Alessandro Addis

Biotechnology Research Center for Cardiothoracic Applications · CRABCC

Abstract Background: Sclerotherapy is a cornerstone of the treatment of chronic venous disease, despite some technical aspects (e.g., sclerosant liquid agent concentration [SLAC] and contact time between sclerosant agent and vein wall [ctSA/VW]) to maximize outcomes remain an unsolved problem and a source of debate. An innovative three-balloon cath...

Background: Sclerotherapy is among the mainstays of chronic venous disease treatment, yet its occlusion rate remains suboptimal compared to thermal tumescent techniques. An innovative three-balloons catheter has been developed to allow sclerotherapy in empty vein conditions (empty vein ablation technique, EVA). Aim of this investigation was to desc...

Different xenogeneic inorganic bone substitutes are currently used as bone grafting materials in oral and maxillo-facial surgery. The aim of the present study was to determine the physicochemical properties and the in vivo performance of an anorganic equine bone (AEB) substitute. AEB is manufactured by applying a process involving heating at >300 °...

Regeneration of atrophied alveolar bone prior to insertion of dental implants is a major challenge for oral and maxillo- facial surgery. It has been reported that Bone Marrow (BM) derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSC) retain thera- peutic potential for bone regeneration. In the present study, a preclinical mini-pig model simulating the clinical s...

Background: Many chemical and physical modifications of titanium surfaces were introduced, aiming at improving surface bioactivity, but few comparative evidence exists. Objective: To evaluate histologically in minipigs the osseointegration of implants made of commercially pure (CP) titanium or titanium alloy, treated by different roughening proc...

Aims: The aim of the study was to report preclinical safety and feasibility of a new transcatheter direct mitral annuloplasty intervention in an acute animal model. Methods and results: Twenty healthy pigs underwent Cardioband (Valtech Cardio, Or Yehuda, Israel) transcatheter implantation under intracardiac echocardiographic and fluoroscopic gui...

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety, technical feasibility and performance of a new trans-catheter tricuspid repair system. Methods and results: Thirty-one adult swine underwent implantation of a transcatheter tricuspid remodelling system under general anaesthesia. The steerable transcatheter device was introduced through a 24...

Background: Therapeutic hypothermia (i.e., temperature management) is an effective option for improving survival and neurological outcome after cardiac arrest and is potentially useful for the care of the critically ill neurological patient. We analyzed the feasibility of a device to control the temperature of the brain by controlling the temperat...

Heart valve disease is a frequently encountered pathology, related to high morbidity and mortality rates. Animal models are interesting to investigate the causality but also underlying mechanisms and potential treatments of human heart valve diseases. Strongly believing that both in vivo and ex vivo models are fundamental to support research and de...

Aims: Preclinical studies and translational animal models are fundamental for the development of new clinical interventions. Compared to human anatomy, pigs present a more anterior heart position in the chest which may jeopardise the imaging and testing of devices designed to be delivered to the human mitral valve. To imitate human anatomy, we deve...

The meniscus plays important roles in knee function and mechanics and is characterized by a heterogeneous matrix composition. The changes in meniscus vascularization observed during growth suggest that the tissue-specific composition may be the result of a maturation process. This study has the aim to characterize the structural and biochemical var...

Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are progenitor cells used in bone tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Despite subcutaneous adipose tissue being more abundant, buccal fat pad (BFP) is easily accessible for dentists and maxillofacial surgeons. For this reason, considering the need for preclinical study and the swine as an optimal animal m...

Background Exportin 1 (XPO1), also called chromosome region maintenance 1 (CRM1), is the sole exportin mediating transport of many multiple tumor suppressor proteins out of the nucleus. Aim and methods To verify the hypothesis that XPO1 inhibition affects prostate cancer (PCa) metastatic potential, orally available, potent and selective, SINE comp...

Mitral valve regurgitation and functional tricuspid regurgitation (occurring secondarily to left-sided heart disease) are the most common valvular heart diseases in the western world (1-3). Surgical option is the treatment of choice, but new devices are always under evaluation. Nowadays percutaneous procedures may be an attractive alternative to su...

The evaluation of both qualitative and quantitative osteointegration is essential to determine bone scaffolds ability to repair defects and its real biofunctionality. Bone densitometry (BMD) is considered as a good tool for noninvasively monitoring of healing process. In literature there are few works about bone density differences between human an...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the healing of an injectable mixture of nanoparticles of magnesium-enriched hydroxyapatite (mHA) in peri-implant defects. Thirty-two dental implants were placed in 16 tibiae of eight female Large White pigs. In each animal, four implant beds (two sites each tibia) with medial three-wall intrabony defects we...

This work aimed to validate the efficacy of a tissue engineered osteochondral composite for the treatment of cartilage lesion produced in adult pigs. The osteochondral composite was manufactured by combining an osteo-compatible cylinder and a neocartilagineous tissue obtained by seeding swine articular chondrocytes into a collagen scaffold. Articul...

We describe a modification of the Cox-Maze III using bipolar radiofrequency combined with off-pump coronary artery surgery for the treatment of patients with coronary artery disease and long-standing permanent atrial fibrillation. This study reports the midterm outcome of 12 patients with coronary artery disease and long-standing permanent atrial f...

Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) may represent a novel and efficient tool to promote bone regeneration. In this study, rabbit ASCs were expanded in culture and used for the regeneration of full-thickness bone defects in the proximal epiphysis of tibia of 12 New Zealand rabbits. Defects were implanted with graft material as follows: untreated (cont...

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The aim of the present study was to evaluate a Ca-P coated implant surface in a rabbit model. The Ca-P surface (test) was compared to the titanium porous oxide surface (control) in terms of bone-to-implant contact (BIC) and removal torque value. Two hundred and sixteen dental implants were inserted in the tibia and in the femur of 36 rabbits. One h...

Interspinous devices are widely used for the treatment of lumbar stenosis. The DIAM spinal stabilization system (Medtronic, Ltd.) is an interspinous implant made of silicone and secured in place with 2 laces. The device can be implanted via posterior access with the sacrifice of the supraspinous ligament (SSL) or via lateral access with preservatio...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the early phases of bone healing around two different implant surfaces. For this purpose, four minipigs were used. Implants with rough titanium surfaces (ITI sandblasted/acid-etched and Branemark TiUnite) were placed in the maxillae of the animals and sacrifice was scheduled in such a way that healing times of...

To evaluate the bone tissue response to zirconia implants with three different surface modifications in comparison with the oxidized titanium surface with the goal to optimize osseointegration in terms of strength and speed. A total of 18 rabbits with 143 implants were used. One hundred and twenty-three were threaded zirconia ceramic implants with...

Neochordae implantation is a standard method for treatment of mitral valve prolapse. We describe a transcatheter technology enabling transapical endovascular chordal implantation. Six adult pigs were anesthetized. Two 10F sheaths were introduced in the femoral vessels for monitoring and intracardiac echo. After midline sternotomy, the pericardium w...

In a previous study, a new flexible bipolar hybrid cryotherm probe was applied with success to the pancreas of a living pig. Here we evaluated feasibility, efficacy, and safety of its application to the porcine liver and spleen. Ten applications to the liver and nine to the spleen were performed in 19 pigs. Power input (16-18 W) and simultaneous co...

The authors demonstrate the feasibility of a new procedure to create intracranial interrupted microvascular anastomosis. Self-closing nitinol surgical clips were used for a pericallosal artery-pericallosal artery side-to-side bypass in a 52-year-old man harboring an unruptured large aneurysm located on the right A2 segment. The outflow artery was f...

The monoclonal antibody trastuzumab binds to the extracellular domain of HER-2/neu and induces clinical responses in breast tumors with HER-2 gene amplification and/or protein overexpression. Its role in other tumor types remains to be investigated. We evaluated the antitumor efficacy of trastuzumab in vitro and in nude mice implanted orthotopicall...

This study was conducted to develop and calibrate a detailed 3-dimensional finite element model of the porcine lumbar spine and to compare this model with various configurations in flexion and extension. Computed tomography scans obtained from the L4-L5 lumbar segment of a Landrace x Large White pig were used to generate a solid volume. The various...

Open, laparoscopic, or percutaneous radiofrequency (RF) ablation of the pancreas is still dangerous, whereas endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided ablation might reduce risk because it is less invasive and provides real-time monitoring. We aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of transluminal RF ablation and to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a new...

Atrial fibrillation is the most common form of serious arrhythmia in humans. The therapeutic options offered are medical, surgical, and interventional. The surgical approach is justified in cases of atrial fibrillation already subjected to cardiac surgery for an associated organic heart disease such as a valvular or ischemic disease. A minimally in...

The primary objective of this observational study was to determine the best possible dilution of fibrin glue (Tissucol) to employ for prosthesis fixing in laparoscopic treatment of abdominal wall defects and, secondly, to assess its feasibility and safety. This study was carried out in a university experimental animal laboratory in accordance with...

Spinal cord damage represents a devastating complication of thoracic and thoracoabdominal aortic surgery. Retrograde perfusion as an alternative route to protect the spinal cord has recently been investigated with controversial results. We reviewed the literature and analyzed additional experimental observations. Ten juvenile pigs were divided into...

Self-closing nitinol U-clips (Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, MN) have been used to create vascular microanastomoses by vascular surgeons. This device eliminates the need for suture management and knot tying. Therefore, a high-quality interrupted microvascular anastomosis can be obtained in a shorter period of time. This is the first report of a U-cl...

CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODN) exhibit potent immunostimulatory activity by binding with Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9). Based on the finding that TLR9 is highly expressed and functional in pancreatic tissue, we evaluated the antitumor effects of chemotherapy combined with CpG-ODNs in the orthotopic mouse model of a human pancreatic tumor xenogra...

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common of the so-called benign arrhythmias. It affects not only life expectancy but also quality of life. Until recently, surgeons have most often encountered AF in association with ischemic or valvular disease but rarely as lone atrial fibrillation (LAF). For the subset of LAF patients, a minimally invasive pro...