Lipoaspirate Storage Time and Temperature: Effects on Stromal Vascular Fraction Quality and Cell Composition.

The adipose tissue-derived stromal vascular fraction (SVF) is a promising candidate for use in cell therapy and tissue engineering due to its regenerative and immunomodulatory properties. Some therapies are based on using the complete SVF product, whereas others depend on the expansion of adipose-derived stromal cells (ASCs) in culture. The latter application often involves a time delay between adipose tissue harvest and SVF isolation. This study investigated how storage time and temperature affected cell quality and composition. Aliquots of lipoaspirate were stored cold (4°C), at room temperature (18-20°C), or at 37°C. SVF was isolated on sequential time points over a period of 48 h, and the following were assessed: cell viability, vitality, composition, and the proliferative potential of the ASCs. When the lipoaspirate was stored cold, the viability of the SVF remained stable for up to 48 h; however, the vitality of the SVF decreased significantly after 24 h. When stored at higher temperatures (room temperature or 37°C), the vitality of the SVF decreased after 8 h. The ASC fraction in the SVF decreased rapidly after 8 h when stored at higher temperatures, whereas this change was delayed significantly when the lipoaspirate was stored cold. Tendencies towards increases in the lag phase, population doubling time (PDt), and time to reach confluency were observed when the lipoaspirate was stored at higher temperatures. The vitality of the SVF was correlated significantly with the time of the lag phase and the time required to reach confluence, whereas no correlation was observed with the PDt. Both prolonged storage time and increased temperature during lipoaspirate storage negatively affected the quality of the obtained SVF. Our results suggest that lipoaspirate should be stored for no longer than 24 h at 4°C to maintain the optimal quality for the isolation of SVF and the expansion of ASCs.

Repeatability of Volume and Regional Body Composition Measurements of the Lower Limb Using Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry.

Lower limb lymphedema is a dynamic condition in which tissue composition and volume measurements are affected. Various definitions of lower limb lymphedema exist but volume differences between the limbs are widely used. It is therefore necessary to have a readily available noninvasive measurement technique allowing multiple measurements of the lower limbs. This study investigated the repeatability of duplicate volume and regional body composition measurements of the lower limb using the GE Lunar Prodigy dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanner Prodigy (GE Medical Systems, Madison, WI). Twenty-seven participants (54 limbs), 14 women and 13 men aged 33-71 years with body mass index ranging from 14 to 32 kg/m2 were recruited. Duplicate whole-body DXA scans were performed with repositioning between examinations. Regions of interest were manually drawn for the thigh, lower leg, and foot, and total volume was calculated using the density of bone mineral content, fat, and lean mass. The repeatability of the volume of the lower limb and regional thigh and lower leg tissue composition (bone mineral content, fat, and lean mass) was good with intraclass correlation coefficient values of 0.97 to 0.99, and narrow limits of agreement on the Bland-Altman plots. These results confirm DXA to be a highly repeatable method for volume and tissue composition measurements of the lower limb. In a population at risk of lymphedema, DXA offers a clinically readily available noninvasive method allowing multiple measurements of volume and tissue composition on a routine basis, important for diagnosing, monitoring, managing, and researching lymphedema.

Maternal early-life trauma and affective parenting style: the mediating role of HPA-axis function.

A history of childhood trauma is associated with increased risk for psychopathology and interpersonal difficulties in adulthood and, for those who have children, impairments in parenting and increased risk of negative outcomes in offspring. Physiological and behavioral mechanisms are poorly understood. In the current study, maternal history of childhood trauma was hypothesized to predict differences in maternal affect and HPA axis functioning. Mother-infant dyads (N = 255) were assessed at 6 months postpartum. Mothers were videotaped during a 3-min naturalistic interaction, and their behavior was coded for positive, neutral, and negative affect. Maternal salivary cortisol was measured six times across the study visit, which also included an infant stressor paradigm. Results showed that childhood trauma history predicted increased neutral affect and decreased mean cortisol in the mothers and that cortisol mediated the association between trauma history and maternal affect. Maternal depression was not associated with affective measures or cortisol. Results suggest that early childhood trauma may disrupt the development of the HPA axis, which in turn impairs affective expression during mother-infant interactions in postpartum women. Interventions aimed at treating psychiatric illness in postpartum women may benefit from specific components to assess and treat trauma-related symptoms and prevent secondary effects on parenting.

Prenatal Psychostimulant and Antidepressant Exposure and Risk of Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association, if any, of prenatal mental illness and psychotropic exposure with the risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP). METHODS: A case-cohort analysis was conducted of 686 pregnant women participating in prospective, longitudinal observational studies in a tertiary referral center between January 1998 and May 2012. Risk estimates were produced using multivariate logistic regression modeling. Medication- and diagnosis-specific data were utilized to conduct post hoc confirmatory analyses of the risk estimates. RESULTS: After adjustment for confounders, HDP were significantly associated with psychostimulant (odds ratio [OR] = 6.11; 95% CI, 1.79-20.9) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) (OR = 2.57; 95%, 1.34-4.93) exposure following the 20th week of gestation and lifetime histories of cocaine dependence (OR = 2.99; 95% CI, 1.12-7.98) and panic disorder (OR = 1.78; 95% CI, 1.06-2.98) using DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. HDP risk was not associated with prenatal selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor exposure or other psychiatric disorders. Post hoc analyses demonstrated an increased risk for HDP with higher maternal daily doses of amphetamine psychostimulants and the SNRI venlafaxine. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that psychostimulant and SNRI exposure following the 20th week of gestation conveys considerable risk for the emergence of HDP. Overall, the findings suggest that heightened vascular reactivity to noradrenergic, rather than serotonergic, stimulation may be pivotal to HDP risk among women with psychiatric illness.

Coping with the challenges of living in an Indonesian residential institution.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe challenges and strategies for coping with these challenges among individuals living in an institutional setting. METHOD: This study used a qualitative approach to analyze the interviews of fourteen participants (11 males and 3 females) ages 10-24 residing in an Indonesian residential institution (orphanage and Muslim boarding school). RESULTS: Insufficient access to educational resources and basic necessities were major concerns of the participants, as was the residential institution's unresponsiveness and the lack of connection experienced by residents. Individuals coped with these challenges by turning to others for social support and by trying to change the focus of their thoughts, such as to more pleasant thoughts or simply to mentally disengage. CONCLUSIONS: Some youths and young adults residing in institutions such as a residential institution demonstrate resilience at the individual level by utilizing coping strategies to address problems in obtaining adequate educational, material and psychological support. However, because inadequacies in these kinds of support ultimately impede psychosocial development, it is imperative to develop solutions for addressing these problems at the institutional and societal level rather than at the level of individual youths and young adults.