioxide (sc-CO2) has been used on the purpose of removing bioburden from tissues and offers an alternative to the traditionally used treatment methods. In addition to many advantages it offers with regard to the successful decellularization of tissues, it is known to have a sterilization effect. This study provides an insight into sc-CO2-assisted decellularization trials of corneal and aortic tissues. Results showed that high pressure of the fluid bursts the cells during the treatment and rapid depressurization was found to be effective in the removal of the cells from the tissues. sc-CO2 decellularization offers significantly reduced treatment times, complete decellularization, and preserved extracellular matrix structure.