A transdermal drug delivery system improved overall wound quality and outperformed direct application of deferoxamine solution in the healing of diabetic wounds, according to data results presented at the American College of Surgeons Annual Clinical Congress.
Researchers developed a transdermal drug delivery system (TDDS) that contained deferoxamine (DFO), which is known to increase hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1α), and assessed the TDDS for its physicochemical characteristics, as well as its effects on diabetic wound healing. The DFO TDDS application was compared to 1mM and 100 mM drip-on application, tensile testing of the wound was performed and histological samples were collected upon closure.
Study results showed that compared with 1mM and 100 mM drip-on and vehicle control patch, the TDDS displayed satisfactory physiochemical characteristics and significant accelerated wound closure. The DFO patch group had an increase in dermal thickness, collagen density and vascularity, while uniaxial skin tensile testing showed increased wound strength. Researchers found no significant differences between the 1-mM and 100-mM drip concentration.
“We have lots of diagnostic modalities to tell patients their feet are at risk for a wound by how much oxygen is getting to the skin, blood flow and which areas are at risk,” Geoffrey Gurtner, MD, FACS, the Johnson and Johnson professor of surgery and associate chairman of surgery for research at Stanford University School of Medicine, stated in a press release. “But when we find that there is low oxygen or delivery of blood, there is not much we can do except tell the person to take better care of their feet. This drug could actually change the biology of diabetic patients.”
For more information:
Gurtner G. Transdermal drug delivery of deferoxamine accelerates healing and improves quality of diabetic wounds. Presented at: American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress; Oct. 26-30, 2014; San Francisco.
Duscher D. J Am Coll Surg. 2014;doi: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2014.07.322.
Disclosure: This study was supported by the National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the Harrington Discovery Institute.
