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The effective and long-term treatment of cartilage defects is an unmet need among patients worldwide. In the past, several synthetic and natural biomaterials have been designed to support functional articular cartilage formation. However, they have mostly failed to enhance the terminal stage of chondrogenic differentiation, leading to scar tissue formation after the operation. Growth factors substantially regulate cartilage regeneration by acting on receptors to trigger intracellular signaling and cell recruitment for tissue regeneration. In this study, we investigated the effect of recombinant insulin-like growth factor 1 (rIGF-1), loaded in fibrin microbeads (FibIGF1), on cartilage regeneration. rIGF-1-loaded fibrin microbeads were injected into full-thickness cartilage defects in the knees of goats. The stability, integration, and quality of tissue repair were evaluated at 1 and 6 months by gross morphology, histology, and collagen type II staining. The in vivo results showed that compared to plain fibrin samples, particularly at 6 months, FibIGF1 improved the functional cartilage formation, confirmed through gross morphology, histology, and collagen type II immunostaining. FibIGF1 could be a promising candidate for cartilage repair in the clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Orthopedic surgeons often use the intra-articular white blood counts (WBCs) and the percentage of polymorphonuclear cells (PMN) in the diagnosis of an acute swollen and painful knee joint in children. Today, there is no established threshold for the synovial WBC, and their differentiation, as indicative of native joint knee bacterial arthritis. We determine the sensitivity and specificity of synovial WBCs and PMN percentages in the prediction of a community-acquired, acute bacterial native joint septic arthritis (SA) in the pediatric population. Methods: A retrospective study on healthy children 0–16 years of age who underwent knee joint aspiration for a community-acquired, acute irritable knee effusion in our tertiary-care children's hospital between May 2009 and April 2019 was conducted. We divided the study population into two groups according to the detection of bacterial arthritis in the synovial fluid (bacterial arthritis versus its absence) and compared the intra-articular leukocyte and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. Results: Overall, we found a statistically significant difference regarding the total CRP (p = 0.017), leukocyte or PMN counts (p ≤ 0.001 in favor of a bacterial arthritis). In contrast, the percentage of the neutrophils was not determinant for the later confirmation of bacterial pathogens, and we were unable to establish diagnostically determining minimal thresholds of the intra-articular CRP and leukocyte levels. Conclusions: This pilot study suggests that either the leukocyte or PMN counts may be associated with a bacterial origin of knee arthritis in children. We plan a larger prospective interventional study in the future to confirm these findings including the investigation of other joint aspirate biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, Kingella kingae is considered an important cause of primary spinal infections in children aged between 6 and 48 months. The presentation of the disease is often characterized by mild clinical features and a moderate biological inflammatory response, requiring a high index of suspicion. Performing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and obtaining an oropharyngeal specimen and subjecting it to a K. kingae-specific nucleic acid amplification test are recommended for its diagnosis. Most patients respond promptly to conservative treatment after administration of antibiotic therapy, which is prolonged for up to 3 months according to the individual clinical and biological response. Invasive surgical procedures are not required except for children who do not improve with antibiotic treatment, develop signs of cord compression, or if the presence of atypical microorganisms is suspected. Kingella kingae spinal infections usually run an indolent and benign clinical course, living no permanent sequelae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]