FDA APPROVES NEW CLINICAL TRIAL USING STEM CELLS TO TREAT NON-HEALING WOUNDS
Using stem cells to heal wounds is not a new concept, but up until recently testing has been largely experimental. Stem cells have been tested for skin tissue engineering and wound healing, regenerative wound healing, and at Samford Health as a treatment for shoulder injuries. The FDA has approved the institution’s second-ever adipose-derived stem cell clinical trial which is designed to treat non-healing leg ulcers. The trial began back in September of this year.
Participants in the study are above the age of 18 with a leg wound 3-25 centimeters squared (about 1 to 9 inches) and an A1C less than nine. Additionally, to take part in the study, the leg wound must have been present for at least 3 months and non-healing. “This clinical trial can help explore treatments for people with non-healing wounds, including people who have diabetes and others with conditions that affect their quality of life,” according to David Pearce, Ph.D., executive vice president of innovation and research at Sanford Health......
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EXPERIMENTAL STEM CELL THERAPY SPEEDS UP WOUND HEALING IN DIABETES
The research, led by scientists at NYU School of Medicine, focused on a chain of events in diabetes that makes skin sores more likely to form and less likely to heal.
Namely, the body's failure in diabetes to break down dietary sugar creates molecules called free radicals that can wreak havoc on cells and damage their DNA. These free radicals also trigger an inrush of immune cells and chemicals meant to fight infection that, researchers say, instead kill normal cells and cause diabetic skin ulcers. These wounds, they note, can take twice as long to heal as in healthy mammals and are prone to infection......
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STEM CELL-BASED GEL PROMISES MORE RAPID RECOVERY OF WOUNDS
Stem cells are often touted for their ability to differentiate into other tissues. These immature cells can be coaxed into becoming neurons, heart muscle cells or pretty much anything else. But that’s not their full repertoire. Stem cells also secrete proteins and other molecules that can help other cells grow. Even better, these growth factors can act as a tonic for sick or dying cells, helping them survive.
That’s the idea behind Eduardo Silva’s work. An assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering, Silva has spent years working out how to isolate these growth factors and deliver them where they can provide the most benefit. Now he has patented a therapeutic biogel that can promote wound healing. The idea is quite simple, but the details have taken years to work out.....
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