Rui Damásio Alvites

By Rui Damásio Alvites, Ana Rita Caseiro Santos, Artur Severo Proença Varejão and Ana Colette Pereira de Castro Osório Maurício

The peripheral nerve injury after trauma is a common occurrence in both human and veterinary medicine and has severe consequences for the survival and quality of life of the patients. Despite the continuous efforts and the creation of diverse medical and surgical techniques, the harmful effects of this type of injury are far from being overcome. Regenerative medicine has been growing in the scientific milieu as a new therapeutic approach for different situations. Among the cell-based therapies explored, the mesenchymal stem cells are evidenced by their features, versatility and potential applications. The olfactory mucosa mesenchymal stem cells, components of the olfactory system and identified in the lamina propria, were newly identified and are still undergoing characterization, appearing as a new promise in the regenerative therapy of several tissues but with special emphasis on the nervous system in general and the peripheral nervous system in particular, for which they appear to have special regenerative aptitude.

Part of the book: Mesenchymal Stem Cells

By Mariana Esteves Vieira Branquinho, Ana Rita Caseiro, Sílvia Santos Pedrosa, Rui Damásio Alvites and Ana Colette Maurício

Musculoskeletal injuries impact millions of people globally and affect their health and well-being as well as of their companion and athletic animals. Soft-tissue injuries represent almost half of these and are associated with unorganized scar tissue formation and long time-depending healing processes. Cell-based therapeutic strategies have been developed in the past decades aiming at the treatment and reversion of such disorders. Stem cells are fairly appealing in the field, being a responsive undifferentiated population, with ability to self-renew and differentiate into different lineages. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be obtained from several adult tissues, including the synovial membrane. Synovia-derived MSCs can be found in individuals of any age and are associated to intrinsic regenerative processes, through both paracrine and cell-to-cell interactions, thus, contributing to hosts’ healing capacity. Studies have demonstrated the potential benefit of synovia-derived MSCs in these regenerative processes in both human and veterinary medicine. The purpose of this chapter is to review the literature regarding SM-MSC therapies applied to musculoskeletal disorders, in both human and veterinary medicine.

Part of the book: Tissue Regeneration

By Rui Damásio Alvites, Mariana Vieira Branquinho, Ana Rita Caseiro, Sílvia Santos Pedrosa, Ana Lúcia Luís, Stefano Geuna, Artur Severo Proença Varejão and Ana Colette Maurício

Peripheral nerve injuries remain a common clinical complication, and currently available therapies present significant limitations, often resulting in poor and suboptimal outcomes. Despite significant developments in microsurgical approaches in the last decades, no effective treatment options have been disclosed. Current research focuses on the optimization of such microsurgical techniques and on their combination with other pro-regenerative factors, such as mesenchymal stem cells or biomaterials. Mesenchymal stem cells present a remarkable capacity for bioactive molecule production that modulates inflammatory and regenerative processes, stimulating peripheral nerve regeneration. In parallel, efforts have been directed towards the development of biomaterial nerve guidance channels and nerve conduits. These biomaterials have been optimized in terms of biodegradability, ability to release bioactive factors, incorporation of cellular agents, and internal matrix architecture (to enable cellular migration and mimic native tissue morphology and to generate and bear specific electrical activity). The current literature review presents relevant advances in the development of mesenchymal stem cell and biomaterial-based therapeutic approaches aiming at the peripheral nerve tissue regeneration in diverse lesion scenarios, also exploring the advances achieved by our research group in this field in recent years.

Part of the book: Peripheral Nerve Disorders and Treatment

By Carolina Mesquita, Bruna Lopes, Patrícia Sousa, Mariana Branquinho, Ana Catarina Sousa, Ana Lúcia Luís, Rui Alvites and Ana Colette Maurício

Stem cells have been extensively studied in the field of veterinary medicine due to their unique characteristics. The last are undifferentiated cells with self-renewal, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory capacity. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are widely used due to its simple isolation and expansion, being collected from different sources such as adipose tissue, bone marrow, peripheral blood, and umbilical cord. For that reason, MSCs have been studied and used as innovative therapies in the treatment of several diseases, such as tendinitis, bone regeneration, osteoarthritis, neuromuscular diseases, heart diseases, respiratory diseases, kidney disorders, ophthalmology, oncology, and dermatology. Concerning dermatological problems, the number of skin diseases in animals has been increasing in recent years. Skin diseases may be related to genetic conditions, external aggressions, or immunological disorders. Many of these skin pathologies are chronic, reason why the animals are subjected to long-term therapies, which can have deleterious side effects. This review aims to highlight the importance of cell-based therapies, using MSCs from different origins and their secretome, in the field of veterinary dermatology and in immune-mediated diseases such as atopic dermatitis, furunculosis, anal vasculitis, and scar tissue regeneration. These approaches should be further explored, as they have revealed promising results in the search for novel therapies.

Part of the book: Wound Healing

By Nuno Alexandre, Gonçalo Simões, António Martinho Lopes, Tarcísio Guerra Guimarães, Bruna Lopes, Patrícia Sousa, Ana Catarina Sousa, Rui Damásio Alvites and Ana Colette Maurício

The mastery of concepts related to biomechanics in bone fracture is crucial for the surgical success of osteosynthesis. The understanding of the basics of bone fracture is a skill fundamental to the choice of the correct method of osteosynthesis. Deep knowledge of implants, namely, their mechanic characteristics, and the correct technical use following the recommended guidelines for each type are crucial factors to decrease surgical failure and complications rate. This chapter reviews the biomechanical parameters of fracture repair that influence construct stiffness and strength. The authors also provided practical examples of the biomechanics concepts applied in clinical practice during this chapter. Metal alloys used in orthopedic implants are also fundamentally reviewed in their physical properties during this chapter. Fracture patterns vary hugely among patients and contributed to the difficult understanding of forces acting in fracture lines. However, fracture biomechanics basic knowledge and how osteosynthesis methods counteract the forces acting on fractures are key to surgical success.

Part of the book: Biomechanical Insights into Osteoporosis