Severe Burns News and Research

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Alligator blood may provide a source of powerful new antibiotics

Despite their reputation for deadly attacks on humans and pets, alligators are wiggling their way toward a new role as potential lifesavers in medicine, biochemists in Louisiana reported today at the 235th national meeting of the American Chemical Society.

7 Apr 2008

Alligator blood extract promises to help fight superbugs

Biochemists from Louisiana in the U.S. say blood from alligators could help fight deadly 'superbugs' and other infections.

7 Apr 2008

SnowWorld, an interactive, virtual-reality video game helps burn patients with pain relief

To a patient recovering from severe burns, no place would be more soothing than a polar landscape of gently falling snowflakes, snowmen, penguins, igloos and icy rivers.

19 Mar 2008

Fibrosis in the liver stopped and reversed by researchers

University of California, San Diego researchers have proven in animal studies that fibrosis in the liver can be not only stopped, but reversed.

28 Dec 2007

Discovery on manipulating skin tone and color

In the timeless quest for healthier, younger looking skin, scientists from the University of Cincinnati and Tokyo Medical University have made an important discovery toward manipulating skin tone and color.

24 Aug 2007

Modified skin cells that may help protect cultured skin substitutes from infection

Cincinnati burn researchers have created genetically modified skin cells that, when added to cultured skin substitutes, may help fight off potentially lethal infections in patients with severe burns.

9 Jan 2007

Treating battlefield injuries and pain in veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq

The August issue of Pain Medicine features two original research studies on treating pain in veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq.

15 Aug 2006

Thermal injury induced insulin resistance is associated with the renin-angiotensin system

Researchers have found a way to prevent insulin resistance in burn-injured rats, a finding that, while still quite preliminary, could eventually save burn victims' lives and speed their recovery.

6 Apr 2006

Plastic surgeons describe possibility of full facial tissue transplantation from one human body to another

Even after news of the first partial facial transplantation performed in France spread around the world, plastic surgeons have continued to research how to make the first full facial transplantation a reality.

7 Mar 2006

New approaches to counteract platelet shortages

Availability of safe platelets is a fundamental blood transfusion challenge and can be especially problematic in times of emergency. Several studies presented at the annual American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) meeting today demonstrate new approaches to counteract platelet shortages by enhancing the safety of whole blood derived platelets, precluding the need to rely on only those obtained through apheresis.

17 Oct 2005

Cells inside the hair follicle are true multipotent stem cells

Using an animal model, a research team led by Yann Barrandon at the EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne) and the CHUV (Lausanne University Hospital) has discovered that certain cells inside the hair follicle are true multipotent stem cells, capable of developing into the many different cell types needed for hair growth and follicle replacement.

5 Oct 2005

Spray-on skin to be trialed on burns victims after great results

British doctors are about to conduct the first major trial of "spray-on" skin after the technique saved the life of a man with 90 per cent burns.

7 Sep 2005

Pediatric burn victims’ recovery, diabetes aided by Fenofibrate

One of the immediate serious results of sudden extreme trauma or stress, including burns and even surgery, is insulin resistance, or diabetes. As a result, healing is delayed, especially in the case of severe burns, and since the body is unable to fully use blood sugar for energy, muscle tissue is broken down as the body scavenges for other possible energy sources.

3 Apr 2005

Virtual reality games can help alleviate pain in children

Virtual reality games can help alleviate pain in children being treated for severe injuries, according to research published today in the Open Access, peer reviewed journal BMC Pediatrics.

2 Mar 2005

Stopping bacteria from talking to each other could help prevent serious infections

Stopping bacteria from talking to each other could help prevent serious infections say scientists from Aberdeen, in new research presented Monday at the Society for General Microbiology’s 155th Meeting at Trinity College Dublin.

7 Sep 2004

Virtual reality appears to dramatically change how the brain physically registers pain

The work, which used a specialized type of magnetic resonance imaging to track pain-related brain activity, showed drops of as much as 97 percent in such activity in some brain centers. The study marks the first time that scientists have documented a link between virtual reality and pain reduction in terms of an actual physiological response.

21 Jun 2004

Revolutionary self healing bandage that uses the patient's own cells

A revolutionary type of 'self healing' bandage that uses the patient's own cells is being developed. The technique has already been tried successfully on patients with diabetic ulcers and in the long-term could offer a more effective, quicker and cost efficient way of treating many types of slow-healing wounds such as pressure ulcers.

24 May 2004

FDA finalizes new rule on donor eligibility for human tissues and cells

FDA today published a final rule establishing donor eligibility criteria for donors of human cells, tissues, and cellular and tissue-based products (HCT/Ps) to help prevent the transmission of communicable disease when these products are transplanted.

20 May 2004

Biological bandages are being successfully used to treat patients with severe burns

Doctors have been impressed with the rapid recovery rates instigated by the ‘tailor-made ’ discs, which have been devised by a research team at the Sheffield company, CellTran, with financial support from the Wellcome Trust biomedical research charity and the White Rose Technology Seedcorn Fund. They will be officially launched at the British Burn Association’s annual meeting in Manchester tomorrow (28th).

27 Apr 2004