New way to reverse poor circulation and heal wounds found
February 19, 2008 | Source: KurzweilAI
The force of contracting a muscle increases blood flow to that muscle by sending biochemical messages through nearby extracellular matrix proteins, and a key piece of fibronectin causes blood vessels to dilate, University of Rochester Medical Center researchers have found.
The study mechanism suggests new ways, including pro-circulatory drug design, to treat conditions that involve poor circulation like peripheral artery disease, which comes with aging, affects 10 million Americans and leads to amputation in the worst cases.
Furthermore, the same signals that influence circulation in some tissues drive cell growth elsewhere. That could lead to an ointment that would speed healing when spread across chronic wounds.
