Can we speed heal ourselves?

is useful as they are targets, however, it is not possible to continue producing antibiotics as the bacteria will eventually become resistant. Therefore, other solutions, using knowledge of quorum sensing, need to be devised to kill the bacteria without antibiotics.

-Ghanage

Many complex mechanisms work in our body to fix anything we throw at it – from cuts and scrapes to broken bones, the body manages to restore itself to its former glory when given some time. How does it do this, and does anything affect the speed at which these processes takes place? Can we alter the body’s pace at which it heals?

In order to heal skin lacerations or abrasions, over a short period of time, blood clots over the opening, preventing further blood loss from the wound and entry of pathogens. A scab forms, and over the next couple of days the body’s immune system works to prevent infections from occurring at the site of the wound. White blood cells travel there, and fight infection and blood vessels dilate in the area to supply more oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to aid in the healing of the wound. As a few weeks go by, collagen is supplied by red blood cells and provides a strong, fibrous foundation for the new tissue to grow. This new tissue is called granulation tissue and on this new skin will start forming.

A diagram showing stages of a skin laceration healing. In terms of fractures, bleeding occurs in the area and blood starts to clot (forming a hematoma), which fills the gap between the fracture. The area becomes inflamed due to immune responses and stem cells migrate to the fracture to start the healing process. Bone forms near the edge of the fracture and soft cartilage grows between the broken ends. This formation peaks around 8 days after the incidence of the fracture. In a little less than a month, new bone starts to grow, but it can take several years for the bone to fully grow back.

An image depicting the main stages of bone regeneration There are many different factors which can control the speed at which our body heals after an injury. One of the main factors delaying the healing of bone fractures is smoking - the nicotine found in cigarettes interferes with this. Concerning lacerations, wounds of individuals with diabetes often heal much slower (or do not heal at all) than wounds of those without diabetes. This increases the likelihood of infections occurring; these can be lifethreatening if left untreated. Since diabetes affects insulin production and therefore maintenance of blood glucose levels, if blood glucose levels remain high then white blood cells are unable to carry out their functions properly, therefore infection is not fought effectively. If the diabetes is not managed, blood circulation is also affected and blood also moves slower, affecting transport of nutrients to the site of injury. Diabetic neuropathy is a common condition amongst diabetics – lack of a controlled blood glucose level affects nerves and therefore sensation of pain, leading to numbness so in the case of a laceration, the person may be unaware of the injury: the person will get no treatment which in some cases can deteriorate the injury.

Image showing diabetic neuropathy of the feet.

There have been some developments to speed up healing of tissues. Recently, scientists have developed a new biodegradable plaster which is made of 3D printed skin. It is made of polyurethane - a plastic - and gelatine; analysis revealed that more than double the number of blood vessels and collagen were at the site of the wound treated with the 3D printed plaster than the control (commercially available) plasters. The wounds were also more than half the size after a month, showing the effectiveness of this treatment. Another treatment which has been developed is wound dressings with electric fields. This doesn’t require any technical, expensive equipment and works by having four layers. The bottom layer, which rubs against the skin, produces static electricity through frictional forces. The layer above that is made of silicone and can conform to the curves of the skin. The next layer is a shape memory alloy which pushes the two edges of the wound together, so they are touching, and the last layer