Wound healing composition and method for use thereof

Published 05/19/2005

I'm not sure if this article has been posted before but it provides interesting evidence for a new method of reducing scarring.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20050107302.html

Article excerpts: "A method for reducing or preventing the formation of scar tissue is disclosed. The method comprises applying a pharmacologically effective amount of a composition comprising about 5.0% by weight of ovalbumin, about 1.0% phenoxyethanol, about 0.5% carbomer, and about 0.3% triethanolamine. A method for stimulating fibroblast production is also disclosed. The method comprises applying a pharmacologically effective amount of a composition comprising about 5.0% by weight of ovalbumin, about 1.0% phenoxyethanol, about 0.5% carbomer, and about 0.3% triethanolamine."

Rupert,

Thank you for your reply. I have a little assortment of scars. Some icepicks on my nose; a boxcar on my cheek which subcision brought to the surface; and a chickenpox scar and scratch on my forehead / temple that spot dermabrasion worked really well for. I have a few small body scars that bother me and nobody else. I just want them all gone and hence my quest for the perfect regenerative approach.

I was really intrigued with Isolagen as it seemed like the most logical of fillers, and given my collagen experience I felt I had a right to be leery. I could never understand why on earth it took so long to bring to market and then the subsequent demise. I have a friend who flew to the UK to have her sample taken and then was ready for her treatment when they pulled the plug on her. She was LIVID!

Wtronic,

You might be a human version of the MRL mouse! Maybe we should be harvesting your liver cells for injecting so we can all regenerate like you. I understand that with gene therapy a lot of things will be possible. However, right now the bugs are still being worked out with the gene delivery vectors. We unfortunately had a recent death in a local Seattle gene therapy trial for diabetes treatment using adenoviruses vectors. There is a new approach using a calcium slush that looks promising thougha

Neca,

Thanks for all the new posts. I'll research those too!

Take care all!

Anna

I'm a bit bummed. The first leg of the DARPA study looks like it just began in June '07...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grant of the Month | July 2007

PI Stephen Badylak, DVM, PhD, MD

Co-PI(s)aSusan Braunhut, Ph.D., professor of biological sciences at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell

aLorraine Gudas, Ph.D., chairman of the pharmacology department and Revlon Pharmaceutical Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York City

aEllen Heber-Katz, Ph.D., professor, molecular and cellular oncogenesis program, The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia

aShannon Odelberg, Ph.D., assistant professor, departments of internal medicine and neurobiology and anatomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City

aHans-Georg Simon, Ph.D., a developmental biologist and assistant professor of pediatrics, Childrenas Memorial Research Center and Northwestern University in Chicago

Title: aoeMammalian Limb Restorationa

Summary: The regenerative ability of adult human tissues, organs, and appendages is typically very limited. The default mechanism of wound repair in humans and most other mammals is characterized by scar tissue formation. However, there is evidence for some site-specific regeneration-like processes during mammalian embryologic development and during the early postnatal period. In addition, there is lifelong self-renewal capability for selected cell populations such as hematopoietic cells, intestinal epithelium, and hepatocytes.

In contrast, urodele amphibians possess extraordinary abilities to regenerate lost structures, such as the limbs and tail, throughout their lifetime. These regenerative processes are dependent upon the formation of a blastema at the site of injury. This regeneration blastema is comprised of a self-organizing pool of proliferating progenitor cells genetically programmed to develop into a phenocopy of the lost structure.

The blastema carries its own extracellular matrix and its own gene expression signature. The work described in this project will attempt to unlock the regenerative potential in humans by determining the genetic signature of the developing blastema and attempting to recreate portions of the fetal development process in humans.

The research will involve several milestones including identification of cells that participate in the formation of a blastema-like structure in mammals, the spatiotemporal location of such cells during the remodeling process and the identification of bioactive molecules that induce, maintain, and complete such a process.

The culmination of this work would eventually be the application of these identified mechanisms and events to the injured mammal in a mouse model.

A highly interdisciplinary research team has been developed with expertise in developmental biology, molecular biology, matrix biology, pharmacology, immunology, and with training in medicine, veterinary medicine, physics, and computational methods of data mining. Significant preliminary data has been generated to support the fundamental approach. Well defined milestones have been identified and a management scheme has been established that assures close collaboration among the principal investigators and their respective laboratories at six different institutions.

Source: DARPA (W911NF-06-1-0067); Year 2 funding ($3,605,738)

Term: 6/15/07 a 6/14/08

http://www.mirm.pitt.edu/news/grants/

That's a shame DARPA has only just started the tissue regeneration research, however I guess Anna we just have to be realistic. All medicinal research takes a heck of a long time and money. But I'm sure we will see the rewards soon enough . I only hope that are able to achive their goals with that year 2 funding of what seems to be only $3.6m. Surely this research team is going to burn through that in no time?

Well in the meantime here are some more interesting articles related to scar tissue prevention/reduction .

Terrorist Kafeel may undergo shark skin treatment for burns

25/07/2007

This story, if true, really upsets me; the UK health service is happy to provide expensive anti-scar treatment to a terrorist who tried to blow/burn himself up by driving his car into an airport? So while us innocent laymen/women are here stuck with our scars, a terrorist can get the best treatment.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200707250358.htm

Article excerpts: "Doctors in the United Kingdom are to use skin made from Sharks to treat 27-year-old Kafeel Ahmed, a terror suspect horrifically burnt in the Glasgow Airport attack. Struggling to save Ahmed, surgeons have finally turned to this revolutionary treatment, known as Integra Dermal Regeneration Template which costs over 20,000 pounds, British tabloid The Sun reported Tuesday.

"It tricks the body into creating new skin cells," the tabloid quoted Surgeon Steve Jeffrey, who spent nine months in Australia perfecting the treatment, as saying. In fact, the expensive process involves doctors placing silicone implants with shark skin extracts on to the burns. After two weeks, the outer silicone layer is removed and replaced with a layer of skin thinner than a graft.

A chemical in the shark's skin prevents a scar from forming and allows the body to produce a skin-like tissue. "In the past, pig skin was used to treat severe burns, but shark skin treatment is used now."

Tissue Regeneration Technologies (TFT) & MultiWave technology provide non-invasive and minimally invasive treatment for numerous pathological conditions including chronic wounds

MultiWave technology is a combination of heat, electromagnetic, acoustic, and light energies [Aka H.E.A.L.].

I'm not sure whether this would directly prevent scar formation but it might help reduce scar tissue production and increase wounding healing efficiency. But with a company name like "Tissue Regeneration Technologies" surely they would have thought about looking into scar tissue prevent? Moreover, they have a former vietnam vet and senator on their board as an advisor so I'm sure he knows all about the horrors of wars including maiming and scars.

http://www.trtllc.com/2/

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/g...amp;newsLang=en

http://www.modernmedicine.com/modernmedici...p;sk=&date= (This site requires registration to read but it is free)

Article Excerpts: aoeBased on our research on diabetic foot ulcers and other wounds, we believe our technology will prevent numerous amputations on veterans and greatly speed the recovery time for certain combat injuries, including those sustained from Improvised Explosive Devices, (IEDs). In many cases, our technology has been shown to not only greatly reduce scar tissue but also generate new, healthy tissue, especially in burn patients.a

Wound healing composition and method for use thereof

Published 05/19/2005

 

I'm not sure if this article has been posted before but it provides interesting evidence for a new method of reducing scarring.

 

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20050107302.html

 

Article excerpts: "A method for reducing or preventing the formation of scar tissue is disclosed. The method comprises applying a pharmacologically effective amount of a composition comprising about 5.0% by weight of ovalbumin, about 1.0% phenoxyethanol, about 0.5% carbomer, and about 0.3% triethanolamine. A method for stimulating fibroblast production is also disclosed. The method comprises applying a pharmacologically effective amount of a composition comprising about 5.0% by weight of ovalbumin, about 1.0% phenoxyethanol, about 0.5% carbomer, and about 0.3% triethanolamine."

I was just looking through this Neca! It is all very interesting but I had a bit of a giggle when I read this:

[0016] In accordance with the present invention, it has now been discovered that wounds may be effectively treated with the growth factors that are contained in egg whites of hens. Specifically, topically administered growth factors in pharmacologically effective amounts are useful for increasing the local activity of the body's wound healing process. Accordingly, the present invention is a low cost, over-the-counter, composition containing growth factors isolated from a naturally occurring source--egg whites. The composition may be used to treat any disease state where growth factors play a role including diabetic ulcers, nonhealing wounds, burns, osteomyelitis, trauma wounds, subcutaneous trauma and various forms of dermatitis.

I'm heading to the fridge now....

Thanks again for your great posts Neca!

Well in the meantime here are some more interesting articles related to scar tissue prevention/reduction .

 

Terrorist Kafeel may undergo shark skin treatment for burns

25/07/2007

 

This story, if true, really upsets me; the UK health service is happy to provide expensive anti-scar treatment to a terrorist who tried to blow/burn himself up by driving his car into an airport? So while us innocent laymen/women are here stuck with our scars, a terrorist can get the best treatment.

 

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200707250358.htm

 

Article excerpts: "Doctors in the United Kingdom are to use skin made from Sharks to treat 27-year-old Kafeel Ahmed, a terror suspect horrifically burnt in the Glasgow Airport attack. Struggling to save Ahmed, surgeons have finally turned to this revolutionary treatment, known as Integra Dermal Regeneration Template which costs over 20,000 pounds, British tabloid The Sun reported Tuesday.

 

"It tricks the body into creating new skin cells," the tabloid quoted Surgeon Steve Jeffrey, who spent nine months in Australia perfecting the treatment, as saying. In fact, the expensive process involves doctors placing silicone implants with shark skin extracts on to the burns. After two weeks, the outer silicone layer is removed and replaced with a layer of skin thinner than a graft.

 

A chemical in the shark's skin prevents a scar from forming and allows the body to produce a skin-like tissue. "In the past, pig skin was used to treat severe burns, but shark skin treatment is used now."

Too bad it isn't still made from pig skin! Can you imagine informing him (Muslim I assume) that the skin of the pig he hates is coating his burns... Okay, I'm sorry, I have a dark side...!

I'd like to say that I am sorry if the above statement offends any peace loving Muslim friends, but this guy tried to blow up an airport for goodness sake!

Tissue Regeneration Technologies (TFT) & MultiWave technology provide non-invasive and minimally invasive treatment for numerous pathological conditions including chronic wounds

 

MultiWave technology is a combination of heat, electromagnetic, acoustic, and light energies [Aka H.E.A.L.].

 

I'm not sure whether this would directly prevent scar formation but it might help reduce scar tissue production and increase wounding healing efficiency. But with a company name like "Tissue Regeneration Technologies" surely they would have thought about looking into scar tissue prevent? Moreover, they have a former vietnam vet and senator on their board as an advisor so I'm sure he knows all about the horrors of wars including maiming and scars.

 

http://www.trtllc.com/2/

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/g...amp;newsLang=en

http://www.modernmedicine.com/modernmedici...p;sk=&date= (This site requires registration to read but it is free)

 

Article Excerpts: aoeBased on our research on diabetic foot ulcers and other wounds, we believe our technology will prevent numerous amputations on veterans and greatly speed the recovery time for certain combat injuries, including those sustained from Improvised Explosive Devices, (IEDs). In many cases, our technology has been shown to not only greatly reduce scar tissue but also generate new, healthy tissue, especially in burn patients.a

This is an interesting therapy adjunct. I know that in veterinary applications of ACell the used LED light therapy too. There was a widely noted case where there were able to heal the dorsal fin of a dolphin using this. All great pieces to the larger puzzle!

this is all ok but does anything work yet?if you are still fairly young maybe down the road something may dramaticly improve or rid of scars...like anna i would like to see something asap but i just dont see it in the next 5 years.im 47 and already had a co2 laser resurfacing,microdermabrasions,sculptra,botox,scar subscion with 29ccs of precise injected.i also had 2 full face thermages.my face is still far from perfect.im going back next year to clinic estetica in tijuana and getting 2 more k injected and then im done with scar treatments until if ever something comes out that dramaticly improves scars.

nikkigirl,

You do have an excellent point. We live in the "now" and there are no guarantees for the future. The only thing with evidence that it showed real improvement (not cure) of existing scars, and then not really, is the Topirimate study. Most of what we are talking about on this thread is scarless wound healing, which would mean treating the wound with growth factors at the time of wounding. I suppose from a practical standpoint even one acne blemish would need to be treated prophylactically because one would never know which one was going to scar. The only thing which seems like the real cure would be to have gene therapy where the genes indicated in regenerative healing as in the MRL mouse were injected. In that case you basically couldn't scar no matter what you did to yourself.

I do remain optimistic that something major is in the offing, but in the interim I think you are right to move forward on your treatments. I would stay away from something like silicone though as it would be very difficult to remove were a regenerative approach work. The early offerings will be miraculous for surgical scars. However, many of us have scars which do not lend themselves easily to excision.

I will be interested to see what Professor Kimble out of Australia comes out with though soon. He is quoted as saying in a 2006 paper that in four years a scarless future should be here.

My best!

Anna

Update on Fetuin....It looks like the cream could be available this year. Who knows if this will have any impact on existing scars, but progress is being made!

http://www.workingwonders.com.au/go/news/w...come-a-long-way

Research

The Burn Research Group at the RCH has studied a unique fetal animal model and discovered what they believe to be the aideal proteina to help skin heal with minimal scarring. Although well know for over 30 years, the protein Fetuin was not recognised for its specific role in wound healing until the RCH Burns Research Group recently discovered high-level concentrations of the protein in fetal skin.

The team has now obtained a provisional patent for Fetuin, and with funding support from the RCH Foundation they are working towards human trials a applying Fetuin as a cream to minimise scarring and allow a less painful and stressful healing process for children with serious burns. This protein could be used on burns patients by late 2007. While there are other studies currently in progress to achieve scareless healing, researchers at the Royal Childrenas believe the product based on Fetuin will be free of adverse side effects when used on children.

Interesting fact about Fetuin. It is a rare protein that can be boiled without denaturing...

http://www.ihop-net.org/UniPub/iHOP/pm/858...p;pmid=11101300

Thermal behavior of proteins: heat-resistant proteins and their heat-induced secondary structural changes.

Kim TD, Ryu HJ, Cho HI, Yang CH, Kim J

Department of Microbiology and Brain Korea 21 Project of Medical Sciences, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Most proteins are denatured by heat treatment, and the process is usually irreversible. However, some proteins, such as hyperthermophilic proteins are known to be stable even at the boiling temperature of water. We here describe a systematic investigation of thermal behavior of proteins by purifying and characterizing some heat-resistant proteins (HRPs) that are not aggregated upon heat treatment. Although most proteins were precipitated by boiling in a water bath, about 20 and 70 wt % of total proteins appeared to be heat-resistant in Jurkat T-cell lysates and human serum, respectively. We identified major HRPs from Jurkat T-cells and human serum by N-terminal amino acid sequencing and Western blot analysis. HRPs of 20 and 45 kDa (HRP20 and HRP45) were identified as alpha-synuclein and calreticulin, respectively, and HRPs of 60, 27, and 16 kDa (HRP60, HRP27, and HRP16) were identified as human serum fetuin, apolipoprotein A-I, and transthyretin, respectively. By a systematic investigation of the effect of heat on the secondary structure of the purified HRPs by circular dichroic spectroscopy, we observed four major types of thermal behavior, suggesting that the proteins could protect themselves through these pathways. Although our analysis is restricted to protein secondary structural changes, our data indicate that heat resistance of protein can be achieved in several different ways depending on the thermodynamic stability of native (N), unfolded (U), denatured (D), and intermediate (I) states.

Anyone heard of Amatokin before? It supposed to be a peptide-based creme that claims to activate adult stem cells in the skin to smooth and reduce the depth of wrinkles. Its been also used in early research on healing burns. Wonder what your thoughts are on this for scars?

Hi Erynn,

I seem to remember something about it. Here is a link:

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2007/4/emw517926.htm

I haven't tried it personally, but after trying a number of spendy creams like Creme De La Mer, ReVive, and a slew of others I would be wary. The fact that it is made with stem cells doesn't mean that it is delivering those stem cells to where they would do any good. If you have a store that carries it locally go see if they will give you a sample or even call the company and find out if they have any reports of this helping acne or chickenpox scars...

It might be a great moisturizer, but I really doubt it fills in missing tissue. I wish I was wrong, but I think we are still playing the waiting game on that.

Thanks~

Anna

Very great read. I'm 19 and i've got rolling scars on my lower cheeks. I'm blessed with the ability to grow a thick beard (yeah, I'm a guy). I've been through a lot with acne. I should probably have more scarring than I do. My dad is one big scar. Thankfully ProActive works to keep my acne at bay, even though I'm sick of relying on meds.

So a question in dealing with stretch marks. I was an overweight child from about 6 years old to 16. I acquired these scars on my biceps, back (below arms), hips, butt, even inside my knees. I know some of it also has to do with genetics because my mom has some stretch marks too (not like me though). They honestly look terrible and I have made a decision to never take off my shirt in front of people. I have a nice body (now), but if you only saw how hideous these scars were.

I know this isn't a place for stretch mark discussion, but I also know that we are discussing scarless healing. Any chance that any one of these meds would penetrate all the way down into the deeper layers of the dermis to treat such scarring? I've seen over 10 cosmetologists that will not operate. Cutting out so many scars would only make my problem worse they say.

What do one of you more experienced gurus think?

Won Won,

At the point that they are able to successfully treat atrophic acne and chickenpox scars they will be able to treat stretch marks. Even though stretch marks are a little different though in that there isn't missing tissue, your tissue just wasn't elastic enough to accomodate your weight gain. Some people get these just from growing really fast and have never been overweight at all. They say that women who maintain a high protein diet during pregnancy get less of these. I have heard that some doctors treat these with lasers, but I'd stay away, but that's is just my personal opinion. A lot of people have these though, so don't feel bad. I think there is a genetic link to getting these too.

Thanks, Anna

Won Won,

 

At the point that they are able to successfully treat atrophic acne and chickenpox scars they will be able to treat stretch marks. Even though stretch marks are a little different though in that there isn't missing tissue, your tissue just wasn't elastic enough to accomodate your weight gain. Some people get these just from growing really fast and have never been overweight at all. They say that women who maintain a high protein diet during pregnancy get less of these. I have heard that some doctors treat these with lasers, but I'd stay away, but that's is just my personal opinion. A lot of people have these though, so don't feel bad. I think there is a genetic link to getting these too.

 

Thanks, Anna

so they can treat acne scars???

how long before this becomes public?

Won Won,

 

At the point that they are able to successfully treat atrophic acne and chickenpox scars they will be able to treat stretch marks. Even though stretch marks are a little different though in that there isn't missing tissue, your tissue just wasn't elastic enough to accomodate your weight gain. Some people get these just from growing really fast and have never been overweight at all. They say that women who maintain a high protein diet during pregnancy get less of these. I have heard that some doctors treat these with lasers, but I'd stay away, but that's is just my personal opinion. A lot of people have these though, so don't feel bad. I think there is a genetic link to getting these too.

 

Thanks, Anna

I know a lot of people have stretch marks. Really not like this, trust me. All the doctors I have been to see have pretty much cringed when they saw what they had to deal with. They are no small marks at all, especially on the hips where they are more than visible.

If they are different, how will they be able to treat these scars? Will I have to have them surgically removed first (like a tummy tuck for my hips), before they can start erasing the scarring effect? This has always scared me. I'm willing to do it though. I just don't want my butt cut up. That makes me shiver. Oh, and I've tried laser surgery. It was a joke. As much as a joke as it was trying it on my face. Hah!

Won Won,

 

At the point that they are able to successfully treat atrophic acne and chickenpox scars they will be able to treat stretch marks.

so they can treat acne scars???

 

how long before this becomes public?

 

At the point that.... I think you missed that part of the sentence. We are close to scar treatment of this magnitude, but I'm still at a loss for how this will treat stretch marks. Will it be even easier maybe because of a lack of scar tissue (or is that silver skin I see just that)?

Won Won,

 

At the point that they are able to successfully treat atrophic acne and chickenpox scars they will be able to treat stretch marks. Even though stretch marks are a little different though in that there isn't missing tissue, your tissue just wasn't elastic enough to accomodate your weight gain. Some people get these just from growing really fast and have never been overweight at all. They say that women who maintain a high protein diet during pregnancy get less of these. I have heard that some doctors treat these with lasers, but I'd stay away, but that's is just my personal opinion. A lot of people have these though, so don't feel bad. I think there is a genetic link to getting these too.

 

Thanks, Anna

so they can treat acne scars???

 

how long before this becomes public?

 

Hi DFO,

No, not yet, but I believe that once they can successfully treat acne scars the same treatment should successfully treat stretch marks.

Thanks, Anna

This is an interesting article where a company working on hair regeneration is also working on scarless healing. This technology was featured in a May issue of the scientific journal Nature.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/may...genetics.health

The basis of the treatment seems to be in regulating Wnt proteins.

Thanks all!

Anna

This is an interesting article where a company working on hair regeneration is also working on scarless healing. This technology was featured in a May issue of the scientific journal Nature.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/may...genetics.health

 

The basis of the treatment seems to be in regulating Wnt proteins.

 

Thanks all!

Anna

If this was in May, and they were already getting the product patented, is it on the market yet? How long in your experience does it take for a patented treatment such as this to arrive in our hands? I know my dad will also be excited to hear about something like this.

Waiting is the hardest part of everything.

This is an interesting article where a company working on hair regeneration is also working on scarless healing. This technology was featured in a May issue of the scientific journal Nature.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/may...genetics.health

 

The basis of the treatment seems to be in regulating Wnt proteins.

 

Thanks all!

Anna

If this was in May, and they were already getting the product patented, is it on the market yet? How long in your experience does it take for a patented treatment such as this to arrive in our hands? I know my dad will also be excited to hear about something like this.

 

Waiting is the hardest part of everything.

 

Won Won,

The paper was in the May issue, and the product is in the patent stage. Nature is a serious scientific research journal. The end product may take years, but I have asked to be notified at the time clinical trials start for wound healing. There are many other companies and entities working on the scarring problem from all angles though. I believe in the next year we will have a very much clearer understanding of what the true prospects are for treating existing scars, including your stretch marks.

Thanks, Anna

http://www.livescience.com/health/070516_hair_hope.html

This is a very optimistic quote:

"If we're lucky, I think it's possible we'll have some new ways to treat hair loss and bad scars in five to 10 years," Cotsarelis told LiveScience. "And not just the hair loss, but also thinning hair."

I am optimistic but don't want to get my hopes up too soon!

My best!

Anna

5 years? that's nothing. Optimism is the key to my sanity for the time being you know?

Here's a question for you anna. You seem to be very well informed and studied (at least more than I at this point). The last doctor who gave me any hope at all to remove my stretch marks told me that a tummy tuck would do it and felt to see my loose skin. I had enough loose enough at the time that he said it would be possible, but the scar from the surgery would be visible. This is the only method they can think of for me. Do you think I should go on and perfect my body to where I know it should be (very fit and muscular - I'm 5' 11" now @ 160 lbs.), and wait for this miracle cure in the time alloted? I know there are no promises there, but there are no promises that this tummy tuck procedure will work either, am I right?

If I do this now, will there be any possibility to remove the surgical scar later on?