Whether it ’s a operative lesion , stretchability marks , or the issue of fall off your bike as a nipper , most of us have unsightly scars we care would go aside . But what if there was a way to prevent a visible scratch from ever forming ? Well , research worker have nowdeveloped a band - aidthat can do just that , not only promoting healing but also significantly reducing scarring too .
So how does it work ?
Weirdly enough , it habituate a protein that ’s most unremarkably found in the skin of fetus . Fetal hide heal without scarring thanks to the abundance of a protein be intimate as fibronectin . This protein aid reassemble skin cells as a wound heals , minimise scar tissue paper . But sadly for us adults , our skin loses most of it after we are born .
Scars are mainly made up of collagen , a protein that ’s naturally unwashed in the peel . However , when collagen help a wound heal , it mould a different anatomical structure , creating a cicatrice that does n’t blend with the rest of the skin .
To tackle this issue , a squad of scientists led by Harvard University looked at how spell contain fibronectin could cure wounds on mice . Each black eye had two wounds – one cover with a fibronectin patch and plastic flick , and the other with just a plastic film .
The wounds under the protein patches healed after 11 twenty-four hour period , three days quicker than the ascendency ones . Five mean solar day later , the mice had no visible scarring at all .
The researchers see the Modern skin under the microscope , looking for instinctive element like travail glands and hair follicle . The Modern skin had an 84 percentage similarity to normal hide , but the ascendancy scar only showed a 55.6 percentage similarity . The findings are published in the journalBiomaterials .
However , it ’s important to note that the novel discipline only tested out the technique on mouse , not people , and a tiny sample of just eight computer mouse was used . But that does n’t necessarily have in mind it wo n’t ever work on human beings . The researchers are now planning to try out their world on fuzz skin , which is more like our own .
According to the study ’s source , the young coming “ could set a new paradigm for enhance wound healing and may thus find use in a variety of regenerative medicine applications . ”
While this unexampled finding is exciting for many of us , it could be life - change for mass with psychologically disturbing scars , like big facial ones , or unity that remind them of traumatic event . In some mass , scars can even contribute todepression and anxiousness .
Although cicatrix tend to fade with clip , they never totally disappear . There are sure treatment for scars , like steroid hormone injections , silicone flat solid , and even operative remotion , but these are n’t always effectual and are far from idealistic . Having a wide-eyed way to preclude scar in the first position could save many people the disturbance that scars often make for .
[ H / T : New Scientist ]
