Marine Isopod Ceratothoa Oestroides Extract: a Novel Treatment for Diabetic Foot Ulcers? Case Report of an Immunosuppressed Patient

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a common lower-extremity complication in patients with diabetes mellitus. A novel DFU treatment is tested by using an ointment containing as healing agent olive oil isopod Ceratothoa oestroidesextract. Case report: A 58 years old obese man,smoker, with a history of unregulated Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, peripheral neuropathy and Hodgkin lymphoma was referred to Athens–Greece university hospital Laikon. The patient presented clinically with a lower extremity DFU and peripheral neuropathy with dysesthesia and disturbed sensation of hot and cold. He was treated with an ointment containing C. oestroides extract for five months, without any antimicrobial treatment. Therapy was evaluated by measurement of the transepidermal water loss, skin hydration, photo documentation and planimetry. At each patient’s visit, DFU presented a satisfactory healing process. Five months after treatment initiation the patient had complete healing of his DFU. Blood tests after treatment revealed a significant reduction of the levels of the inflammatory markers. Ulcer cultures did not reveal any microbial development neither before nor after treatment. Conclusion: The administration of the C. oestroides extract ointment proved to be effective in this case. Although these results should be further investigated, the reported case suggests a novel option for the management of neuropathic diabetic foot ulcers, especially in patients with severe co-morbidities.

In Vivo Evaluation of Wound Healing Efficacy of Gel-Based Dressings Loaded with Pycnogenol™ and Ceratothoa oestroides Extracts

“…Focusing on the results of the formulations containing C. oestroides olive oil extract, based on the observed outcomes, the extract has a positive impact on the healing process compared to the control. This confirms our laboratory's previous observations regarding its excellent healing activity [11][12][13][14][15][16][17].…”

“…Ceratothoa oestroides, an isopod parasite found in the oral cavity of large fish, is currently identified as one of the most significant threats to aquaculture. The olive oil extract of C. oestroides, formulated as an ointment, has been studied over the last decade by our laboratories, focusing primarily on its healing properties but also exploring its antiinflammatory, anti-psoriatic, and anti-atopic dermatitis effects, yielding highly significant outcomes both in preclinical and clinical trials [11][12][13][14][15][16][17].…”

“…Pycnogenol and C. oestroides extracts have shown their effectiveness in promoting wound healing when formulated as ointments [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. However, the pharmaceutical form of ointment presents notable drawbacks concerning wound healing.…”

In Vivo Evaluation of the Wound Healing Activity of Extracts and Bioactive Constituents of the Marine Isopod Ceratothoa oestroides

“…The marine isopod Ceratothoa oestroides is a parasite found in the buccal cavity of fish, causing serious lesions and often leading to the death of the host, especially of young fish [19,20]. Recently we have demonstrated the significant in vivo wound healing potential of a C. oestroides oily extract [21,22]. Herein, a series of different polarity (organic and aqueous) extracts of C. oestroides was prepared and evaluated for their wound healing activity on SKH-hr1 hairless mice, while the most active extract was fractionated for enrichment in the bioactive constituents.…”

Report of Nerocila bivittata (Risso, 1816) (Isopoda: Cymothoidae) Parasitic on Alien Fish, Pterois miles (Bennett, 1828) from the Aegean and Mediterranean Sea

“…However, although it is known to have negative effects on their hosts, it is possible to obtain useful information about their environment and benefit from them. For example, they are used as biological tags in stock assessment (Cuyás et al, 2004), bioindicator in environmental pollution (Pérez-del-Olmo et al, 2019) and alternative medicament in medicine where treatment of diabetic foot ulcers and chronic wounds (Meimeti et al, 2019;Vitsos et al, 2019). Because of these ecological and economical reasons, it is important monitoring the geographical distribution and prevalence of Cymothoid isopods.…”