A Local Immunoactive Patch for the Treatment of Chronic Wounds
Abstract
Our Veterans often die years after the active service from a silent but deadly scourge: diabetic foot ulcers, open sores or lesions that typically start on the bottom of the foot. This silent, sinister complication is now a leading cause of disability worldwide. Yet too little is being done to prevent them. One way to honor our military Veterans is to develop a therapeutic wound dressing that is efficient to treat and prevent this particular pathology, thereby reducing the economical and sociological burden associated with it. Chronic wound results from a local persistent inflammation, mostly fueled by underling systemic conditions, such as diabetes. The escalating high rates of diabetes, and the high incidence of this pathology among Service Members, make diabetic foot ulcers a major and increasing public health problem. Chronic wound management is based on the simple principles of eliminating infection, the use of dressings to maintain a moist wound bed and to absorb inflammatory exudate, offloading high pressure from the wound bed, and debridement to accelerate endogenous healing and facilitate the effectiveness of topically applied substance. However, till now, no effective wound dressing has been developed to solve this contingency. In this project, we aim to test the therapeutic potential of an immunomodulatory wound dressing for chronic wound. As wound dressing can be generally applied to any sort of wound to prevent the associated complications, we believe that by combining immunology, regenerative medicine, and material science approaches, it is possible to develop an ad hoc material able to transform chronic wounds in pro-regenerative environment and achieve a functional healing. The patch we propose is a ready-to-go and easily scalable strategy, with a high translational potential into clinical settings. Moreover, as an off-the-shelf material, it does not require any particular storage conditions, which increases its suitability to be used also in extreme environment, including the battlefield.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Dec 28, 2022
- Source ID
- W81XWH2210048
Entities
People
- Bruna Corradetti
Organizations
- Houston Methodist Research Institute
- United States Army