This is a kind of news every mother of a young child would welcome: a spray-on skin. Imagine if you can take care of all scraped knees and elbows with just a kiss and a spray. We are not there yet, but the scientists lead by Dr. Herbert B. Slade, a pediatrician at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth produced an experimental spray-on skin that works well with chronic leg wounds.
What is it made of?
The spray-on skin is a ” Ëœsoup” â„¢ made of skin cells and a mixture of various proteins. This product was tested during the 12-week study on 205 people. The results show that people who received the spray-on treatment together with the compression bandaging had much better results that those who used only bandaging, which is the current treatment.
All the participants in this study had venous leg ulcers, shallow wounds common in people with a circulation problem in their veins, particularly those who are obese and inactive.
The scientists published their findings in the journal Lancet. and Healthpoint Biotherapeutics of Fort Worth, Texas, which sponsored the study, is already developing the new product.
Follow-up Studies
While scientists now know that the spray-on skin works well in conjunction with traditional bandages, they do not know exactly how. The cocktail of cells and growth factors stimulate new collagen, which helps wound healing and speeds up the recovery of the skin. Collagen is the main skin structural protein.
New follow- up studies are already ongoing before FDA will approve this product and it becomes a standard procedure.
The spray-on skin is a new hope for large number of people with skin wounds that fail to respond to other types of treatment. Doctors believe that it would provide great help for people with diabetes, who have foot ulcers. Since the number of people with diabetes is growing, this might be quite a significant achievement.
The spray-on skin could be used in any case in which artificial skin or skin grafts are needed. According to Dr. Neil Sadick, from the Weill Cornell Medical College, this product could be helpful in the healing of all sorts of wounds and in any area where the skin surface needs to be replaced.
While we cannot expect to find a spray-on skin in our local pharmacies just yet, it will not take long. The potentials are great and it is only a matter of time before manufacturers see that there is a lot of money to be made from it. Unfortunately, this is what normally speeds up the research.
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