Silver and Alginates: Role in Wound Healing and Biofilm Control.

Chronic wounds are known to be a significant issue globally. Of concern in wounds are the numbers and types of residing microorganisms and the ability of the host's immune system to control their proliferation. Wound healing is impeded by colonizing microorganisms growing within the biofilm phenotypic state.

Biofilms and Wounds: An Overview of the Evidence.

Microorganisms can exist both in the planktonic and biofilm state. Each phenotypic state has a role to play in delaying healing and causing infections of both acute and chronic wounds. However, the virulent biofilm state is the fundamental reason that chronic wounds do not heal in a timely manner.

Proteases and Delayed Wound Healing.

Significance: Proteases and their inhibitors contribute to the balance between extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation and deposition, creating an equilibrium that is essential for the timely and coordinated healing of cutaneous wounds. However, when this balance is disrupted, wounds are led into a state of chronicity characterized by abundant levels of proteases and decreased levels of protease inhibitors.

Recent Advances: Researchers have sought to investigate the roles of proteases within both acute and chronic wounds and how the manipulation of protease activity may aid healing.

The role of polyphosphates in the sequestration of matrix metalloproteinases.

This study outlines the potential of a novel therapeutic dressing for the management of chronic wounds. The dressing incorporates polyphosphate, a non toxic compound with a number of beneficial characteristics in terms of wound healing, in a foam matrix. The aim of this study was to identify the potential of polyphosphate incorporated in the foam dressing to sequester the activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and proteases derived from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The role of endogenous and exogenous enzymes in chronic wounds: a focus on the implications of aberrant levels of both host and bacterial proteases in wound healing.

Cutaneous wound healing is orchestrated by a number of physiological pathways that ultimately lead to reformation of skin integrity and the production of functional scar tissue. The remodeling of a wound is significantly affected by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which act to control the degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Regulation of MMPs is imperative for wound healing as excessive levels of MMPs can lead to disproportionate destruction of the wound ECM compared to ECM deposition.

Influence of the human leukocyte antigen complex on the development of cutaneous fibrosis: an immunogenetic perspective.

A number of aesthetically and physically distressing disorders of the skin come under the general term "cutaneous fibrosis", all sharing a common abnormal wound healing process. These disorders are often incurable and effective treatments remain to be established and, as such, they present a significant burden for patients and a therapeutic challenge for clinicians. The aim of this review is to investigate the evidence of either positive or negative associations of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system with various types of cutaneous fibrosis, focussing in particular on keloid scars, hypertrophic scars and scleroderma.