Modeling How Wounds Heal
Adapted from a Ohio State University news release
Posted September 28, 2009
Four Overlapping Stages of Healthy Wound Healing
1. Platelets make blood clots and release chemicals that attract cells to the wound
2. White blood cells kill infectious agents and generate growth factors needed for repair
3. New blood vessels form and cells produce the extracellular matrix
4. The repaired wound gains strength (this stage can take years)
Researchers at Ohio State University have built the first mathematical model of an ischemic
wound, a type of chronic wound that heals slowly or never heals because it's fed by an
inadequate supply of blood and nutrients. The new model will help researchers explore the
biology of chronic wounds.
Chronic wounds affect an estimated 6.5 million people in the United States each year. Credit:
Jonathan MooreIschemic wounds are a common complication of diabetes, high blood
pressure, obesity or other conditions that affect vascular health. They can be severe,
sometimes leading to limb amputation or death. In their paper describing the model, the OSU
researchers call ischemic wounds "the most clinically challenging type of wounds."
The model takes into account many factors involved in the complex process of wound healing,
like the concentration of oxygen and growth factors and the density of pathogen-fighting white
blood cells, repairing fibroblasts and tiny new blood vessels. It also includes the extracellular
matrix, the bed on which cells work to close the wound.
The new model's results generally match those from experimental studies. For example, it
showed that a non-ischemic wound will close in about 13 days and an ischemic wound, after
20 days, will only be 25 percent healed. It also revealed that ischemic wounds lack oxygen
and remain in a prolonged inflammatory phase.
The researchers hope the model will enable them and others to answer a wide range of
questions about ischemic wounds and how best to treat them.
Chandan Sen, who directs the OSU Comprehensive Wound Center and who helped build the
new model, says, "We're not just considering what type of therapy should be used for these
wounds. It is the specifics of when and how you apply it—those are the details that matter."
Honey for Wounds
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Some people suffer
wounds that just won't heal. To solve
the problem, doctors are
going back in time to find a solution that helps heal everything from diabetic
Josh Pennington has mowed the lawn more
times in his 63 years than he can count, but the routine chore
nearly killed him when he hit a stone that wounded his leg. That wound
just wouldn't heal.
"I do a lot of hunting and fishing outdoors where I
could possibly get it infected, so that was always on my
Pennington told Ivanhoe.
His wound was so deep, it exposed his bone --
and nothing he tried for three years would fix it. To solve the
problem, doctors at Georgetown University tried a new bandage infused
"As long as it's clean and it's healthy and it's showing
progress, I'm with the program," Pennington said.
Medi-Honey is a
highly-absorbent, seaweed-based bandage soaked with a special kind of honey
only in Australia and New Zealand. The honey is
concentrated and provides an ideal environment for wound
"It kills bacteria with some of the enzymes it has in
it," Christopher Attinger, M.D.,
Chairman of the Division of Wound Healing
at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C., told
The acid in the bandage also helps lower the pH level
in chronic wounds for better healing. Unlike
antibiotics, the honey
poses no toxic effects or risks of resistance.
"We're starting to use
manuka honey as a first-line drug as opposed to waiting to see whether other
dressings work, because we've had excellent success with it," Dr.
In just months, Pennington's wound shrunk 95
"Power to the bees," Pennington said.
He couldn't be
happier that this sweet new treatment gave him his life and use of his leg
Researchers believe the Medi-Honey bandage may also protect wounds
from infections like MRSA. A box
of the bandages costs
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Division of Wound
Georgetown University Hospital
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- About 28 million
Americans suffer from migraines. The
debilitating headaches disrupt
lives and force many to rely on powerful pain medications. Now a new
zaps away pain before it starts using a migraine magnet.
It happens at
the worst times.
"Migraines are pretty inconvenient for me," Richard
Higgins told Ivanhoe.
Higgins has suffered from migraines since he was a
kid. Now the biomedical engineer often gets them at
"My first symptoms are auras, which are small blind spots
in my vision, and over the course of 10 to 15
minutes that blind
spot grows so much so that I can't read or I can't drive safely," Higgins
There may be a way to relieve his pain without
"This is a very exciting and important option," Yousef
Mohammad, M.D., M.Sc., a professor of neurology
at Ohio State
University Medical Center in Columbus, told Ivanhoe.
It's called a
transcranial magnetic stimulator or TMS.
"They'll put it at the back of
their head and they'll receive two pulses," Dr. Mohammad explained.
device sends magnetic pulses during the aura phase -- the warning period before
the migraine hits. It's
often described as an electrical
"We're interrupting this electrical storm or current in the brain
before it leads to the headache," Dr.
Research shows 39 percent of patients were pain-free two hours
after the treatment compared to twenty-
two percent who got sham
pulses. Higgins eagerly joined the TMS trial, hoping to find a replacement for
"Using a device that can disrupt my migraine
without taking medicine, I think is for me a much safer way to
with the symptoms," he said.
With a job that requires his full
attention, Higgins can't afford to let his migraines win.
Dr. Mohammad, the TMS device could approved in the next few months. If
approved, it will
probably be much smaller than the one used in the
research trials. Women are three times more likely to
migraines than men.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE
Ohio State University Medical Center
Sheri Kirk, Medical