HUMAN SKIN WOUND DRESSINGS TO TREAT CUTANEOUS ULCERS

Researchers from university of Laval have shown that it is possible to treat venous ulcers unresponsive to conventional treatment with wound dressing made from human skin grow in vitro . A study published recently in the journal advances in skin and wound care demonstrate how its approach was successfully used to treat venomous lower extremity ulcers 

standard treatment for ulcer involves methodically cleaning these wounds and applying compression bandages. Drugs became available around 20 years ago but they are expensive and their efficacy has been somewhat limited. A graft using the patient's own skin can be effective but is problematic because it requires a significant amount of skin to be removed from elsewhere on the body. 

this problem inspired researchers to use there expertise with invitro skin culture to create a bio medical free biological dressing .this process is complex and requires several steps :

1. remove 1 to 2 cm skin from patient
2. isolate the appropriate cell    
3. grow them in vitro
4. create  a skin substitute with dermis and epidermis
5. After eight weeks of growth the self-assembled sheets of skin substitute can be applied over the ulcers, much like bandages

The cell secrete molecules that speed up healing to set natural healing process in motion .this test was carried on at least five  patients and it took about 7 days for healing 14 ulcers clinical study are ready to be set up for using this treatment on burning wound to.