REAC regenerative treatment efficacy in experimental chondral lesions: a pilot study on ovine animal model

Proteoglycans in Articular Cartilage and Their Contribution to Chondral Injury and Repair Mechanisms

Proteoglycans are vital components of the extracellular matrix in articular cartilage, providing biomechanical properties crucial for its proper functioning. They are key players in chondral diseases, specifically in the degradation of the extracellular matrix. Evaluating proteoglycan molecules can serve as a biomarker for joint degradation in osteoarthritis patients, as well as assessing the quality of repaired tissue following different treatment strategies for chondral injuries. Despite ongoing research, understanding osteoarthritis and cartilage repair remains unclear, making the identification of key molecules essential for early diagnosis and effective treatment. This review offers an overview of proteoglycans as primary molecules in articular cartilage. It describes the various types of proteoglycans present in both healthy and damaged cartilage, highlighting their roles. Additionally, the review emphasizes the importance of assessing proteoglycans to evaluate the quality of repaired articular tissue. It concludes by providing a visual and narrative description of aggrecan distribution and presence in healthy cartilage. Proteoglycans, such as aggrecan, biglycan, decorin, perlecan, and versican, significantly contribute to maintaining the health of articular cartilage and the cartilage repair process. Therefore, studying these proteoglycans is vital for early diagnosis, evaluating the quality of repaired cartilage, and assessing treatment effectiveness.

REAC Neurobiological Modulation as a Precision Medicine Treatment for Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FS) is a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain and psychopathological symptoms, often associated with central pain modulation failure and dysfunctional adaptive responses to environmental stress. The Radio Electric Asymmetric Conveyer (REAC) technology is a neuromodulation technology. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of some REAC treatments on psychomotor responses and quality of life in 37 patients with FS. Tests were conducted before and after a single session of Neuro Postural Optimization and after a cycle of 18 sessions of Neuro Psycho Physical Optimization (NPPO), using evaluation of the functional dysmetria (FD) phenomenon, Sitting and Standing (SS), Time Up and Go (TUG) tests for motor evaluation, Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) for quality of life. The data were statistically analyzed, and the results showed a statistically significant improvement in motor response and quality of life parameters, including pain, as well as reduced FD measures in all participants. The study concludes that the neurobiological balance established by the REAC therapeutic protocols NPO and NPPO improved the dysfunctional adaptive state caused by environmental and exposomal stress in FS patients, leading to an improvement in psychomotor responses and quality of life. The findings suggest that REAC treatments could be an effective approach for FS patients, reducing the excessive use of analgesic drugs and improving daily activities.

Radio Electric Asymmetric Conveyer Tissue Reparative Treatment on Post-surgical Breast Skin Necrosis. A Report of Four Cases

Breast surgical treatments for both tumors and aesthetic reasons are very frequent. The nipple-areola complex (NAC) ischemia is a possible complication after breast surgery. This lesion can be devastating for the patient in the post-surgical course and can lead to final epidermolysis. The necrosis is generally attributed to vascular compromise or excessive tension of the flaps. Actually, the phenomena that prevent spontaneous repair are due to variations in the endogenous electrical potential at the cellular level. In damaged tissues, the electric potential difference across the epithelium is often profoundly altered.

In this manuscript, we are presenting four cases of NAC necrosis that were successfully treated with reparative tissue optimization (TO-RPR) treatment of the Radio Electric Asymmetric Conveyer (REAC) technology.

REAC technology was conceived to overcome the limits of exogenous electrical stimulations. Instead of administering an electrical stimulus that imposes itself on the endogenous bioelectric activity (EBA), the REAC technology restores the correct potential difference inside the tissues, which is essential for all reparative and regenerative processes. The REAC treatment applied was able to promote a fast-healing process of the necrosis of the NAC following surgery of the breast.

Radio Electric Asymmetric Conveyer Reparative Effects on Muscle Injuries: A Report of Two Cases

Cells and tissues work like batteries, positively charged by potassium ions and negatively charged by chloride ions. The difference in potential gradient generates an ionic flux, and this, in turn, generates a current that develops endogenous bioelectric fields (EBFs), which are fundamental for all cellular life processes, including reparative phenomena. In damaged tissues, the ionic flow is altered and, consequently, the production of EBFs is altered. This determines an alteration of the reparative processes. In previous studies, the reparative and regenerative treatments of radio electric asymmetric conveyer (REAC) technology have been shown to favor and accelerate the reparative processes of injured tissues, inducing the recovery of ionic flows and EBFs. The purpose of this report is to illustrate the clinical efficacy of REAC treatments for reparative tissue optimization on muscle injuries, even in those with a severity of third degree.

Mechanical Stimulation of Fibroblasts by Extracorporeal Shock Waves: Modulation of Cell Activation and Proliferation Through a Transient Proinflammatory Milieu

Extracorporeal shock waves (ESWTs) are “mechanical” waves, widely used in regenerative medicine, including soft tissue wound repair. Although already being used in the clinical practice, the mechanism of action underlying their biological activities is still not fully understood. In the present paper we tried to elucidate whether a proinflammatory effect may contribute to the regenerative potential of shock waves treatment. For this purpose, we exposed human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF1 cells) to an ESWT treatment (100 pulses using energy flux densities of 0.19 mJ/mm² at 3 Hz), followed by cell analyses after 5 min, up to 48 h. We then evaluated cell proliferation, reactive oxygen species generation, ATP release, and cytokine production. Cells cultured in the presence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), to induce inflammation, were used as a positive control, indicating that LPS-mediated induction of a proinflammatory pattern in HFF1 increased their proliferation. Here, we provide evidence that ESWTs affected fibroblast proliferation through the overexpression of selected cytokines involved in the establishment of a proinflammatory program, superimposable to what was observed in LPS-treated cells. The possibility that inflammatory circuits can be modulated by ESWT mechanotransduction may disclose novel hypothesis on their biological underpinning and expand the fields of their biomedical application.

<p>Radio Electric Asymmetric Conveyer Neurobiological Treatments in Non-Specific Neck Pain: A Retrospective Study</p>

Introduction

Non-specific neck pain (NSNP) is a rather common symptomatology, and various therapeutic approaches are aimed to treat it, in the field of manual therapy, physiotherapy and pharmacology.

Methods

This retrospective study analyzes 65 subjects treated for NSNP with a neurobiological stimulation administered by medical devices based on radio electric asymmetric conveyer (REAC) technology. Initially, a neuro stimulation treatment called neuro postural optimization (NPO) was administered to improve the coordination of muscle activity and reduce adaptive decompensations. Subsequently, the bio stimulation treatment called tissue optimization (TO) was administered to reduce the algodystrophic and muscle contracture component. The evaluation of the efficacy of these treatments was made through the subjective evaluation of pain by the patients. Data were collected by the use of the numeric pain rating scale (NPRS) and neck pain questionnaire (NPQ), administered before the treatments and at the end of the cycle of therapy.

Results

The analysis of the results shows that this type of approach and treatment scheme is effective in reducing the symptoms of NSNP in both male and female subjects, regardless of their age. Other subjective data not quantified in this study but reported by all subjects, during and after the treatment cycle, were a feeling of lower stiffness of neck and shoulder, a reduction in the thickening of the cervicobrachial tissues, and a clear and progressive reduction of pain perception during the skin rolling (SR) maneuver.

Conclusion

The combination of REAC-NPO neuromodulation and REAC-TO biomodulation treatments used in this study was shown to be effective in NPRS.

Stem cells and physical energies: can we really drive stem cell fate?

Adult stem cells are undifferentiated elements able to self-renew or differentiate to maintain tissue integrity. Within this context, stem cells are able to divide in a symmetric fashion, feature characterising all the somatic cells, or in an asymmetric way, which leads daughter cells to different fates. It is worth highlighting that cell polarity have a critical role in regulating stem cell asymmetric division and the proper control of cell division depends on different proteins involved in cell development, differentiation and maintenance of tissue homeostasis. Moreover, the interaction between cells and the extracellular matrix are crucial in influencing cell behavior, included in terms of mechanical properties as cytoskeleton plasticity and remodelling, and membrane tension. Finally, the activation of specific transcriptional program and epigenetic modifications contributes to cell fate determination, through modulation of cellular signalling cascades. It is well known that physical and mechanical stimuli are able to influence biological systems, and in this context, the effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) have already shown a considerable role, even though there is a lack of knowledge and much remains to be done around this topic. In this review, we summarize the historical background of EMFs applications and the main molecular mechanism involved in cellular remodelling, with particular attention to cytoskeleton elasticity and cell polarity, required for driving stem cell behavior.

REAC neurobiological treatments in acute post-traumatic knee medial collateral ligament lesion

Objective

Physical traumas can lead to unconscious neuropsychical alterations, which can compromise rehabilitation result and functional recovery. Aim of this interventional study is to verify if neurobiological Radio Electric Asymmetric Conveyer (REAC) treatments Neuro Postural Optimization (NPO) and Tissue Optimization (TO) are able respectively to improve neuro psychomotor strategies and facilitate recovery process in medial collateral ligaments (MCL) lesions of the knee.

Patients and methods

45 healthy subjects, 32 males and 13 females, with knee MCL lesion, diagnosed with MRI or ultrasound. Within 4 days after the trauma, subjects were clinically evaluated (T0), both through medical and subjective assessments. Clinical evaluation was repeated after the REAC NPO treatment (T1) and at the end of 18 REAC TO treatments (T2) and at the 30 days follow-up (T3).

Results

In comparison with the results commonly found in clinical practice, all REAC treated patients recovered much faster. They reported functional recovery, pain relief and joint stability, regardless of the severity of the lesion.

Conclusion

The combined use of REAC NPO and TO can envisage a new rehabilitative approach, which aims not only at recovering the outcomes of the physical trauma, but also at improving the neuropsychical state that can condition the rehabilitation result.

Physical stimulation by REAC and BMP4/WNT-1 inhibitor synergistically enhance cardiogenic commitment in iPSCs

It is currently known that pluripotent stem cells can be committed in vitro to the cardiac lineage by the modulation of specific signaling pathways, but it is also well known that, despite the significant increase in cardiomyocyte yield provided by the currently available conditioned media, the resulting cardiogenic commitment remains a highly variable process. Previous studies provided evidence that radio electric fields asymmetrically conveyed through the Radio Electric Asymmetric Conveyer (REAC) technology are able to commit R1 embryonic stem cells and human adipose derived stem cells toward a cardiac phenotype. The present study aimed at investigating whether the effect of physical stimulation by REAC in combination with specific chemical inductors enhance the cardiogenic potential in human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The appearance of a cardiac-like phenotype in iPSCs cultured in the presence of a cardiogenic medium, based upon BMP4 and a WNT-inhibitor, was consistently increased by REAC treatment used only during the early fate differentiation for the first 72 hours. REAC-exposed iPSCs exhibited an upregulation in the expression of specific cardiogenic transcripts and morphologically in the number of beating clusters, as compared to cells cultured in the cardiogenic medium alone. Our results indicate that physical modulation of cellular dynamics provided by the REAC offers an affordable strategy to mimic iPSC cardiac-like fates in the presence of a cardiogenic milieu.

Radio electric asymmetric conveyer neuromodulation in depression, anxiety, and stress

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of specific neuromodulation treatments performed with radio electric asymmetric conveyer (REAC) technology in the treatment of the symptomatic triad depression, anxiety, and stress by the use of a specific psychometric test such as the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-42 items (DASS-42) version, which assesses simultaneously the severity of expression of this triad.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The design of this study was planned to compare two populations that performed DASS-42 test twice within a similar period of time. The first population performed the first DASS test before the treatment and the second test about 3 months later, at the end of two specific REAC neuromodulation treatments, neuropostural optimization (NPO) and neuropsychophysical optimization (NPPO), that have previously shown an efficacy in the treatment of depression, anxiety and stress. The second population (untreated), used as the randomized control group, consisted of a similar group by gender and age, who performed the DASS-42 test in an online platform twice, with an interval of about 3 months between the first and second tests, similar to the interval between the two tests in the treated group.

RESULTS

The comparison between the treated group and the control group points out the REAC treatment efficacy in improving the quality of life. At the second DASS-42 test, self-administered about 3 months after the treatments, treated patients were positioned on average values of much milder severity in all the three clusters, depression, anxiety, and stress, while in untreated patients there was no significant difference between the mean values of the first and second DASS tests.

CONCLUSION

The results obtained in this study, evaluated with the DASS-42 test, confirm that REAC-NPO and REAC-NPPO neuromodulation treatments can be useful tools for the clinical treatment of depression, anxiety, and stress, as already proven by previous results evaluated with different psychometric tests.

REAC neuromodulation treatments in subjects with severe socioeconomic and cultural hardship in the Brazilian state of Pará: a family observational pilot study

PURPOSE

The purpose of this preliminary observational study was to evaluate the usefulness of a humanitarian initiative, aimed at improving the neuropsychological and behavioral attitude of children with severe socioeconomic and cultural hardship, in the Brazilian state of Pará. This humanitarian initiative was realized through the administration of two neuromodulation protocols, with radioelectric asymmetric conveyor (REAC) technology. During several years of clinical use, the REAC neuromodulation protocols have already proved to be effective in countering the effects of environmental stress on neuropsycho-physical functions.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

After the preliminary medical examination, all subjects were investigated with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), including the impact supplement with teacher's report. After the SDQ, they received the neuromodulation treatment with REAC technology named neuro postural optimization (NPO), to evaluate their responsiveness. Subsequently, every 3 months all subjects underwent a treatment cycle of neuropsycho-physical optimization (NPPO) with REAC technology, for a total of three cycles. At the end of the last REAC-NPPO treatment cycle, all subjects were investigated once again with the SDQ. For the adequacy of the data, the Wilcoxon and the Signs tests were used. For the subdivision into clusters, the Kruskal-Wallis test was applied for the adequacy of the procedure. For all the applied tests, a statistical significance of p<0.5 was found.

RESULTS

The results showed that the REAC-NPO and REAC-NPPO neuromodulation protocols are able to improve the quality of life, the scholastic and socialization skills, and the overall state of physical and mental health in children of a family with severe socioeconomic and cultural hardship.

CONCLUSION

The REAC-NPO and REAC-NPPO neuromodulation protocols, due to their non-invasive characteristics, painlessness, and speed of administration, can be hypothesized as a treatment to improve the overall state of physical and mental health in a large number of people with socioeconomic and cultural discomfort.

Inducible nitric oxide synthase as a target for osteoarthritis treatment

INTRODUCTION

Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is the enzyme responsible for the production of nitric oxide (NO), a major proinflammatory and destructive mediator in osteoarthritis (OA). Areas covered: This is a comprehensive review of the recent literature on the involvement of iNOS in osteoarthritis and its potential to be used as a target for OA treatment. Evidence from in vitro, in vivo and human studies was systematically collected using medical search engines. Preclinical studies have focused on the effect of direct and indirect iNOS inhibitors in both animal and human tissues. Apart from direct inhibitors, common pharmacological agents, herbal and dietary medicines as well as hyperbaric oxygen, low level laser and low intensity pulsed ultrasound have been shown to exhibit a chondroprotective effect by inhibiting the expression of iNOS. Expert opinion: Data support the further investigation of iNOS inhibitors for the treatment of OA in human studies and clinical trials. Indirect iNOS inhibitors such as interleukin 1 inhibitors also need to be studied in greater detail. Finally, human studies need to be conducted on the herbal and dietary medicines and on the non-invasive, non-pharmacological treatments.