New Algae-Based Therapy Could Prevent Lower Extremity Amputation Published:
2019-12-17
Views:
29
Author: relefordinstitute Published in: Diabetes
According to data recently published in Diabetes Care, the American Diabetes Association’s official journal, the number of diabetesrelated limb amputations is on the rise in the United States. Another recent article published in the American Journal of Managed Care notes that 200, 000 non-traumatic limb amputations occur in the US each year. Every 17 seconds, a person is diagnosed with diabetes, and 230 Americans living with diabetes suffer an amputation every day. The data also estimates that a leg is amputated every 30 seconds throughout the world, and 85% of these limp amputations are a result of diabetic foot ulcers. These results are alarming, even scaring, especially since they come at a time when multidisciplinary approaches in the management and treatment of diabetic foot ulcers have been reported to decrease amputation rates by over 50%. It, therefore, follows that any preventative medical strategies in this field of medicine are very welcome. The good news is that we are headed in the right direction. New research published in the NPJ Regenerative Medicine journal suggests that algae could help prevent lower extremity amputations. The researchers from King’s College London and St. Thomas’ Hospital have developed a new algae-based critical limb ischemia treatment. Surgeon Prof. Bijan Modarai and his colleagues came up with small capsules made from brown algae, key in the new therapy. The capsules were shown to hold macrophages and increase blood flow in damaged limb tissues, accelerating the healing process. In the study, the researchers delivered the algae capsules to injured muscle tissues in the back limbs of mice. The brown algae macrophages were seen to remain in the injured areas successfully, new blood vessels were formed, and consequently, there was more blood flow to the damaged areas. The scientists now hope to extend the research to human clinical trials. With an estimated 2 million people living with critical limb ischemia in the US alone, these findings wouldn’t have come at a better time. Critical limb ischemia (CLI) is a very serious condition that occurs when limb arteries become blocked due to a build-up of fat deposits. This reduces blood flow into the limbs significantly. Research (https://www.vasculardiseasemanagement.com/content/prevalence-incidence-and-outcomescritical-limb-ischemia-us-medicare-population) shows that up to 40.42% of all patients diagnosed with CLI end up with a limb amputation. Studies have also shown that if blood flow isn’t restored in good time, up to 50% of CLI patients will have a limb amputated or die of the condition. These statistics, again, stress the need for effective amputation prevention measures. In their report, the Prof. Modarai-led research team says, “we hope this new cell therapy will reduce the need for amputations greatly in patients whose CLI has become untreatable.” As a practicing podiatric who is frequently looking to help patients prevent limb amputation, I must admit that this new algae-based therapy will play a critical role in therapy should it be viable on humans. It will especially be very impactful