Silver-containing foam dressings with Safetac: a review of the scientific and clinical data.

Background Topical antimicrobials, such as silver dressings, are progressively being used alongside systemic antibiotics to provide adjunctive, antimicrobial therapy to wounds that are clinically infected or at risk of infection. To help improve wound management, dressings that use Safetac soft silicone technology in combination with a silver-impregnated foam dressing material were developed by Mölnlycke Health Care (Gothenburg, Sweden). The range comprises Mepilex Ag, Mepilex Border Ag and Mepilex Transfer Ag.

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.

Plasmodium falciparum Thioredoxin Reductase (PfTrxR) and Its Role as a Target for New Antimalarial Discovery.

The growing resistance to current antimalarial drugs is a major concern for global public health. The pressing need for new antimalarials has led to an increase in research focused on the Plasmodium parasites that cause human malaria. Thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), an enzyme needed to maintain redox equilibrium in Plasmodium species, is a promising target for new antimalarials.

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 effects of pH on wound healing, biofilms, and antimicrobial efficacy.

It is known that pH has a role to play in wound healing. In particular, pH has been shown to affect matrix metalloproteinase activity, tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases activity, fibroblast activity, keratinocyte proliferation, microbial proliferation, and also immunological responses in a wound; the patient's defense mechanisms change the local pH of a wound to effect microorganism invasion and proliferation; this pH change has been found to affect the performance of antimicrobials, and therefore the efficacy in biological environments directly relevant to wound healing. Based on the available body of scientific evidence to date, it is clear that pH has a role to play in both the healing of and treatment of chronic and acute wounds.

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.

Role of the HLA System in the Pathogenesis of Dupuytren's Disease.

Dupuytren's disease (DD) is a familial, fibroproliferative, irreversible, and progressive disease of the palmar fascia, yet with unknown etiology. However, there is compelling evidence which has consistently suggested a genetic ethiopathogenesis given the high occurrence among the Northern European extraction, familial nature, and demonstration of concordance in twins. DD is an incurable, recurrent, and potentially debilitating disease with limited and ineffective treatments.

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.