Wound Healing News and Research

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Exparel (DepoBupivacaine) shows promise in hernia repair

A Phase II trial of a single intraoperative administration of Exparel (DepoBupivacaine) resulted in significantly reduced pain with activity in the first 8 to 24 hours following surgery, when pain is generally greatest, compared to conventional treatment.

14 Dec 2008

New set of controls for stem cells discovered

Natural changes in voltage that occur across the membrane of adult human stem cells are a powerful controlling factor in the process by which these stem cells differentiate, according to research published by Tufts University scientists.

3 Dec 2008

Scientists hope European grant can improve healthy ageing

Researchers hope to achieve healthy ageing by enhancing body healing capacity and reducing chronic inflammation.

1 Dec 2008

Researchers find deadly protein that acts as a cancer master switch

Two critical properties of cancer cells are their ability to divide without restraint and to spread away from the primary tumor to establish new tumor sites.

17 Nov 2008

Scientists identify dangerous 'two-faced' protein crucial to breast cancer spread and growth

Two critical properties of cancer cells are their ability to divide without restraint and to spread away from the primary tumor to establish new tumor sites.

17 Nov 2008

Discovery of new mechanism that regulates formation of blood vessels

Researchers in one of the external groups of the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia (IGC), in Portugal, have discovered a novel mechanism which regulates the process whereby new blood vessels are formed and wounds heal, including chronic wounds, such as those found in diabetic patients and those suffering from morbid obesity.

17 Nov 2008

Plastic surgeons warn of malnutrition in body contouring patients

Identifying malnutrition before surgery in massive weight loss patients seeking body contouring will significantly decrease surgical complications, accelerate wound healing, improve scar quality and boost patient energy levels, according to a study in the December issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery ®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

16 Nov 2008

Signaling between protein, growth factor is critical for coordinated cell migration

The mysterious process that orchestrates cells to move in unison to form human and animal embryos, heal wounds, and even spread cancer depends on interaction between two well-known genetic signaling pathways, two University of Utah medical school researchers have discovered.

11 Nov 2008

New silver coated anti-microbial barrier dressing receives Canadian approval

NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals, a developer and manufacturer of medical products that fight infection and inflammation, and the Advanced Wound Management division of Smith & Nephew plc announced today that Health Canada granted marketing approval for Acticoat Flex barrier dressing for wounds that require up to seven days of sustained antimicrobial activity.

8 Nov 2008

Rare immune cell may help those with Crohn's and colitis

The tonsils and lymphoid tissues in the intestinal tract that help protect the body from external pathogens are the home base of a rare immune cell newly identified by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

4 Nov 2008

Anti-VEGF drugs for retinal diseases could have serious side effects

Scientists at Schepens Eye Research Institute have found that reducing the levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is best known as a stimulator of new blood vessel growth, in adult mice causes the death of photoreceptors and Muller glia -- cells of the retina that are essential to visual function.

3 Nov 2008

Healing process found to backfire in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients

A mechanism in the body which typically helps a person heal from an injury, may actually be causing patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) to get worse, researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and their collaborators have found.

27 Oct 2008

Genentech announces phase III study of Avastin plus chemotherapy in adjuvant colon cancer will continue

Genentech, Inc. today announced that it has been informed by the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) that an ongoing Phase III study (NSABP C-08) of Avastin (bevacizumab) plus chemotherapy in patients with early-stage colon cancer will continue as planned.

20 Oct 2008

New properties of skin stem cells

Recent research from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet reveals completely new properties of the skin's stem cells - discoveries that contradict previous findings.

13 Oct 2008

Carbon nanotube coating improves electrical stimulation therapy used for Parkinson's, depression, chronic pain

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have designed a way to improve electrical stimulation of nerves by outfitting electrodes with the latest in chemically engineered fashion: a coating of basic black, formed from carbon nanotubes.

16 Sep 2008

Light-activated drug used to tackle MRSA

New treatment using a light-activated drug could revolutionise the fight against hospital "superbug", MRSA (otherwise known as Meticillin resistant staphylococcus aureus) it was revealed at the British Pharmaceutical Conference (BPC) in Manchester.

7 Sep 2008

Blood vessel cells are instructed to form tube-like structures

How do blood vessel cells understand that they should organise themselves in tubes and not in layers? A research group from Uppsala University shows for the first time that a special type of "instructor" molecule is needed to accomplish this. These findings, published in the scientific journal Blood, might be an important step towards using stem cells to build new organs.

31 Aug 2008

Researchers find Leishmaniasis parasites evade death by exploiting the immune response to sand fly bites

Cutaneous leishmaniasis, a disease characterized by painful skin ulcers, occurs when the parasite Leishmania major, or a related species, is transmitted to a mammalian host by the bite of an infected sand fly.

14 Aug 2008

FDA seizes more than $24 Million in unapproved new drugs

Representatives of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service today seized $24.2 million worth of unapproved new drugs from KV Pharmaceutical Company of St. Louis, Mo. Agents acted after United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway filed a civil forfeiture suit and obtained a warrant to seize the unapproved new drug products being made by KV Pharmaceutical.

30 Jul 2008

Researchers find key mechanism of cell damage in aging and disease

Researchers have taken a first snapshot of how a class of highly reactive molecules inflicts cellular damage as part of aging, heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease and Alzheimer's disease to name a few. According to a study published today in the journal Cell, researchers have discovered a tool that can monitor related damage and determine the degree to which antioxidant drugs effectively combat disease.

24 Jul 2008