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Delayed wound healing in diabetes: considering future treatments

Thanh Dinh, Sarah Elder & Aristidis Veves

Diabetic foot ulcers result from multiple risk factors including peripheral neuropathy, arterial insufficiency and foot deformities. Recent investigation has also revealed a chronic wound environment with diminished expression of growth factors and cytokines integral to the wound healing process. Current accepted standard of care for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcerations focuses on periodic debridement of the wound, appropriate topical wound therapy, pressure off-loading and treatment of infection. Owing to increased cost and equivocal effectiveness, topical growth factors, bioengineered living skin equivalents, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and negative pressure wound therapy are proposed as adjuncts to standard of care and may be added to the treatment regimen when healing of the wound has stalled. Other future therapies currently under investigation include stem cell therapy, platelet-rich plasma, extracorporeal shock-wave therapy and laser treatment. These modalities continue to be developed and tested, and may offer promise as effective therapies in the future for the chronic diabetic foot ulcer.