A Skin Patch Could Treat Diabetic-Related Ulcers

Stanford researchers have developed a specialized skin patch that can deliver a drug to heal diabetic ulcers.

The drug deferoxamine, or DFO, was shown to help support new vascular growth when applied to wounded tissue on mice, according to co-author Jayakumar Rajadas, PhD, director of Stanford's Biomaterials and Advanced Drug Delivery Laboratory.

Local delivery of DFO, when controlled to be released at a therapeutic level, helped not only heal wounds, but create new skin that was better in quality than the old skin.

Diabetic ulcers

Diabetic-related ulcers occur in about 15 percent of people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Left untreated, these can lead to disability and, in some cases, amputations.

In people with diabetes, high blood sugar can compromise the body's ability to grow new blood vessels, which are essential for wound healing.

"We were very excited by the results," said Dr. Dominik Duscher, co-author of the study, "and we hope to start clinical trials soon to test this in humans."

The findings are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Source: Stanford

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