Month: October 2018

     for regenerative tissue therapy, MyOwn Skin™

 

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Oct. 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — BioLab Sciences, an innovator in regenerative medicine technologies, today announced its exclusively licensed technology for MyOwn SkinTM, a painless, non-surgical procedure, which leverages a patient’s own skin to produce full-thickness skin grafts in 5-7 days.

 

MyOwn SkinTM is a revolutionary approach that uses a patient’s own skin to accelerate healing of chronic wounds, burns, diabetic foot ulcers and other difficult-to-heal wounds. By utilizing a small skin sample, this regenerative approach allows the body to heal itself and is less likely to face infection or rejection.

 

“In the United States alone, chronic wounds affect 6.5 million patients,” said Bob Maguire, BioLab Sciences CEO. “Our advanced, tissue-biomanufacturing approach offers a viable, effective solution for skin regeneration and repair. This innovative strategy has shown to accelerate the healing of damaged soft tissue and improve wound-care outcomes.”

 

This autologous strategy to wound care is non-invasive, improves recovery time, and eliminates potential rejection. BioLab’s impressive portfolio of regenerative products includes its amnion-derived fluid products, Fluid FlowTM and Amnio RestoreTM and its amniotic allograft membrane product Membrane PatchTM, an amnion membrane allograft …

 

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arizona-based-biotech-startup-biolab-sciences-announces-patent-for-regenerative-tissue-therapy-myown-skin-300736690.html

Researchers have found that smoking electronic cigarettes could slow the healing of skin wounds as much as regular cigarettes, according to a new study on rats – but admit that further studies are warranted … Smoking electronic cigarettes could slow the healing of skin wounds as much as regular cigarettes, according to a new study on rats … “Based on our findings, e-cigarettes are not a safe alternative to traditional cigarettes as it relates to timely wound healing,” said study corresponding author Dr Jeffrey Spiegel. He’s chief of facial plastic surgery at Boston Medical Center … It’s long been known that smoking regular cigarettes impairs wound healing, and surgery patients are advised to avoid smoking for several months before an elective operation … read more

By combining antibiotics and probiotics, researchers have developed a one-two punch to eradicate two strains of drug-resistant bacteria that often infect wounds, according to a preclinical study … MIT researchers encapsulated probiotic bacteria in a protective shell of alginate, which is a biocompatible material that prevents the probiotics from being killed by the antibiotic. The findings were published Wednesday in the journal Advanced Materials … Probiotics, which are good live bacteria and yeasts, help send food through the digestive system by affecting nerves that control gut movement. Probiotics come from supplements, as well as foods that are prepared by bacterial fermentation, including yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, tempeh and kimchi … read more

related: Probiotics and antibiotics create a killer combination

Most Expansive Wound Care Portfolio

Acelity L.P. Inc., the world’s largest wound care company, and Crawford Healthcare, a rapidly growing UK-based advanced wound care and dermatology company, today announced an agreement for Acelity to acquire Crawford and all of its assets. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

With the acquisition of Crawford, Acelity expands its portfolio of advanced wound dressings (AWD), further strengthening its position as the global leader in advanced wound healing.

Crawford Healthcare is a recognized leader in developing and commercializing innovative treatments for the care and repair of skin. Crawford’s wound dressing portfolio includes the market-leading superabsorbent KerraMax Care® range and KerraFoam and KerraCel in the foam and antimicrobial gelling fiber AWD categories, respectively.

Crawford’s advanced wound dressing lines complement Acelity’s existing AWD portfolio, which includes the market-leading collagen dressing PROMOGRAN PRISMA™ Matrix, as well as the TIELLE™ Dressing Family and ADAPTIC™ Dressings. This expanded line of advanced wound dressings combined with Acelity’s industry-leading negative pressure wound therapy platforms forms the world’s most expansive wound care portfolio. In addition to its commercial products, Acelity will acquire Crawford’s innovative R&D capabilities and manufacturing operations based in Cheshire, UK … read more

     Association Compendium: Diagnosis and Management of Diabetic Foot Complications

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Oct. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Healogics Inc., the nation’s largest provider of advanced wound care services, today announced their support of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Compendium Diagnosis and Management of Diabetic Foot Ulcer Complications through an unrestricted educational grant1. More than 30 million people across the U.S. are living with diabetes, and foot problems including foot ulcers are common complications that, without proper treatment, can lead to hospital admissions and even amputations. The ADA Compendium was compiled by a panel of contributing authors and distributed this month to health care professionals who subscribe to the ADA’s peer-reviewed journals Diabetes Care and Diabetes. Healogics is passionate about providing wound care for the 25 percent of diabetics who will experience a foot ulcer at some point in their life2 … “We are proud to support the ADA in their efforts to better understand the latest evidence for treating diabetic foot ulcers,” said David Bassin, Healogics Chief Executive Officer. “We are thrilled that through our unrestricted grant to the ADA, the Compendium was published with a focus on diabetic foot complications.” … read more

     what is needed to do this in a real‐world primary care setting?

 

To determine how routinely collected data can inform a risk model to predict de novofoot ulcer presentation in the primary care setting … Data were available on 15 727 individuals without foot ulcers and 1125 individuals with new foot ulcers over a 12‐year follow‐up in UK primary care. We examined known risk factors and added putative risk factors in our logistic model … read more

     announces patent for regenerative tissue therapy, MyOwn Skin™

 

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Oct. 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — BioLab Sciences, an innovator in regenerative medicine technologies, today announced its exclusively licensed technology for MyOwn SkinTM, a painless, non-surgical procedure, which leverages a patient’s own skin to produce full-thickness skin grafts in 5-7 days.

MyOwn SkinTM is a revolutionary approach that uses a patient’s own skin to accelerate healing of chronic wounds, burns, diabetic foot ulcers and other difficult-to-heal wounds. By utilizing a small skin sample, this regenerative approach allows the body to heal itself and is less likely to face infection or rejection.

“In the United States alone, chronic wounds affect 6.5 million patients,” said Bob Maguire, BioLab Sciences CEO. “Our advanced, tissue-biomanufacturing approach offers a viable, effective solution for skin regeneration and repair. This innovative strategy has shown to accelerate the healing of damaged soft tissue and improve wound-care outcomes.”

This autologous strategy to wound care is non-invasive, improves recovery time, and eliminates potential rejection. BioLab’s impressive portfolio of regenerative products includes its amnion-derived fluid products, Fluid FlowTM and Amnio RestoreTM and its amniotic allograft membrane product Membrane PatchTM, an amnion membrane allograft composed of a connective tissue matrix that regenerates soft tissue while inhibiting inflammation and scarring. BioLab Sciences also offers a comprehensive wound care kit that provides physicians with the necessary tools to help patients recover quickly from diabetic ulcers, burns and other traumatic external wounds, as well as its Amnio Breathe Nebulizer bundled package designed to deliver a topical treatment directly onto a patient’s respiratory system …

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arizona-based-biotech-startup-biolab-sciences-announces-patent-for-regenerative-tissue-therapy-myown-skin-300736690.html

Poor wound healing in diabetes is associated with increased chronic inflammation and alterations in macrophage accumulation. Chronic inflammation can alter the phenotype of macrophage precursors, monocytes but whether their phenotype is changed in association with wound healing is not known. Blood was obtained from 21 patients (14 male: 7 female) attending the High Risk Foot Clinic at RPA Hospital at their initial visit (V1), week 4 (V2) and week 8 (V3). Wound area was measured and wound type was assessed by a podiatrist. Monocyte number (CD14⁺), phenotype as classical (CD16⁻), non-classical (CD16⁺⁺), and intermediate (CD16⁺), anti-inflammatory (CD163⁺) subset and expression of receptors CCR2, CCR5 and TLR2, TLR4 were determined by flow cytometry. The MMPs and TIMP-1 were measured in plasma by zymography and ELISA. Over the 8 weeks, 6 ulcers healed (H) and 15 failed to heal (NH). The age, duration of diabetes, HbA1c, wound size and duration at V1 were not different between the groups but the % CD16⁺⁺ monocytes was higher in H vs. NH at V1 (23.5 vs. 8.3) and V3 (17.4 vs. 7.2) and monocyte CCR2⁺ was lower in H at V3  … read more

Objective assessment of wound healing is fundamental to evaluate therapeutic and nutritional interventions and to identify complications. Despite availability of many techniques to monitor wounds, there is a need for a safe, practical, accurate, and effective method. A new method is localized bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) that noninvasively provides information describing cellular changes that occur during healing and signal complications to wound healing. This article describes the theory and application of localized BIA and provides examples of its use among patients with lower leg wounds. This promising method may afford clinicians a novel technique for routine monitoring of interventions and surveillance of wounds … read more

     How to Keep Yourself out of Court: Part 1

 

No matter the setting in which we practice, as health care providers we constantly are under the threat of a malpractice lawsuit. In nursing homes the top targets for litigation are pressure ulcers, malnutrition, and dehydration. Up to 20% of all U.S. legal medical claims and more than 10% of settlements are wound related,¹ and there are more than 17,000 pressure ulcer-related lawsuits filed annually in the United States … So, it behooves us to take the necessary measures to avoid being sued! What are the perils and pitfalls of wound care that we may encounter in our practice, and how can we best avoid them? This blog explores the various elements that can make or break a case … read more

     as One of the Best Abstracts Presented at the Leading Diabetic Foot Global Conference

 

The number of biotech companies completing an IPO has swelled this year and Adynxx aims to join their ranks—but through an alternate path. The pain drug developer has agreed to combine operations with publicly traded Alliqua Biomedical … Under the merger agreement announced Friday, shares of Adynxx will convert into Alliqua (NASDAQ: ALQA) stock, leaving former Adynxx shareholders owning approximately 86 percent of the combined company. That company will have the Adynxx name and will be led by the current Adynnx management team. It will be headquartered in San Francisco, where Adynxx is currently based … read more

Diabetic foot ulcers are a major health and economic global burden, but ultimately, at least in theory, they’re preventable. The re-ulceration rate is as high as 65% within 5 years, and among persons who initially present with a diabetic foot ulcer, up to 25% may require amputation … One of the most important risk factors for diabetic foot ulceration is diabetic peripheral neuropathy. This involves loss of sensory perception, haptic feedback, and pain perception, so patients can’t self-regulate their foot pressures. It’s thought that these high foot pressures over time cumulatively contribute to the development of diabetic foot ulcers … read more

Throughout my career I have been lucky enough to be part of several nursing branches: home health, long-term care, acute care, long-term acute care hospital, hospice, and even a tuberculosis hospital; wounds have no limitations on where they will appear. As a passionate clinician, teaching, coaching, and mentoring have become a huge part of what I do, as is true for most clinicians. We are teachers, coaches, and mentors driven by passion and wanting to help and put in our “two clinical cents” or “stamp” on the industry … I frequently converse with clinicians in my area, all part of SWAT (skin and wound assessment team), and talk about how it takes a village. I especially enjoy talking with my good friend and mentor Jesse Cantu, RN, BSN, CWS, FACCWS, who is a passionate clinician with a fire that gets you all excited—those who know him know what I am talking about. We share stories of what we do, we give each other constructive criticism, and we often share with each other some of the most common inadequacies we see out there. We always get after each other, in a good way: are we doing enough? and how can we help educate, empower, increase awareness … read more

Digital health company delivers mobile depth imaging with submillimeter resolution and no need for specialty hardware. The product will be showcased at Cerner Health Conference, October 8-11, Kansas City, Missouri … “Tissue Analytics uses sophisticated algorithms that allow clinicians to generate and securely transfer clinical data from Android or iOS devices into the electronic medical record (EMR). Now, for the first time ever, I’m very excited and honored to present our 3D measurement feature that requires no external device attachments,” announced Joshua Budman, CTO. “From a very simple five-second video, we can now generate a true 3D rendering of any wound, to provide clients with volume and depth measurements at a submillimeter resolution.” … read more

Data From its Expanded Access Program for Serious S. aureus Infections at IDWeek 2018 Conference

AmpliPhi Biosciences Corporation (NYSE American:APHB), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on precisely targeted bacteriophage therapeutics for antibiotic-resistant infections, today announced the presentation of clinical case series data from the company’s ongoing expanded access program for its investigational bacteriophage therapeutic, AB-SA01 targeting Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), at the IDWeek 2018 conference in San Francisco … Prof. Jonathan Iredell, Senior Staff Infectious Diseases Physician at the Westmead Hospital in Sydney, Director of Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at the Westmead Institute of Medical Research and Professor of Medicine and Microbiology at the University of Sydney, gave a presentation “Adjunctive bacteriophage therapy for severe Staphylococcal sepsis,” including data on 13 patients suffering from severe S. aureus infections, who were treated with AB-SA01 as an adjunct to antibiotics at the Westmead Hospital in 2017-2018. The potential treatment of S. aureus bacteremia with AB-SA01 was also the subject of the Company’s recent Type B meeting with the FDA. The treatment was conducted under emergency protocols per the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration’s (TGA) Special Access Scheme (SAS) … read more

A local researcher is hoping to change the alarming rate of amputation due to diabetes in the province … Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest rate of diabetes in the country, and the highest rate of lower limb amputation due to diabetes … Kathleen Stevens is a Registered Nurse and PhD candidate at Memorial University’s School of Nursing … read more

Windsor skin care products provider Scapa Healthcare says it has completed its acquisition of an England-based maker of wound care products … Scapa is adding Systagenix and its 335,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Gargrave, England to its wound care footprint. Financial terms were not disclosed … read more

Protein–energy malnutrition is known to be involved in wound healing. While wound healing in patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) is a complex and multifactorial process, the role of malnutrition in this case has rarely been explored. The objective of this study was to determine whether the nutritional status of diabetic patients influences the healing of DFU … 48 patients were included in this prospective, single-center study. All patients with comorbidities or factors involving malnutrition or influencing biological measurements were excluded. Patients were followed up for 24 weeks … read more at Acta Diabetologica (purchase required)

     developing incident diabetic foot ulcers

 

BERLIN — Wearing pressure-sensing smart insoles (SurroSense Rx, Orpyx Medical Technologies) reduced diabetic foot ulcer recurrence by up to 86% in compliant patients in a randomized single-blinded trial in high-risk individuals with type 1 and 2 diabetes … Neil Reeves, PhD, professor of musculoskeletal biomechanics, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK, presented the results here today at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) 2018 Annual Meeting …“By using a plantar pressure-sensing smart insole device, the feedback of pressure information in the intervention arm reduces ulcer recurrence by 71%, and furthermore in the compliant patients, this further increased benefit, with an 86% reduction in ulcer recurrence [compared with controls],” he reported … read more

Bioactive glass implants are commonly used in orthopedics and dentistry as they can form strong and direct bonds with bone. The capability of bioactive glass to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels also makes them ideal for wound healing …Bioactive glasses are a group of surface-reactive glass-ceramic biomaterials. The first bioactive glass was developed in 1969 by Larry L. Hench at the University of Florida … This material was formed using silicate glass in order to enhance the mechanical and bioactive properties needed for applications in bone regeneration … read more

 

MTF Biologics today announced that it has formed a new tissue recovery relationship with Regenerative Biologics, Inc. (RBI). Together, the organizations will seek to provide expanded birth tissue donation opportunities for expectant mothers and their families and enhance patients’ access to high-quality placental tissues for wound care applications … Joe Yaccarino, President and CEO of MTF Biologics added, “MTF Biologics is pleased to partner with RBI again as it combines the key strengths of each of our organizations and expands donation opportunities. We’ve known many of the senior staff at RBI for years and are excited to be collaborating with them again.” … read more

 

An October report from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics revealed a startling increase in the prevalence of obesity in the U.S., with rates now approaching 20% in children and 40% in adults for 2015-2016 … The growing epidemic has not spared those with type 1 diabetes. Today, obesity prevalence is as high or higher among patients with type 1 diabetes as in the general population. According to 2015 data from the T1D Exchange Clinic Registry, nearly 40% of children and adolescents with the disease also have overweight or obesity, putting them at increased risk for insulin resistance, hypertension and dyslipidemia — all the hallmarks of not type 1, but type 2 diabetes … read more

Demonstrating That Lyopreservation Method Developed for Living Tissues is an Alternative to Cryopreservation with the Convenience of Ambient Storage

 

COLUMBIA, Md., Oct. 02, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIR), a regenerative medicine company focused on developing and marketing products for wound care, orthopedics, and sports medicine, announced today that a new peer-reviewed manuscript entitled “Properties of Viable Lyopreserved Amnion Are Equivalent to Viable Cryopreserved Amnion with the Convenience of Ambient Storage” has been published in PLOS ONE and is available online https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0204060 … In the published study the structural, molecular, and wound relevant properties of a lyopreserved human amniotic membrane were compared with the properties of a cryopreserved human amniotic membrane. Results showed that the structure, growth factors, and cell viability of the lyopreserved amnion are comparable to that of cryopreserved and fresh amnions. Properties of lyopreserved and cryopreserved amniotic membranes were tested in vivo in a diabetic mouse chronic wound model, which mimics impaired wound healing reported in diabetic patients. Both lyopreserved and cryopreserved amnion weekly applications resulted in wound closure by day 35 whereas in the saline gel control group of animals wounds became larger … read more

Thermal imaging can better predict a diabetes related foot ulcer’s size and the healing trajectory than conventional methods, Melbourne-led research has found. It could also possibly save money through better targeted treatment … The study, which was the first of its kind, was a collaboration between RMIT University, the University of Melbourne and Austin Health. It used thermal imaging to quantify the size and predict the healing status of recently developed ulcers … based on their work, the RMIT researchers want to see thermal imaging, which is suitable for most clinical settings, used as an inexpensive and real-time option to identify wounds that may have delayed healing … read more

A low dose of calcipotriol, which is already approved for the treatment of psoriasis, may improve healing and prevent wound infections in patients with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), a study showed … treatment with calcipotriol ointment helped close a chronic wound in one patient and eliminated harmful bacteria growing inside it. The compound was also able to enhance skin cells’ defenses against microbial growth and reduce cancer proliferation in skin cells of RDEB patients … read more

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate approximately 30 million surgical procedures are performed annually in the United States.1 Advances in technology have afforded patients options such as minimally invasive surgery, commonly known as laparoscopic or arthroscopic surgery, which tend to result in much smaller (1cm–2cm) incisions … However, some procedures necessitate larger incisions of varying size, potentially 10cm–20cm or greater, depending on type of procedure, body habitus, and anatomic area involved. These longer incisions create larger surgical wounds with greater potential for chronicity and complications … read more

This Quick Guide outlines how using a partnership of tried and tested AQUACEL dressings can provide effective wound management. The focus is on AQUACEL Extra dressing, which is designed to lock in harmful bacteria, micro-contour to the wound bed to maintain optimal moisture balance and reduce ‘dead space’ where bacteria can grow, and respond to wound conditions by forming a cohesive gel when in contact with exudate … read more

     in critical limb ischaemia patients after endovascular intervention

 

Preliminary findings from an initial study with 25 patients have shown that measuring the changes in oxygen concentration at baseline, during, and after endovascular revascularisation, can predict wound healing and functional improvement in critical limb ischaemia patients … Marianne Brodmann, Medical University Graz, Austria, presented the initial OMNIA study results that used the Lumee oxygen platform (Profusa) as a unique tool to assess and clinical management of critical limb ischaemia patients at the Leipzig Interventional Course (LINC; 30 January–2 February 2018, Leipzig, Germany). The platform is designed to provide immediate feedback on the quality of revascularisation and along the entire course of the patient’s recovery. It uses hydrogel sensors that are injected into the skin of the patient that measure the oxygen concentration in the tissue … read more

Painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) affects up to half of patients with diabetes and is a major cause of functional impairment and increased mortality. Its clinical manifestations include sensations such as burning, stabbing and tingling and/or loss of sensation, and it increases the risk for injuries and foot ulceration. Oral pharmacological therapy is the standard approach to management. It is effective in some patients, but its use is limited due to unfavourable side-effect profiles, limited response rates and drug interactions. Increasing evidence of the localized, non-systemic treatment approach of topical analgesics aims to overcome these obstacles and provide valuable, efficacious and safe management of PDN. This article reviews the rapidly expanding field of topical analgesia in managing PDN … read more

This document originated in 2001 as a joint position statement from a collaborative effort of the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc.1,2 Its purpose was to review the evidence about clean vs. sterile technique and present approaches for chronic wound care management. Then as now, areas of controversy exist due to a lack of agreement on the definitions of “clean” and “sterile” technique, lack of consensus as to when each is indicated in the management of chronic wounds, and lack of research to serve as a guide. Wound care practices are extremely variable and are frequently based on rituals and traditions as opposed to a scientific foundation … read more

     advocacy project

 

The European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP) and EWMA are collaborating on a joint engagement in the PU prevention and patient safety agendas at the European level as well as at the national level in selected European countries.

Five articles by the joint EPUAP-EWMA initiative have now been published. The articles are available for download here:

The role of pressure ulcer prevention in the fight against antimicrobial resistance

EWMA & EPUAP added-value to OECD efforts

Diabetic Control & Pressure Ulcers: fighting fatal complications and
improving quality of life

Patient safety across Europe: the perspective of pressure ulcers.

The time to invest in patient safety and pressure ulcer prevention is now!

 

Patient safety has for some years been high on the European Commission health care agenda. At the EU level as well as at national levels of many European nations, considerable investments have been made by health care authorities to establish organisations and programmes addressing the patient safety agenda.

 

Looking at the patient safety agenda from a wound care perspective, the topic of Pressure Ulcer (PU) prevention has always been central due to the fact that most PU’s are preventable if the patient is managed correctly by health care staff … read more

     Load and Biofilm in Venous Leg Ulcers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

 

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) solution as a wound cleanser on bacterial load and bacterial biofilm in venous leg ulcers … The target population was adults attending the dermatology outpatient clinic of the Clinical Hospital of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The sample comprised 44 patients with venous leg ulcers recruited over a 6-month period … read more

Liraglutide lowers risk for amputation: investigators find patients treated with GLP-1 drug had significantly lower number of amputations compared to placebo group.

 

The word may still be out on whether certain oral diabetes medications puts patients at risk for lower limb complications, but a new study has shown that liraglutide is not one of them. A post hoc review analysis of the LEADER trial published in Diabetes Care examined the effects of Liraglutide on rates of foot ulceration and amputation in patients at high risk for cardiovascular (CV) events.

 

Liraglutide, a GLP-1 agonist, is an injectable glucose-lowering medication used in patients with type 2 diabetes. GLP-1 agonists act by mimicking the effects of the hormone GLP-1, which increases insulin secretion and lowers glucagon release. This, in effect, causes increased satiety and slowed gastric emptying, with one of the main benefits of GLP-1 agonists being weight loss in patients with diabetes … read more