06.08.12
‘Spray-on skin’ leg ulcer treatment developed
A ‘spray-on skin’ treatment, consisting of skin cells suspended in a mixture of blood-clotting agents, has been found to significantly improve the healing of venous leg ulcers.
Research was conducted on a group of 228 subjects with venous leg ulcers and its findings have been published in the Lancet.
Venous leg ulcers are caused by high blood pressure in the veins damaging the skin and making wounds appear. 1 in 500 people in the UK are affected by venous leg ulcers but this figure increases to 1 in 50 in the population above the age of 80. There is an increased risk to people suffering from varicose veins, obesity or mobility issues.
The subjects were all given the prescribed standard treatment of compression bandages to heal the ulcers and then split into a control and groups being administered different dosages of the spray.
The spray treatment was administered every 14 days to selected patients. Those who received the spray showed an improved rate of healing and a high number of ulcer wounds healed. Compression bandage treatment only healed between 30% and 70% of wounds over a six-month period.
The patients administered with the highest dosage of the spray were 52% more likely than the control group to experience wound closure at 12 weeks, and also experienced a 16% reduction in wound area after seven days. 70% of those treated with the spray were healed after three months: the figure was at 46% in the untreated control group.
Plans would see the spray used in addition to compression bandage treatment to maximise results. It is calculated that money would be saved by eliminating the need for other treatments like skin grafts. Skin grafts are problematic because they often result in another wound at the site from which the graft was taken.
Dr Herbert Slade of Healthpoint Biotherapeutics, who was one of the study’s authors said: “The treatment we tested in this study has the potential to vastly improve recovery times and overall recovery from leg ulcers, without the need for a skin graft.
“This means not only that the patient doesn’t acquire a new wound where the graft is taken from, but also that the spray-on solution can be available as soon as required – skin grafts take a certain amount of time to prepare, which exposes the patient to further discomfort and risk of infection.”
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