Summary
Background
Chronic wound or nonhealing ulcer is essentially a wound that does not progress normally through the wound healing process. This study assessed the healing effect of umbilical cord Wharton's jelly stem cells seeded on biological scaffold in chronic skin ulcers.
Materials and Methods
In a randomized clinical trial, five patients between 30 and 60 years with chronic diabetic wounds were enrolled. To cover the wounds, acellular amniotic membrane seeded with Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJSCs) was used for 9 days, every 3 days with a follow‐up of 1 month. The percentage and time of wound healing and the size of wound were recorded for each patient.
Results
In treated patients, the wound healing time and wound size significantly decreased, and after 6 and 9 days, the wound size significantly declined (P < 0.002).
Conclusion
As WJSCs seeded on amniotic membrane could significantly accelerate the healing effect in chronic diabetic wounds, they can be an alternative source in tissue engineering and repair of chronic ulcers.
BackgroundPseudomonas aeruginosa is an important cause of nosocomial infection and may lead to septicemia and death. We evaluated the immunogenicity of semi-purified exotoxin A from the bacterium in a mouse burn model.MethodsThe toxoid was prepared from exotoxin A taken from toxigenic strains of P. aeruginosa (PA 103). 50 mice were immunized with the toxoid, burned with hot metal and infected with 1 × 108 CFU of toxigenic strains of P. aeruginosa (experimental group); 25 non-immunized mice were also burned and infected (control group). The mortality rate and presence of any exotoxin and P. aeruginosa in the sera, liver and spleen were determined.ResultsIn the experimental group, 2 mice died before the burns were administered and were excluded from the study. The remainder (48 mice) were challenged with a lethal dose of P. aeruginosa and followed for 70 days. 3 of these mice died. Neither P. aeruginosa nor exotoxin A was not detected in the liver, spleen or sera of the surviving mice. The protective efficacy of toxoid vaccination was therefore 93.8%. In the control group, all mice died from bacteremia and septicemia, most (80%) within 6 days, and P. aeruginosa and exotoxin A were isolated from sera, spleen and liver.ConclusionActive immunization of mice using a semi-purified exotoxin A derived from P. aeruginosa was 93.8% effective at protecting mice from subsequent P. aeruginosa infections in a mouse burn model.
Self-inflicted burns are among the most devastating of all burn injuries with serious physical, psychological, and financial effects on the individual, the patient's family, and society. This study was carried out to analyze the epidemiology, mortality, and current etiological factors of burn patients who were admitted to a major burn center in the Fars province. In a longitudinal prospective design, from April 2003 to March 2005, all burn patients that were admitted to Ghotb-eddin Shirazi Hospital were evaluated. Data in regard to patients' social demographics, burn injury, and outcome measures were collected. Suicide attempts by burning accounted for 231 (24.8%) of all burn patients admitted to hospital. Suicidal burns occurred predominantly in the age group 15 to 24 years (49.1%). Most (71.4%) self-burning cases were female. Deliberate self-burn patients have significantly larger burned body surface area than accidental burn patients [70% (4-100) vs 28% (1-100); P < .0001]. The case fatality rate for self-inflicted burns (62.3%) was significantly higher than the 27.7% rate observed for accidental burns (P < .0001). Burned body surface area >40% and self-inflicted burns strongly and independently predicted mortality. Self-inflicted burns continue to be a major health problem in this region. Special burn preventive programs should be implemented in primary health care system. A National Committee for Injury and Burn Prevention and Control should be established urgently to coordinate all burn prevention programs and collaborate between different sectors of the society.
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