Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a jelly-like material
and wound treatment method that, in early experiments on skin
damaged by severe burns, appeared to regenerate healthy, scar-
free tissue. In the Dec. 12-16 online Early Edition of
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers
reported their promising results from mouse tissue tests. The
new treatment has not yet been tested on human patients. But the
researchers say the procedure, which promotes the formation of
new blood vessels and skin, including hair follicles, could lead
to greatly improved healing for injured soldiers, home fire
victims and other people with third-degree burns. The treatment
involved a simple wound dressing that included a specially
designed hydrogel—a water-based, three-dimensional framework of
polymers. This material was developed by researchers at Johns
Hopkins’ Whiting School of Engineering, working with clinicians
at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Burn Center and the
Department of Pathology a