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At the recent Interscience Conference on Anti-Microbial Agents and Chemotherapy, Dr. Lawrence Eron from the University of Hawaii presented his results on the use of maggots to heal diabetic wounds. The small trial treated 37 diabetic patients with 27 showing successful outcomes.
Conventional treatment for healing diabetic wounds is debridement, or the removal of infected and dead tissue with enzymes or scalpels, but these treatments are not always successful and often result in the need for amputation. Eron believes that maggot debridement may be the answer.
Eron and his team treated 37 patients, all with a type of artery disease that contributed to poor circulation and stubborn wound healing. Some of the patients had wounds up to five years old. The team placed 50 to 100 maggots on the wound and sealed them with a mesh-like material similar to pantyhose where they remained for 1-2 days. The maggots were then removed and replaced by fresh maggots for another cycle. This was repeated for five cycles.
Maggots feed on only dead tissue and leave the living tissue only. They produce a chemical which liquefies the dead tissue so they can suck it up. The maggots secrete chemicals that then stimulate the growth of granulation tissue necessary for the wounds to heal.
medicalxpress.com
Conventional treatment for healing diabetic wounds is debridement, or the removal of infected and dead tissue with enzymes or scalpels, but these treatments are not always successful and often result in the need for amputation. Eron believes that maggot debridement may be the answer.
Eron and his team treated 37 patients, all with a type of artery disease that contributed to poor circulation and stubborn wound healing. Some of the patients had wounds up to five years old. The team placed 50 to 100 maggots on the wound and sealed them with a mesh-like material similar to pantyhose where they remained for 1-2 days. The maggots were then removed and replaced by fresh maggots for another cycle. This was repeated for five cycles.
Maggots feed on only dead tissue and leave the living tissue only. They produce a chemical which liquefies the dead tissue so they can suck it up. The maggots secrete chemicals that then stimulate the growth of granulation tissue necessary for the wounds to heal.
Researchers use maggots to heal diabetic wounds
(Medical Xpress) -- At the recent Interscience Conference on Anti-Microbial Agents and Chemotherapy, Dr. Lawrence Eron from the University of Hawaii presented his results on the use of maggots to heal diabetic wounds. The small trial treated 37 diabetic patients with 27 showing successful outcomes.
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