Hazhir Soleimani; Mehdi Behfar; Rahim Hobbenaghi
Volume 12, Issue 1 , March 2021, , Pages 69-75
Abstract
Tendon healing is prolonged due to the small number of cells, poor circulation, and low metabolism. The optimal tendon healing and its complete functional recovery have always been a challenge for researchers. Silymarin possesses anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, analgesic, and regenerative properties. ...
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Tendon healing is prolonged due to the small number of cells, poor circulation, and low metabolism. The optimal tendon healing and its complete functional recovery have always been a challenge for researchers. Silymarin possesses anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, analgesic, and regenerative properties. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of silymarin on healing the Achilles tendon in rats. Twenty-four male Wistar rats were divided into two groups of control and treatment. After surgical preparation, a complete transverse incision was made in the middle part of the Achilles tendon, and then a modified Kessler suture was placed. The control group received 1.00 mL normal saline for five consecutive days, and the treatment group received 50.00 mg kg-1 of silymarin suspended in 1.00 mL normal saline for five days, orally. During the experimental period, Achilles functional index (AFI) was recorded. Six weeks after surgery, sampling was done. Histopathologically, a significant increase in the density of collagen fibers and reduction in neovascularization and inflammatory cells infiltration were observed in the treatment group. The biomechanical evaluation showed a significant increase in tensile strength of the tendon in the treatment group compared to the control group. The AFI results were concomitant with the results stated above, indicating an improvement in the AFI of rats in the treatment group. The present study results showed that oral administration of silymarin improved tissue healing indices, biomechanical properties, and functional index, leading to optimal healing of experimental Achilles tendon injury in the rat.
Pathology
Alireza Yousefi; Farshid Sarrafzadeh-Rezaei; Siamak Asri-Rezaei; Amir-Abbas Farshid; Mehdi Behfar
Volume 9, Issue 2 , June 2018, , Pages 105-111
Abstract
Chitosan bears numerous properties, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability and non-toxicity making it suitable for use in different biomedical fields. Zinc (Zn) is required for fibroblasts proliferation and collagen synthesis as essential elements of wound healing. Its nanoparticles are well known ...
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Chitosan bears numerous properties, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability and non-toxicity making it suitable for use in different biomedical fields. Zinc (Zn) is required for fibroblasts proliferation and collagen synthesis as essential elements of wound healing. Its nanoparticles are well known for their capability to enhance wound healing by cell adhesion and migration improvement through growth factors-mediated mechanisms. Poor blood supply and unique histological characteristics of tendon make its regeneration always slow. Also, adhesion formation between tendon and its surrounding tissues is another problem for neotendon to return to its normal structure and functional activities. In this study, a novel tubular scaffold of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles loaded chitosan has been fabricated for tendon repair. Experimental complete tenotomy of deep digital flexor tendon in a rabbit model was done and scaffolds were placed in the transected area after two ends suturing. After four and eight weeks, adhesion formation around the tendons and tissue reaction to the scaffolds were evaluated macroscopically. Inflammation, angiogenesis and collagen fibers arrangement were also analyzed in histopathological evaluations. After eight weeks, the scaffolds were absorbed completely, adhesions around the tendon were decreased and there was no sign of significant tissue reaction and/or infection in histopathological analyses. The reduced adhesion formation, improved gliding function and better histopathological characteristics suggest this scaffold application as a potential therapy in treatment of tendon acute injuries.
Mehdi Behfar; Rahim Hobbenaghi; Farshid Sarrafzadeh-Rezaei
Volume 4, Issue 4 , December 2013, , Pages 233-238
Abstract
Tendons are frequently targets of injury in sports and work. Whether nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have beneficial effects on tendon healing is still a matter of debate. This study was conducted to evaluate effects of flunixin meglumine (FM) on tendon healing after experimentally induced ...
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Tendons are frequently targets of injury in sports and work. Whether nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have beneficial effects on tendon healing is still a matter of debate. This study was conducted to evaluate effects of flunixin meglumine (FM) on tendon healing after experimentally induced acute trauma. Twenty eight adult male New Zealand White rabbits were subjected to complete transection of deep digital flexor tendons followed by suture placement. Treatment group received intramuscular injection of FM for three days, and controls received placebo. Subsequently, cast immobilization was continued for two weeks. Animals were sacrificed four weeks after surgery and tissue samples were taken. The histological evaluations revealed improved structural characteristics of neotendon formation including fibrillar linearity, fibrillar continuity and neovascularization in treatment group compared to those of controls (p < 0.05). However, no significant differences were found between two groups in terms of epitenon thickness (p > 0.05). Mechanical evaluation revealed significant increase in load-related material properties including ultimate load, yield load, energy absorption and ultimate stress in treatment group compared to those of control group (p < 0.05). However, no statistically significant differences in terms of stiffness and ultimate strain were found (p > 0.05). The present study showed that intramuscular injection of FM resulted in improved structural and mechanical properties of tendon repairs and it could be an effective treatment for acute tendon injuries like severance and laceration.
Mehdi Behfar; Farshid Sarrafzadeh-Rezaei; Rahim Hobbenaghi; Nowruz Delirezh; Bahram Dalir-Naghadeh
Volume 2, Issue 4 , December 2011, , Pages 248-253
Abstract
Tendon never restores the complete biological and mechanical properties after healing. Bone marrow and recently adipose tissue have been used as the sources of mesenchymal stem cells, which have been proven to enhance tendon healing. Stromal vascular fraction (SVF), derived from adipose tissue by an ...
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Tendon never restores the complete biological and mechanical properties after healing. Bone marrow and recently adipose tissue have been used as the sources of mesenchymal stem cells, which have been proven to enhance tendon healing. Stromal vascular fraction (SVF), derived from adipose tissue by an enzymatic digestion, represents an alternative source of multipotent cells, which undergo differentiation into multiple lineages to be used in regenerative medicine. In the present study, we investigated potentials of this source on tendon healing. Twenty rabbits were divided into control and treatment groups. Five rabbits were used as donors of adipose tissue. The injury model was unilateral complete transection through the middle one third of deep digital flexor tendon. Immediately after suture repair, either fresh stromal vascular fraction from enzymatic digestion of adipose tissue or placebo was intratendinously injected into the suture site in treatments and controls, respectively. Cast immobilization was continued for two weeks after surgery. Animals were sacrificed at the third week and tendons underwent histological, immunohistochemical, and mechanical evaluations. By histology, improved fibrillar organization and remodeling of neotendon were observed in treatment group. Immunohistochemistry revealed an insignificant increase in collagen type III and I expression in treatments over controls. Mechanical testing showed significant increase in maximum load and energy absorption in SVF treated tendons. The present study showed that intratendinous injection of uncultured adipose derived stromal vascular fraction improved structural and mechanical properties of repaired tendon and it could be an effective modality for treating tendon laceration.
