Diabetic foot ulcers, venous leg ulcers,
and pressure ulcers contribute to majority of chronic wounds. The importance of
improved wound healing measure is especially well demonstrated by the healing
problems in diabetes. It is estimated that about 30% of all the costs for
diabetes relates to wound care in USA. In addition, 2.4-4.5 million people have
been reported to have chronic lower extremity ulcers in USA only. Pressure
ulcers and leg ulcers, including venous ulcers, cost as high as $8 billion
annually in USA, and are a significant cause of morbidity in aged population. Although a slow wound repair is a self-limiting process and not a
pathogenesis in itself, severe chronic wounds can also lead to chronic
inflammatory diseases, fibrosis, and cancer, comprising stifling economic
health care burdens.
Wound healing in clinical settings
relies primarily on enabling the natural course of epidermal tissue
regeneration. In many cases, the involved processes and the progress of
regeneration may be insufficient to save severely injured patients. Especially
difficult are various types of chronic wounds, with diabetic wounds being the
most severe type. Current conventional treatment of chronic wound comprises
mainly approaches with various types of dressings, bandages, and antibiotics.
Several skin substitutes have reached the market place for second-line therapy
of chronic ulcers, but they have not had the impact that was predicted. In
severe cases where the wounds do not heal, amputation is the only treatment
option that is available. Therefore, there is a great need for better wound
healing treatments, in particular to cure diabetic and other chronic wounds.
Another challenge in clinics is the lack of available evidence demonstrating
efficacy for the advanced wound care products. Personalized medicine based on a
systematic evaluation of patients and their wound conditions comprise an
attractive approach to accelerate and strengthen wound healing processes in the
future.
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