Compositions and methods involving administration of agents useful for the treatment, prevention, inhibition, etc., of inflammatory disease or fibrous adhesions using low sulphate fucans and, if desired, one or more other anti-inflammatory disease or anti-fibrous adhesion agent.

Methods, compositions, bone grafts and scaffolds for the treatment of non-articular cartilage-associated bone conditions and disorders are disclosed by increasing osteogenic activity in a bone tissue using therapeutic compounds, including protocatechuic acid (PCA) with stem cells, and optionally bone supplementation.

A method of forming a cartilage mimetic gel includes irradiating a first network precursor in a first network, forming, via the irradiating, a single network hydrogel, soaking the single network hydrogel in a second network comprising a second network precursor, irradiating the second network precursor forming a double network hydrogel structure, and soaking the double network hydrogel structure to allow for the double network hydrogel structure to swell to equilibrium.

The present invention relates to an injectable homogeneous aqueous solution of chitosan containing, in a physiologically acceptable medium, between 0.1 and 4.5% by weight of a chitosan having a degree of acetylation less than 20% and a weight average molecular mass of between 100,000 and 1,500,000 g/mol, said solution having a pH greater than or equal to 6.2, and advantageously between 6.2 and 7.2, said solution not containing any chitosan having a degree of acetylation greater than 20%, said solution being liquid and homogeneous at ambient temperature. The invention also relates to an aqueous solution such as previously described, characterised in that it can be prepared by a method comprising at least the following steps: dissolving the chitosan in water by adding acid, such as a weak acid, said weak acid being advantageously chosen from the group consisting of acetic acid, glycolic acid, lactic acid, glutamic acid, and the mixtures of same, and readjusting the pH by dialysis, preferably at ambient temperature, in order to obtain an aqueous solution having a pH greater than or equal to 6.2, advantageously between 6.2 and 7.2, and preferably between 6.25 and 7.1.

Methods for manufacturing drug delivery systems are provided. The drug delivery systems may include a substrate coated with at least one polymer and at least one active compound. The substrate may include yarns, yarn precursors, threads, filaments, fibers, and/or other suitable substrates. The methods may include disposing a solution including a monomer and an active compound on the substrate. The methods may also include exposing the solution and the substrate to UV light to initiate polymerization of the solution.

An orthopedic device for implanting between adjacent vertebrae comprising: an arcuate balloon and a hardenable material within said balloon. In some embodiments, the balloon has a footprint that substantially corresponds to a perimeter of a vertebral endplate. An inflatable device is inserted through a cannula into an intervertebral space and oriented so that, upon expansion, a natural angle between vertebrae will be at least partially restored. At least one component selected from the group consisting of a load-bearing component and an osteobiologic component is directed into the inflatable device through a fluid communication means.

Methods of preparing a human birth tissue material are provided. A placental construct for treatment of a disease or condition is also provided. A kit including at least one placental construct and at least one structural carrier is provided. A catheter for recovering amniotic fluid is also provided.

A device for implantation into a mammalian host has a dialysis tube with a lumen and a dialysis membrane enclosing the lumen. The dialysis tube has an outer diameter of 20 m to 600 m. The dialysis membrane has a molecular weight cutoff of from 25 kDa to 150 kDa and has a material composition of at least one of the following: polyethersulfone, polyarylethersulfone, polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyvinylidene fluoride, and polypropylene. A therapeutic composition is disposed within the lumen and has cells that secrete a therapeutic compound. A matrix material embeds the cells. The matrix material is one or more of alginate, collagen, fibrin, extracellular matrix material, synthetic hydrogel, and acrylate. Also disclosed are a method of producing a device for implantation, a port system, and a cell secreting a therapeutic compound for use in treating disease by implantation of the cells in a device for implantation.

Methods of differentiating unmodified adult stem cells into functional beta-like cells are provided, as well as compositions, tissues and devices containing such cells. The method requires inducing sequential expression of PDX1, NGN3, and MAFA in these stem cells to form reprogrammed beta cells. Methods of treating diabetes are also provided, comprising obtaining stem cells, preferably from a patient with diabetes, inducing sequential expression of PDX1, NGN3, and MAFA, in said stem cells to form reprogrammed beta cells, and introducing said reprogrammed beta cells into a pancreas of said patient. Alternatively, it may be possible to inject such cells systemically, if the cells are targeted for the pancreas. In yet another embodiment, the reprogrammed beta cells are placed into an artificial pancreas that is surgically placed or injected into the patient.

An implantable medical instrument is made of an iron-based alloy, comprising an iron-based alloy substrate and a drug-loaded coating. The drug-loaded coating comprises a polymer and an active drug; the weight average molecular weight of the polymer is greater than or equal to 50,000 and less than or equal to 1,000,000; micro-pores having a diameter of less than or equal to 10 micrometers are formed in the drug-loaded coating; the percentage of the active drug released on the implantable medical instrument made of an iron-based alloy is greater than or equal to 4t.sup.1/21 and less than or equal to 6.9t.sup.1/2+63, wherein t (0, 28], and t represents sampling time/days.