Healing

Researchers have uncovered the mechanism that causes wounds to heal more slowly in diabetics, putting them at increased risk of infection and other serious complications. They say their findings could offer a new approach to the disease.

Scientists from Northwestern University have successfully created a device, tested on mice, that can detect warning signs of kidney rejection up to three weeks before current monitoring methods.

When Captain Kirk stepped out with a tricorder in hand in Star Trek in 1966, the data sensing, scanning and analyzing gadget seemed a rather useful but far-in-the-future piece of technology. With the Swift Ray 1, we're a step closer to its reality.

It's ironic that in order to see how a wound is healing, the dressing has to be removed, potentially setting back the healing process. A clever new bandage, however, continuously shows how the wound is faring – without needing a power source.

Most wound dressings simply cover the injury and perhaps also kill harmful bacteria. The PAINT system goes much further, as it incorporates a pen that could one day allow doctors to paint a gelatinous healing ink right into wounds.

Scottish woman Jo Cameron is a medical marvel who feels little pain, fear or anxiety, and had faster wound healing, thanks to a specific gene mutation. Now, scientists have studied why in more detail, in the hopes of unlocking future drug targets.

Researchers have confirmed what Indigenous Australians already knew: native plants have great healing properties. Two plants have been found to heal wounds quickly and efficiently, paving the way for the use of more plant-based therapeutic treatments.

For some time now, it has been known that wounds with a zig-zag pattern heal faster than those which form a straight line. Scientists have now determined why this is so, and their findings could change the ways in which surgical incisions are made.

In diabetics, wounds tend to progress quickly and heal slowly. Researchers have used electricity to heal diabetic wounds three times faster, which offers great potential for treating those with diseases that lead to reduced wound healing.

MIT scientists have developed a synthetic system that can stem internal bleeding, to help save lives after a traumatic injury. Two components come together at a wound to form a clot, without doing so elsewhere in the body where it might be dangerous.

It's ironic that in order to check if a wound is becoming infected, doctors may end up setting back the healing process by removing the dressing. An experimental new dressing is designed to help, as it changes color if an infection is occurring.

If left untreated, chronic wounds such as diabetic skin ulcers can become infected, ultimately leading to amputations or even death. A new "smart" bandage is designed to help keep that from happening, by both watching and treating such injuries.