A study published online in The FASEB Journal delves into the mystifying fact that wounds in your mouth heal faster and more efficiently than wounds elsewhere. Until now, it was understood that saliva played a part in the wound healing process, though the extent of its role was unknown. The study examined the effects of salivary peptide histatin-1 on angiogenesis (blood vessel formation), which is critical to the efficiency of wound healing. Researchers found that histatin-1 promotes angiogenesis, as well as cell adhesion and migration. (more…)
Introduction: Deep sternal wound infections (DSWIs) are rare but devastating complication after median sternotomy following cardiac surgery. Especially in the presence of artificial material or inadequate preliminary muscle flaps, the pedicled omentum flap is due to its immunological properties, the predetermined flap in salvage procedures. (more…)
Slugs secrete biological defensive mucus that has now inspired a new type of surgical glue, prepared by researchers. This “bio-glue” has three main properties, it can move with the body, it is incredibly strong and it can stick to wet surfaces. The results of this breakthrough are published this week in the journal Science. (more…)
The microbiome is known to play a major role in gut health, but what about our skin? Billions of bacteria reside there, and the probiotic types may hold great potential to prevent infections during wound healing.
Our skin provides a natural barrier to the environment. This is crucial for our health, as skin protects us from invasive pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. (more…)
Physicians evaluate new device to test for cervical cancer. Comparison of Tissue Yield Using Frictional Fabric Brush Versus Sharp Curettage For Endocervical Curettage.
Women undergoing cervical biopsies might have lower odds of repeat tests with a rotating fabric brush than a sharp instrument because the soft device may capture more cells for analysis, a recent study suggests. Furthermore, biopsies with the softer tool may be less painful, researchers say. Cervical biopsies sometimes fail to collect enough cells from the cervix to accurately test for cancer, in which case another biopsy is needed. (more…)
For surgical collaboration; rural telemedicine, nurses and doctors at Hospitals use Google Glass. Indianapolis-based Hodei Technology is bringing Glass to hospitals in two different ways: as a tool for surgeons to teach, communicate, and collaborate (via a product called Ikasi) and, via a product called Gemini, as a new kind of telemedicine, which CEO Guy Mascaro describes as “first person point-of-view telepresence”.
A lot of people think Google Glass, the tech company’s experiment with augmented reality and wearable computing, died when the Glass Explorer program closed up shop in 2015. In fact, the technology has continued to find a home with enterprise applications, particularly in healthcare. (more…)
Safety and Efficacy Study of VM202 in the Treatment of Chronic Non-Healing Foot Ulcers. This study will assess the safety and efficacy of using gene therapy via intramuscular injections of the calf for patients with chronic non-healing foot ulcers.
The first patient has been dosed in a Phase III trial assessing ViroMed’s VM202, the first pivotal study of a gene therapy indicated for patients with nonhealing diabetic foot ulcers (NHU) and concomitant peripheral artery disease (PAD).
The Phase III trial (NCT02563522) is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study designed to evaluate VM202 for safety and efficacy in 300 adults with a diabetic foot ulcer and concomitant PAD. Two hundred patients will be randomized to VM202 and the other 100 to placebo, ViroMed’s U.S. division VM BioPharma said yesterday. (more…)
Scars are a particularly sore subject for most people. Not only are they aesthetically unpleasing, but some of them can prove painful. That’s why research into minimizing the appearance of scars continues to be a central priority of wound care-related research. In the last several months alone, there have been quite a few exciting such breakthroughs. (more…)
Scientists at Ohio State University have developed a new method that has the capability of changing the body’s existing cells into new cells to promote healing. The method, called Tissue Nanotransfection (TNT), reprograms cells through a device that uses nanotechnology. The way it would work: First, doctors would apply a light electrical stimulation to the surface of the skin. They would then place a small chip about the size of a cuff link onto the site of the wound. In less than a second, this chip would deliver reprogramming factors (pre-programmed DNA or RNA) non-invasively into living skin cells via a high-intensity, focused electric field, converting them into whatever type of cells a scientist or doctor may choose. (more…)
AlloFuse® Select CM – clinically proven to activate and support bone formation and can be used in a variety of spinal, neurologic, and orthopedic procedures.
AlloSource, one of the nation’s largest providers of cartilage, bone, skin, soft-tissue, and cellular allografts to advance patient healing in surgical procedures and wound care, today announced the release of AlloFuse® Select CM, a premium addition to AlloSource’s AlloFuse portfolio. (more…)
Carol Emanuele beat cancer. But for the last two years, the Philadelphia woman has been fighting her toughest battle yet. She has an open wound on the bottom of her foot that leaves her unable to walk and prone to deadly infection.
In an effort to treat her diabetic wound, doctors at a clinic in Northeast Philadelphia have prescribed a dizzying array of treatments. Freeze-dried placenta. Penis foreskin cells. High doses of pressurized oxygen. And those are just a few of the treatment options patients face.
“I do everything, but nothing seems to work,” said Emanuele, 59, who survived stage 4 melanoma in her 30s. “I beat cancer, but this is worse.” (more…)
