These chronic wounds are potentially fatal, experts say
THURSDAY, June 23 (HealthDay News) -- New insights into the molecular mechanisms that cause bedsores and other chronic wounds may someday improve treatment of these debilitating problems, researchers report.
Bedsores (also known as pressure sores) and other chronic wounds are common and potentially fatal. They typically occur in people with diabetes or poor circulation, the elderly, and people who are confined to a bed or wheelchair.
Researchers at the New York University School of Medicine and the Wound Healing Program at Columbia University, both in New York City, studied patient tissue samples taken from chronic wounds.
They found that skin cells get stuck in the middle of the normal healing process, becoming unable to migrate to the wound site. This interruption in the healing process is caused by overproduction of c-myc molecules, according to the New York team.
C-myc molecules are known to suppress cell migration and cause skin thickening, which prevents repair cells from reaching the edge of the wound, they explained. The researchers also found that the overproduction of c-myc molecules was caused by beta-catenin, an important regulator of cell behavior.
This is the first study to examine how c-myc and beta-catenin slow wound healing. The findings appear in the July 1 issue of the American Journal of Pathology.
According to the researchers, the findings could help doctors predict which wounds are likely to become chronic. They also provide potential targets for new treatments to prevent or cure these serious wounds.
SOURCE: New York University School of Medicine, news release, June 22, 2005
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