In a study from Queen’s University Belfast, scientists have designed a new bandage treatment, known as a scaffold, to treat diabetic foot ulcers, which is cost-effective while improving patient outcomes.
Produced by 3D bioprinting, the scaffolds slowly release antibiotics over a four-week period to effectively treat the wound.
Diabetes, a lifelong condition that causes a person’s blood sugar level to become too high, is among the top ten causes of death worldwide.
Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU), is a serious complication of diabetes, affecting approximately 25% of diabetic patients.
When identified, over 50% are already infected and over 70% of cases result in lower limb amputation.
In the study, the treatment strategy required for the effective healing of DFU is a complex process that requires several combined therapeutic approaches.
As a result, there is a strong clinical and economic burden associated with treating DFU. These treatments are often unsuccessful, which leads to lower-limb amputation.
This new research demonstrates outcomes with strong implications for patient quality of life, as well as decreasing the costs and clinical burden in treating DFU.
The team says these scaffolds are like windows that enable doctors to monitor the healing constantly. This avoids needing to remove them constantly, which can provoke infection and delay the healing process.
The ‘frame’ has an antibiotic that helps to ‘kill’ the bacteria infection, and the ‘glass’ that can be prepared by collagen/sodium alginate can contain a growth factor to encourage cell growth.
The scaffold has two molecular layers that both play an important role in healing the wound.
This provides a low-cost alternative to current DFU treatments, which could revolutionize DFU treatment, improving patient outcomes while reducing the economic burden caused by rapidly increasing patient demand as the number of people with diabetes continues to increase every year.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about new drugs to treat diabetes and metabolic syndrome, and heavy cannabis use may decrease incidence of diabetes.
For more information about diabetes, please see recent studies about the link between COVID-19 and diabetes, and results showing scientists find way to treat diabetes without drugs.
The study was conducted by Katie Glover et al and published in Drug Delivery and Translational Research.
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