Scar-Free Healing Becoming Possible Thanks To Worms
Scientists have discovered a treatment that could help develop scar-free healing using a parasite produced by the roundworm. The medical breakthrough is still in testing, but it might be the key to faster healing that avoids unsightly and damaging scars. It’s the latest breakthrough from an international team of researchers dedicated to studying the roundworm.
Parasitic Worms And Humans
A collaboration between Rutgers University and The University of Glasgow, the roundworm research has netted some notable scientific breakthroughs.
The scar-free healing method is the latest and most attention-grabbing, but studying the rodent parasite has been a fruitful endeavor.
The study has also illuminated how parasitic worms can affect their human hosts, such as suppressing immune responses.
Immune Responses
It’s that suppression of immune responses that is the key to the new scar-free healing method. By speeding up healing and suppressing the body’s scarring response, the new technique both eliminates the need for the process and prevents the biological process from happening.
This is done by using a specific roundworm-produced protein called TGF-Beta Mimic or TGM.
On Mice First
To study the effects of TGM on wounds, the team applied the protein to wounded mice daily. The treatment was successful, resulting in accelerated, scar-free healing in the lab mice. After 12 days of treatment, the mice exposed to TGF had regenerated their damaged skin almost entirely, including the hair follicles in that skin.
If there are no major unforeseen problems, the scar-free healing technique could be revolutionary in the medical field. It promotes regenerative recovery over tissue fibrosis, the recovery process that results in scars. It’s also easily harvested from parasites, which means it could become a widespread and affordable treatment for flesh wounds.
Not Just For Cosmetic Purposes
While it may seem like scar-free healing is solving a purely cosmetic problem, it’s more significant than some might realize. Scars can hamper the movement of nearby muscles and joints, making them a legitimate physical hindrance. They can also be psychologically damaging as unwanted appearances change or reminders of the incidents that caused them.
TGM is far from the only new technology looking to create scar-free healing with new skin recovery techniques. Plans for 3D-printed skin grafts and good bacteria wound dressings are other examples of radical new techniques being tested. These techniques could help patients recover more quickly and reduce the lasting impact skin injuries have on the lives of patients.
Still Need Human Clinical Trials
Of course, TGM-based scar-free healing is still a long way off from being available to the public. While the new technology has proven effective in early animal testing, it will still have to undergo human clinical trials and analysis before it can become a regular part of the medical toolkit.
While it’s a ways off, and there’s always the possibility of unforeseen roadblocks, it could revolutionize the recovery process in the near future.
Scar-free healing promises fast recovery that eliminates the permanent, physical, reminders of major skin injuries. It also mitigates the common mobility problems caused by major skin injuries, whether it’s from an accident or a side effect of surgery. It’s hard to imagine such a miraculous technology came about because of the roundworm, a parasite most of us associate with rodents and pets.
Source: Interesting Engineering
