British scientists have created a new gel that could heal the wounds in the legs, with up to five times faster than other types of healing.
This drug, developed by the team of David Becker, professor of cell and developmental biology at University College London, calls himself Nexagon. The gel works by disrupting the way cells communicate and avoids the production of a protein that blocks healing. This allows the cells to move more quickly to the wound to begin healing.
Although yet to make the final testing and so far only been used in about 100 people, experts note that it confirms the effectiveness of the gel could be incorporated in an important way to treat chronic wounds such as ulcers legs, whether they were caused by diabetes, or that result from common scratches or injuries from accidents.
Becker and his colleagues produced the Nexagon from bits of DNA that can block the production of a protein linked with inflammation. “As the protein is inactivated, the cells move to close the wound,” said Becker.
The great contribution of this gel is that a drug be successful, would help tremendously for people who have developed leg ulcers because of these wounds take long to heal. The leg ulcer lasts on average six months to heal completely and 60% of patients return to suffer the problem of ulcers.
Coda Therapeutics is the company that is developing the product that could reach the market within a couple of years. The plan for now is that this medication is released, can be purchased relatively cheap, especially compared with $ 30,000 per year (approximate) that patients often spend leg ulcers, treatments to attend to their wounds.