MAYWOOD, Ill. -- Loyola University Health System researchers are
reporting on a promising new approach to treating diabetic
wounds, bed sores, chronic ulcers and other slow-to-heal wounds.
It may be possible to speed healing by suppressing certain
immune cells, researchers wrote in the February 2011 issue of
the journal Expert Reviews in Dermatology. The cells are called
neutrophils and natural killer T (NKT) cells. These white blood
cells act to kill bacteria and other germs that can infect
wounds. NKT cells also recruit other white blood cells to the
site of injury. But in some cases, these NKT cells can do more
harm than good, said senior author Elizabeth Kovacs, PhD,
director of research in Loyola's Burn & Shock Trauma Institute.
Neutrophils can be beneficial to wound healing by gobbling up
harmful bacteria and debris such as dead cells. But neutrophils
also can do harm -- by producing enzymes that digest healthy
surrounding tissue, leading to excessive scar tissue and slower
healing. "It's a balancing ac