Jab to make ugly scars disappear
ANEW drug injected into the skin could make scars disappear. Animal studies have found the drug, codenamed OLX101, can reverse the thick, distorted tissue that can develop after surgery or injury — and it is about to be tested in a UK trial.
The revolutionary jab, developed in South Korea, works by switching off a gene known to be involved in scar tissue formation.
Up to a third of patients who have surgery are left with permanent, prominent scarring, and surveys show around 70 per cent of those with visible scars say it affects their self-confidence.
Scarring is a natural part of tissue repair. Normally when a wound heals, inflammatory reactions trigger the formation of new blood vessels and the production of skin cells and fibroblasts, which make collagen, the protein that gives skin its elasticity. These close the wound and shield it from infection.
When too many fibroblasts are produced, the layers of collagen are not laid down in the neat pattern that makes up the rest of the skin, so they stand out — resulting in visible scarring.
THESE raised scars fall into two common categories: keloid scars, which are red, thick and bumpy and spread beyond the original wound; and hypertrophic scars, which are also raised and red, but more contained, and often follow surgery, acne or burns.
exacerbating the problem, the tension in the skin means the scarred area is constantly pulled outwards, adding to its prominence. Small and flat scars tend to fade, but if they don’t after 18 months, it’s unlikely they ever will.
Standard treatment includes silicone gel, thought to help the skin retain moisture and boost healing, and steroid creams or injections, which dampen inflammation and break down the collagen bundles.
Other options include freezing scars with liquid nitrogen at an early stage to stop them expanding, or surgery to remove them.
However, none of these treatments are very effective and the risk with surgery is that it can result in the scar growing back even larger than before.
The new drug deploys a mechanism known as RNA interference. RNA ( or ribonucleic acid) is present in every living cell in the body. Its main job is to act as a messenger, carrying instructions from genes that control the release of proteins from cells.
In scar tissue, malfunctioning genes mean there is an overproduction of a protein called connective tissue growth factor, which allows scars to develop and remain in place.
The new drug interferes with RNA carrying the instructions needed for this process to continue. This switches off the gene and stops the release of the growth factor that keeps scars going.
Over a period of weeks or months this allows the scar tissue to gradually shrink.
In a UK trial, being run at Covance Clinical Research Unit in Leeds, 44 people who have hypertrophic scars are being injected with different doses of the new drug to see its effect. The results of the study are due by summer 2019.
Commenting on the treatment, Dr Anthony Bewley, a consultant dermatologist at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, says: ‘Anything that seems to help limit scarring is a great step in the right direction. This research is at a very early stage and a lot more work is needed before we know if it will be an effective treatment.’
MEANWHILE plasters made from fish skin can help wounds to heal.
In a study reported at the American Podiatric Medical Association in Washington recently, researchers compared wounds treated with a fish skin plaster with those that had a plaster made from amniotic membrane taken from placentas and thought to contain compounds which can speed up healing.
Results showed wounds healed properly and faster with the fish skin plaster.
It is thought to have anti-inflammatory properties and mimic the structure of human skin to help with healing.