Wounds
Study links Enterococcus faecalis metabolism to stalled healing in chronic wounds
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Researchers report that Enterococcus faecalis—a bacterium often found in chronic wounds—can hinder skin repair by generating hydrogen peroxide through a metabolic pathway, triggering stress responses that stop key skin cells from migrating. In laboratory experiments, breaking down the peroxide with the antioxidant enzyme catalase helped restore cell movement, suggesting a potential treatment approach that does not rely on antibiotics.
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside say they have developed a flexible, battery-powered gel patch that generates oxygen inside hard-to-heal wounds—an approach aimed at countering deep-tissue oxygen deprivation that can stall recovery and contribute to amputations. In experiments in diabetic and older mice, the team reported that wounds that often remained open—and were sometimes fatal—closed in about 23 days when treated with the oxygen-generating patch.