Spray On Skin

Courtesy of Discovery News

Skin grafts are effective at treating serious wounds such as ulcers, but are inconvenient, time consuming and costly. Similarly, compression bandages can take an extraordinarily long time to heal and are only effective 70% of the time.

U.S. and Canadian researchers have found that by coating wounds with a layer of skin cells, they can treat severe gashes such as ulcers more quickly and effectively than anything we have today.

The new solution, dubbed spray on skin, is perfect for the most troublesome and difficult to contain wounds. Spray on skin is comprised of blood clotting proteins and donated skins cells. This concoction was effective in sealing off, reducing and eliminating ulcers.

The study found that when applied once every two weeks, ulcers were able to heal twice as fast as the current most effective method, compression bandages.

Dr. Herbert Slade, who was involved in the study, said that,

“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.”

The biggest barrier to acceptance of this new method is the price. Research is still ongoing, but with more time and wider medical acceptance, we can expect the formula to be perfected, and the remedy to become more affordable.

The Lancet via BBC News

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