AMIC Technique for the Treatment of Chondral Injuries of the Hand and Wrist

Scaffolds, either alone or combined with cultured chondrocyte cells, are an effective treatment for chondral or osteochondral defects of the knee and ankle joints.Scaffolds are a more sophisticated solution and have some advantages compared with the isolated use of the more traditional treatments of microfractures or nanofractures.In addition, scaffolds represent a less complicated technique and a less expensive treatment compared with chondrocyte culture treatments, which are accessible by very few patients.In the present article, we detail the surgical technique and provide advices and tips for the treatment of ostecochondral hand and wrist lesions using the Chondro-Gide (Geistlich Pharma AG, Wolhausen, Switzerland) scaffold and its patented autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis (AMIC, Geistlich Pharma AG) technique.

New Perspectives in Joint Cartilage Treatment with Special Emphasis on New Types of Hydrogels: a Review

Joints are a necessary anatomic and functional element of the organ of locomotion. Hyaline cartilage is a very important element of a joint in physiological terms. Joint cartilage is subjected to injuries associated with non-physiological loading and excessive abnormal mobility caused by ligament instability. These can lead to damage to the surface of the cartilage and the development of defects. Until now there has been no „golden standard” for treating injuries to joint cartilage. The goal of this treatment is to sustain knee function at a level that is tolerable and acceptable to the patient. Three major minimally invasive techniques for treating damage of the surface of the joints are currently available, namely 1) the microfracture technique, which stimulates bone marrow. Regenerative processes promote the formation of fibrohyaline cartilage. 2) transplantation of osteocartilaginous allo- and autogeneic cylinders. 3) in vitro chondrocyte culture and transplantation of these chondrocytes to sites with cartilage defects. This review describes both the historical and modern techniques of joint cartilage treatment as well as new perspectives related to the use of biomaterials in the healing of cartilage defects.

Vibrational spectroscopic monitoring and biochemical analysis of pericellular matrix formation and maturation in a 3-dimensional chondrocyte culture model

PCA score of FTIR spectra in fingerprint region for cultured chondrocytes at day 7, 14 and 21 in HA hydrogel showing that the 3D culture drove chondrocytes (CY) to chondron-like (CN) structure dynamically.