Lyophilised tilapia skin as a xenograft for superficial partial thickness burns: a novel preparation and storage technique.

Despite a considerable decrease in its incidence worldwide, burns remain the fourth most common type of trauma. The majority of burns are small, with 75% of injuries treated on an outpatient basis. Tilapia skin, as a biological material, has been suggested as an option for the management of burn wounds. After good results were obtained with the use of a glycerolised version of tilapia skin in burned children and adults, it was hypothesised that similar outcomes could be achieved with the use of a lyophilised version of tilapia skin. We report the case of a 33-year-old female patient with scalds to the upper abdomen, and both breasts, arms and forearms. Involvement of 10% of total body surface area with superficial partial thickness burns was calculated. The good adherence of tilapia skin to the wound bed, a 10-day period for complete re-epithelialisation of the wounds and the absence of side effects suggested that the lyophilised version of tilapia skin is effective for burn treatment. Compared with glycerolisation, lyophilisation is thought to permit extended storage of sterile tissue and decreased costs related to distribution and transport, but further studies are needed to confirm this.

Antispasmodic effects of eugenol on rat airway smooth muscle.

This study was undertaken to assess the effects of eugenol (EUG) on tracheal muscle (TM) and the putative mechanisms underlying these effects. Cumulatively increasing concentrations (1-1000 µm) of EUG did not affect the resting tonus of TM. However, EUG (1-2000 µm) reduced the contractions induced by electrical field stimulation (IC(50) = 842.3 ± 52.7 µm), an effect that was unaltered by either 10 µm montelukast (IC(50) = 816.1 ± 70.1 µm) or 2 µm indomethacin (IC(50) = 693.1 ± 170.8 µm). EUG also completely relaxed the sustained contractile responses to 80 mM K(+) (IC(50) = 597.3 ± 60.6 µm) and 1 µm carbamoylcholine (IC(50) = 571.3 ± 148.8 µm), an effect that was unaltered by indomethacin (2 µm). Under Ca(2+) -free conditions, EUG reduced the ACh-induced contractions (IC(50) = 703.4 ± 256.1 µm), the CaCl2 -induced contractions in preparations pretreated with 60 µm ACh in the presence of nifedipine, and the Ba(2+) -induced contractions in preparations depolarized with K(+) . In tracheal preparations maintained in Ca(2+) -containing solution, EUG (300-2000 µm) relaxed the contractile response to phorbol dibutyrate (1 µm), an activator of protein kinase C. It is concluded that in TM, EUG induces a myogenic antispasmodic effect (not modulated by arachidonic acid derivatives) either through various mechanisms almost with the same pharmacological potency or via an action on a step common to all of them. These mechanisms seem to include blockade of voltage- and receptor-operated Ca(2+) channels, IP3 -induced Ca(2+) release from sarcoplasmic reticulum and reduction of the sensitivity of contractile proteins to Ca(2+) .