New Next Generation Wound Gel That Treats And Prevents Infections Including Those Caused By Multi-Resistant Bacteria
Source: Thailand Medical News Jan 09, 2020 4 years, 11 months, 1 week, 5 days, 15 hours, 1 minute ago
Medical Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have developed a new hydrogel based on the body's natural peptide defense. It has been shown to prevent and treat infections in
wounds. The formulation kills
multi-resistant bacteria, something that is increasing in importance with
antibiotic resistance growing globally.
Dr Artur Schmidtchen, Professor of Dermatology and Venereology at Lund University told
Thailand Medical News,"The ability to effectively
heal wounds is key for our survival in evolutionary terms. There are peptides in
wounds that defend against
bacteria and prevent their toxins from causing inflammation. The gel is based on these natural defense mechanisms and has had a dual effect, by both preventing as well as treating
wound infections."
Madelene Å Andersson, Sven Kjellström, Jitka Petrlova, Artur Schmidtchen, Ann-Charlotte
Strömdahl, Manoj Puthia. Credit: Olle Dahlbäck
An increasing need for new treatments that improve
wound healing and reduce complications in patients with various types of
wounds, such as burns, surgical wounds, or other types of wounds that don't heal easily lead to the creation of this new
wound gel.
Existing treatments are primarily directed solely at the
bacteria. The patient is treated with
antibiotics either preventively or when they get an
infection, and various antiseptics are used. The extensive use of
antibiotics is adding to the issue of
antibiotic resistance. Infections with
multi-resistant bacteria are a major global problem today, and they cannot be treated with
antibiotics.
Dr Schmidtchen added, "
Antibiotics and antiseptics kill the bacteria but do not affect the subsequent harmful inflammatory process. Another problem is that the active substances in today's antiseptic wound treatment often are toxic and harmful to the environment. We have not seen this with our active substance, and it also kills
multi-resistant bacteria."
The new
wound gel is not only antibacterial, it also has an
immunosuppressive effect. The researchers have previously shown that the peptides in the
wound gel can inactivate so-called lipopolysaccharides (LPS), that are found in cell walls of
bacteria, and that trigger an inflammatory reaction. The reaction is an essential part of our immune system as we quickly respond to and fight
bacteria.
Dr Manoj Puthia, researcher at Lund University and first author of the study told Thailand
<
span style="font-size:14px">Medical News, "However, severe and uncontrolled inflammation inhibits wound healing, and it is very interesting to see that the gel lowers the inflammatory response within 24 hours of the treatment, and then further reduces the bacterial levels over a period of 3 to 4 days. We have designed a whole new type of treatment that uses nature's own principles by not only killing bacteria but also acting as an immune-modulatoring."
The medical researchers are now planning a collaboratingon with the company in2cure AB in order to get the
woung gel approved for use in clinical studies involving patients with burn injuries.
Dr Schmidtchen concluded, "We will also look into the possibility of developing new peptide-based drugs for eye infections and
infections in other internal organs. It could become a new way of treating both infection and inflammation without using
antibiotics."
Reference: Manoj Puthia et al, A dual-action peptide-containing hydrogel targets wound infection and inflammation, Science Translational Medicine (2020). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aax6601
