Stress urinary incontinence in women and cell therapy: What can we expect from the future?

Stress urinary incontinence(SUI)is a common disorder that affects a large number of women and their quality of life.The aim of SUI therapy is to restore the existing urethral function via physical therapy,biofeedback,pelvic floor rehabilitation,pharmacological therapy,bulking agents and surgical approaches.Currently,the gold standard for the management of SUI is the tensionfree vaginal sling,which provides structural support to the female urethra.However,even minimally invasive surgical procedure such as"slings"carries risks for the patients,lost efficacy over the time and has long-term complications.For this reason,new therapeutic modalities are needed.Cell therapy has been emerged as an alternative to be used on the treatment of different diseases.The use of stem cells as a therapeutic option for SUI is an attractive alternative because,theoretically,injected cells could restore functional muscle cells and aid in sphincter closure in women with sphincterassociated incontinence.This study aims to review the current literature regarding evidences for using stem cell therapy on stress urinary incontinence in women.

Kidney regeneration: Where we are and future perspectives

In 2012,about 16487 people received kidney transplants in the United States,whereas 95022 candidates were on the waiting list by the end of the year.Despite advances in renal transplant immunology,approximately 40%of recipients will die or lose graft within10 years.The limitations of current therapies for renal failure have led researchers to explore the development of modalities that could improve,restore,or replace the renal function.The aim of this paper is to describe a reasonable approach for kidney regeneration and review the current literature regarding cell sources and mechanisms to develop a bioengineering kidney.Due to kidneys peculiar anatomy,extracellular matrix based scaffolds are rational starting point for their regeneration.The perfusion of detergents through the kidney vasculature is an efficient method for delivering decellularizing agents to cells and for removing of cellular material from the tissue.Many efforts have focused on the search of a reliable cell source to provide enrichment for achieving stable renal cell systems.For an efficient bioengineered kidney,these cells must be attached to the organ and then maturated into the bioractors,which simulates the human body environment.A functional bioengineered kidney is still a big challenge for scientists.In the last ten years we have got many improvements on the field of solid organ regeneration;however,we are still far away from the main target.Currently,regenerative centers worldwide have been striving to find feasible strategies to develop bioengineered kidneys.Cell-scaffold technology gives hope to end-stage renal disease patients who struggle with morbidity and mortality due to extended periods on dialysis or immunosupression.The potential of bioengineered organ is to provide a reliable source of organs,which can be refunctionalized and transplanted.