Report Suggests Hedgehog Pathway Stimulation Improves Wound Healing
Curis has announced that a new report has documented the beneficial effects of Hedgehog pathway stimulation for accelerated wound closure in an animal model of diabetes-impaired wound healing.
Poorly healing wounds, partly a result of impaired circulation, are often a major complication of diabetes, which afflicts an estimated 18 million Americans. Diabetic wounds can lead to severe complications if left untreated. For example, more than 60 percent of nontraumatic lower-limb amputations in the U.S. occur among people with diabetes.
The research for this study was performed in the laboratory of Douglas Losordo in the Division of Cardiovascular Research at the St. Elizabeth's Medical Center of Boston. The authors observed that part of the wound healing response to stimulating the Hedgehog signaling pathway involved increasing blood flow within the wound, and they concluded that a topically applied Hedgehog drug therapy may have significant therapeutic potential for enhanced wound healing in patients with impaired microcirculation, such as diabetic foot ulcers.
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