MSGID: 1:317/3 643f6e70   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    How electricity can heal wounds three times as fast    
      
     Date:   
         April 18, 2023   
     Source:   
         Chalmers University of Technology   
     Summary:   
         Chronic wounds are a major health problem for diabetic patients   
         and the elderly -- in extreme cases they can even lead to   
         amputation. Using electric stimulation, researchers have developed   
         a method that speeds up the healing process, making wounds heal   
         three times faster.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Chronic wounds are a major health problem for diabetic patients and   
   the elderly -- in extreme cases they can even lead to amputation. Using   
   electric stimulation, researchers in a project at Chalmers University   
   of Technology, Sweden, and the University of Freiburg, Germany, have   
   developed a method that speeds up the healing process, making wounds   
   heal three times faster.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   There is an old Swedish saying that one should never neglect a small wound   
   or a friend in need. For most people, a small wound does not lead to any   
   serious complications, but many common diagnoses make wound healing far   
   more difficult.   
      
   People with diabetes, spinal injuries or poor blood circulation have   
   impaired wound healing ability. This means a greater risk of infection   
   and chronic wounds -- which in the long run can lead to such serious   
   consequences as amputation.   
      
   Now a group of researchers at Chalmers and the University of Freiburg   
   have developed a method using electric stimulation to speed up the   
   healing process.   
      
   "Chronic wounds are a huge societal problem that we don't hear a lot   
   about. Our discovery of a method that may heal wounds up to three   
   times faster can be a game changer for diabetic and elderly people,   
   among others, who often suffer greatly from wounds that won't heal,"   
   says Maria Asplund, Associate Professor of Bioelectronics at Chalmers   
   University of Technology and head of research on the project.   
      
   Electric guidance of cells for faster healing The researchers worked   
   from an old hypothesis that electric stimulation of damaged skin can   
   be used to heal wounds. The idea is that skin cells are electrotactic,   
   which means that they directionally 'migrate' in electric fields. This   
   means that if an electric field is placed in a petri dish with skin   
   cells, the cells stop moving randomly and start moving in the same   
   direction. The researchers investigated how this principle can be used to   
   electrically guide the cells in order to make wounds heal faster. Using a   
   tiny engineered chip, the researchers were able to compare wound healing   
   in artificial skin, stimulating one wound with electricity and letting   
   one heal without electricity. The differences were striking.   
      
   "We were able to show that the old hypothesis about electric stimulation   
   can be used to make wounds heal significantly faster. In order to study   
   exactly how this works for wounds, we developed a kind of biochip on   
   which we cultured skin cells, which we then made tiny wounds in. Then   
   we stimulated one wound with an electric field, which clearly led to it   
   healing three times as fast as the wound that healed without electric   
   stimulation," Maria Asplund says.   
      
   Hope for diabetes patients In the study, the researchers also focused   
   on wound healing in connection with diabetes, a growing health problem   
   worldwide. One in 11 adults today has some form of diabetes according   
   to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Diabetes   
   Federation.   
      
   "We've looked at diabetes models of wounds and investigated whether our   
   method could be effective even in those cases. We saw that when we mimic   
   diabetes in the cells, the wounds on the chip heal very slowly. However,   
   with electric stimulation we can increase the speed of healing so that   
   the diabetes-affected cells almost correspond to healthy skin cells,"   
   Asplund says.   
      
   Individualised treatment the next step The Chalmers researchers   
   recently received a large grant which will allow them to continue their   
   research in the field, and in the long run enable the development of   
   wound healing products for consumers on the market. Similar products   
   have come out before, but more basic research is required to develop   
   effective products that generate enough electric field strength and   
   stimulate in the right way for each individual. This is where Asplund   
   and her colleagues come into the picture: "We are now looking at how   
   different skin cells interact during stimulation, to take a step closer   
   to a realistic wound. We want to develop a concept to be able to 'scan'   
   wounds and adapt the stimulation based on the individual wound.   
      
   We are convinced that this is the key to effectively helping individuals   
   with slow-healing wounds in the future," Asplund says.   
      
   More about the study:   
       * "Bioelectronic microfluidic wound healing: a platform for   
       investigating   
         direct current stimulation of injured cell collectives"was published   
         in the journal Lab on a Chip. The article was written by Sebastian   
         Shaner, Anna Savelyeva, Anja Kvartuh, Nicole Jedrusik, Lukas Matter,   
         Jose' Leal and Maria Asplund. The researchers work at the University   
         of Freiburg in Germany and Chalmers University of Technology.   
      
       * In their study, the researchers showed that wound healing on   
       artificial   
         skin stimulated with electric current was three times faster than   
         on the skin that healed naturally. The electric field was low,   
         about 200 mV/mm, and did not have a negative impact on the cells.   
      
       * The method the researchers developed is based on a microfluidic   
       biochip   
         on which artificial skin can be grown, stimulated with an electric   
         current and studied in an effective and controlled manner. The   
         concept allows researchers to conduct multiple experiments in   
         parallel on the same chip.   
      
       * The research project began in 2018 and is funded by the European   
       Research   
         Council (ERC). The project was recently granted more funding so   
         the research can get one step closer to the market and the benefit   
         of patients.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Wounds_and_Healing # Skin_Care # Medical_Topics #   
                   Diabetes   
             o Matter_&_Energy   
                   # Electricity # Consumer_Electronics # Energy_Technology   
                   # Batteries   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Wound o Deep_brain_stimulation o Lead_poisoning o Delirium   
             o Healing o Healthy_diet o Epilepsy o Maggot_therapy   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by   
   Chalmers_University_of_Technology. Note: Content may be edited for style   
   and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Sebastian Shaner, Anna Savelyeva, Anja Kvartuh, Nicole Jedrusik,   
      Lukas   
         Matter, Jose' Leal, Maria Asplund. Bioelectronic microfluidic wound   
         healing: a platform for investigating direct current stimulation   
         of injured cell collectives. Lab on a Chip, 2023; 23 (6): 1531 DOI:   
         10.1039/ D2LC01045C   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/04/230418011121.htm   
      
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