Wound News and Research

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Project shows simple steps reduce hospital infections

Seven health care institutions participated in a quality-improvement project advanced by the Joint Commission and the American College of Surgeons to reduce colorectal surgical-site infection rates. During a two and a half year period, those facilities saved more than $3.7 million by avoiding 135 infections.

30 Nov 2012

Patient adherence predicts ankle surgery healing

Focusing on postoperative care may be the optimal way of reducing healing complications following ankle fracture surgery, say US researchers.

29 Nov 2012

Topically applied simvastatin enhances wound recovery in diabetic mice

Delayed wound healing is a major complication of diabetes because the physiological changes in tissues and cells impair the wound healing process. This can result in additional disease outcomes such as diabetic foot ulcer, a significant cause of morbidity in the growing population of diabetic patients. A new study has found that topically applied simvastatin accelerates wound healing in diabetic mice, suggesting important implications for humans with diabetes.

28 Nov 2012

Ankle repair recovery predictors identified

Findings from a cohort study point to factors that may influence the outcome of patients with ankle fractures requiring surgery.

22 Nov 2012

Modified breast reduction technique noninferior to traditional

Modifying the inferior pedicle technique of breast reduction results in outcomes that are at least comparable to, and perhaps better than, those previously reported, researchers say.

22 Nov 2012

MicroRNAs in ovarian cancer cells promote tumor growth

Unraveling the mechanism that ovarian cancer cells use to change normal cells around them into cells that promote tumor growth has identified several new targets for treatment of this deadly disease.

22 Nov 2012

Sweat glands play a key role in providing cells for skin wound recovery

Turns out the same glands that make you sweat are responsible for another job vital to your health: they help heal wounds. Human skin is rich with millions of eccrine sweat glands that help your body cool down after a trip to the gym or on a warm day. These same glands, new University of Michigan Health System research shows, also happen to play a key role in providing cells for recovering skin wounds - such as scrapes, burns and ulcers.

21 Nov 2012

Safety tips to avoid cooking injuries on Thanksgiving Day

More than 141 serious fires and hot-oil burns have been reported from the use of turkey fryers over the past decade, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. And no one knows that better than Serafino Alfe. The 87-year-old Mount Prospect resident made national news last year when he wound up at the Loyola Burn Center with third-degree burns - the worst type of burn- on his leg. "I tripped and fell right into the deep fryer and basically fried myself," said the volunteer who was deep-frying turkeys at a charity fundraiser.

21 Nov 2012

New polymer-based system to fight infection, filter water and heal wounds

Working in the lab for the last few years, three generations of University of Akron polymer scientists say their mutual and passionate curiosity about science has led to their discovery of a first-of-its-kind, easily adaptable biocompatible polymer structure able to fight infection, filter water and perform a host of other functions.

20 Nov 2012

New €6 million European project to address complications associated with diabetes

NUI Galway has been awarded a major new €6 million European project, designed to address complications associated with diabetes. The research project will examine the ability of stem cells to safely control glucose levels and alleviate the damage caused by six different diabetic complications.

19 Nov 2012

GW researcher gets NCI grant to study behavior of parasitic worm in bile duct cancer

Paul Brindley, Ph.D., professor of microbiology, immunology, and tropical medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, was the recipient of a $1.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study the behavior of a parasitic worm, rampant in Southeast Asia, known to cause infections that contribute to liver cancer.

16 Nov 2012

Arginine and proline supplementation favor wound healing in diabetic rats

Chronic wounds such as foot ulcers are a common problem for diabetics and are the cause of more than 80 percent of the lower leg amputations in these patients. There is currently no effective way to improve healing of these types of wounds, but new research offers hope.

16 Nov 2012

Older North American farmers face increased risk of serious injury

Older North American farmers work fewer hours than their younger peers but spend more time operating heavy machinery and equipment-raising their risk of serious injury, according to new research from the University of Alberta.

13 Nov 2012

Diabetic foot complication risk highlighted in men

Men should be considered for aggressive treatment for foot complications associated with diabetes, such as ulceration and amputation, say researchers.

8 Nov 2012

Radical sternectomy could be less risky than conservative

Researchers say that radical sternectomy encompassing the costal cartilages leads to a significantly lower rate of complications and reoperation than conservative sternectomy.

8 Nov 2012

Band counts in infection diagnosis

Even when patients have normal white blood cell counts, elevated band counts may diagnose infection and prompt earlier initiation of antibiotics, report researchers.

8 Nov 2012

Better understanding of clotting dynamics in atherosclerosis could lead to more effective drugs

The disease atherosclerosis involves the build up of fatty tissue within arterial walls, creating unstable structures known as plaques. These plaques grow until they burst, rupturing the wall and causing the formation of a blood clot within the artery. These clots also grow until they block blood flow; in the case of the coronary artery, this can cause a heart attack.

8 Nov 2012

Aspirin viable alternative to warfarin in preventing clots after joint replacement surgery

If you've had joint replacement surgery, it's likely you've been given warfarin, a common blood thinner and clot-preventer, prior to surgery. While effective, research from the Rothman Institute at Jefferson has shown aspirin to be just as effective in preventing clots, specifically pulmonary emboli, life-threatening blood clots that can develop in the arteries of the lungs following joint replacement surgery.

8 Nov 2012

Researchers show how bacteria control processes in human cells

Bacteria can talk to each other via molecules they themselves produce. The phenomenon is called quorum sensing, and is important when an infection propagates. Now, researchers at Link-ping University in Sweden are showing how bacteria control processes in human cells the same way.

6 Nov 2012

BioMimetic Therapeutics reports net loss of $4.6 million for third quarter 2012

BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. today reported its corporate highlights and financial results as of and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012. For the three months ended September 30, 2012, the Company reported a net loss of $4.6 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $7.1 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, for the same period in 2011.

6 Nov 2012