Wound Healing News and Research

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Botox may reduce the incidence of keloids, improving the appearance of scars

Can a modern-day drug cure an age-old healing disorder that causes more harm than the actual injury?

4 Dec 2004

Patented fibrin-based matrices and tissue may open doors for tissue and organ engineering

Virginia Commonwealth University engineers and scientists have developed and patented a unique technique to grow three-dimensional tissues and organs in a mold made from material the human body naturally uses to repair wounds, potentially eliminating the chance for rejection.

17 Nov 2004

STAT3 protein could lead to new ways to prevent skin cancer

Scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have identified a protein that serves as a master regulator of skin cancer - a finding that could lead to new ways to prevent skin cancer before it starts.

4 Nov 2004

Scientists have found that a protein present in normal body tissues can prevent tumour growth

A team led by Dr Dave Bates, British Heart Foundation Lecturer, and Dr Steve Harper, Senior Research Fellow in the Microvascular Research Laboratories, in the Department of Physiology at Bristol University, have discovered that a type of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) found in normal tissue, including blood, can prevent cancers from growing.

1 Nov 2004

Dermatologists now have many treatment options that can significantly reduce the appearance of scars or make them disappear all together

The scar you received when you fell off your bike at age 12 or from a recent car accident may be a constant and painful reminder of the event. While you may not feel any physical pain from these wounds, scars can make you feel self-conscious or embarrassed, particularly if they are located on exposed skin.

13 Oct 2004

University of Florida researchers reveal secret lives of genes during spinal injury

The body attempts to heal a damaged spinal cord in much the same way it repairs skin after simple cuts and scrapes, an insight that may lead to new treatments for the thousands of people paralyzed each year because of spinal cord injuries, say scientists at the University of Florida Health Science Center.

5 Oct 2004

Researchers discover new mechanism responsible for blood vessel tumors that cause facial deformities

Researchers have discovered a new mechanism responsible for the growth of blood vessel tumors that can cause facial deformities in infants and young children, paving the way for an antibody-based treatment to remove cells that fuel the tumors’ growth.

5 Oct 2004

Research confirms benefits of commonly used traditional remedies for a range of illnesses

Research presented to the British Pharmaceutical Conference today, confirms the benefits of commonly used traditional remedies for a range of illnesses, including cancer, offering a scientific justification for their use.

29 Sep 2004

Breast reconstruction at the time of mastectomy does not delay post-operative chemotherapy for women with breast cancer

“The findings weren’t a surprise to us, but we wanted to document the safety of immediate breast reconstruction so that surgeons in other settings can have the same confidence in the approach,” Bold said.

20 Sep 2004

Mitomycin C offers limited benefit in reducing unsightly scars

The tendency for extreme scarring is one reason many African Americans avoid plastic surgery and other surgical incisions. Though surgeons continue to develop less invasive techniques that minimize scarring, other options are needed to help these individuals who are prone to developing keloid scars.

17 Sep 2004

Maggots may help decrease the risk of post-operative infections

Maggots aren’t high on most people’s favorite-animals list. But maggots - specifically, the larvae of the green blowfly, Phaenicia sericata - can be helpful for the very reason they horrify.

16 Sep 2004

Herbals, surgery and anesthesia don't always mix

The woman who swears by gingko biloba wonders why her mouth won't stop bleeding after wisdom tooth surgery. What she doesn't know is that the herbal remedy she takes religiously to enhance mental alertness also acts as a powerful blood thinner that inhibits clotting.

10 Sep 2004

Bone marrow produces cells that permanently heal wounds

Bone marrow produces cells that not only help fight infection but also permanently heal wounds, according to research at the University of Washington. Previously, researchers had not known that bone marrow contributed to the development of new skin in wounds.

5 Sep 2004

Researchers explain dual effects of ginseng

In work that emphasizes the need for stronger regulations of herbal drugs, an international team of MIT scientists and colleagues has unraveled the yin and the yang of ginseng, or why the popular alternative medicine can have two entirely different, opposing effects on the body.

30 Aug 2004

Research unlocks the mystery of the miraculous healing powers of honey

A Sydney researcher has unlocked the mystery of the miraculous healing powers of honey, adding to the calls for its use as a first line defence against serious infection.

11 Aug 2004

Wounds on hamsters without companionship don't heal as fast as those on hamsters with companionship

Researchers looked at the effect social contact had on wound healing in stressed hamsters. Results showed that skin wounds healed nearly twice as fast in the hamsters paired with a sibling. These animals also produced less of the stress hormone cortisol than unpaired hamsters.

9 Aug 2004

First evidence of the molecular link between inflammation and cancer

The investigators found that a gene called I-kappa-B kinase (IKK beta), a pro-inflammatory gene, acts differently in two cell types to cause cancer. When IKK beta was deleted, the cancer incidence and tumor growth in mice was decreased by nearly 80 percent.

5 Aug 2004

Enzymes from king crab are an effective treatment for scalds, sores, and trophic ulcers

Chemist Galina Rudenskaya from the Moscow State University and her colleagues from small enterprise TRINITA have made an important discovery in medicine, thanks to funding extended by the RFBR and FASIE.

2 Jul 2004

Class of molecules that could lead to treatments for a wide range of diseases, including cancer, arthritis, and heart disease

By making use of model compounds in drug design, chemists at the University of California, San Diego identified a class of molecules that could lead to treatments for a wide range of diseases, including cancer, arthritis, and heart disease.

21 Jun 2004

Avastin study shows significant improvement in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Genentech, Inc. and Roche have announced that the New England Journal of Medicine published the first Phase III study of an anti-angiogenesis cancer therapy, showing that the addition of Avastin™ (bevacizumab) to the IFL chemotherapy regimen (5-FU/Leucovorin/ CPT-11) significantly extended survival in patients with first-line (previously untreated) metastatic colorectal cancer.

2 Jun 2004