Biography
Malihe-Sadat Poormasjedi-Meibod has completed her PhD at University of British Columbia and currently working as a Postdoctoral research fellow at International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries. She has published 9 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as the President of the Canadian Biomaterial Society BC student chapter since 2012.
Abstract
More than 15 million patients develop pathological scarring each year following elective operations, surgical procedures and deep dermal trauma. These scars, that cause major functional, cosmetic, psychological and social consequences for the patients, impose a significant financial burden on health care systems. The current treatment modalities for these pathological conditions vary from topical application and intralesional injection of anti-scarring agents to surgical revisions and radiotherapy. The limited efficacy of this therapeutics for prevention of scar formation raised a great need for innovation within the wound care industry. Recently Kynurenine (Kyn), a tryptophan metabolite has been identified as a potent anti-fibrotic agent. Kyn prevents scar formation by enhancing the expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) degrading enzymes, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and suppressing the expression of collagen. Although daily topical application of Kyn-cream improved the wound-healing outcome in animal models, this method of drug delivery is not clinically practical in situations where dressings need to be kept on for 3-5 days. In this study, we report the fabrication of nano-fibrous wound dressing for slow and controlled release of Kyn or its metabolites. In addition, we evaluated the anti-scarring efficacy of these dressings in vitro and in open wounds in animal models. The findings of this study demonstrated that development of an anti-fibrogenic dressing is feasible and as such its application would overcome the difficulties associated with development of hypertrophic scarring frequently seen in millions of patients worldwide.
Biography
John Zade was graduated with an Honorary Bachelors of Science from Binghamton University and he is currently pursuing his Medical degree. He is a Research Fellow at Columbia University and Mount Sinai in the Department of Dermatology. He is the author of two pending medical patents and has co-authored published papers in reputed journals.
Abstract
The injection of soft tissue augmentation products or fillers is now a commonplace aesthetic procedure. When the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) conducted a survey in 2014 of the most common non-surgical procedures in the United States, it found the injection of hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers was the second only to botulinum toxin injections. Hyaluronic acids have a superior safety profile when compared with other soft tissue augmentation products because they exhibit minimal tissue reactivity while being reversible with commercially available hyaluronidase preparations. As such, the storage of HA fillers has come under scrutiny in recent years and the use of these products past their expiration date has come to light. While not uncommon, reuse of HA fillers after opening or past their expiration date is not recommended by manufacturers and has led to controversy since the science behind these practices is infrequently studied. In our study, we cultured 17 used and unused HA fillers from syringes that were stored in recommended conditions but had passed their expiration dates (range of 9 months to 3 years). Analysis did not reveal a single case of bacterial growth in any of our samples. However, more studies are needed before conclusive statements can be drawn from these data. In addition, samples were not analyzed for physical degradation that may reduce the filler’s in vivo effectiveness.