Wound treatment aims to reduce scar tissue

Surgery

An Adelaide researcher has been awarded $187,000 by the Federal Government to develop a novel treatment for wounds that reduce scar tissue.

Associate Professor Allison Cowin from the Women's and Children's Health Research Institute and the University of Adelaide is working on a treatment that will improve the healing of wounds and cut down on severe scarring.

Her work has attracted the attention of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), which recently awarded her one of 22 development grants totalling $4.4 million. This project has grown out of a previous NHMRC funded project, which was recently selected for the NHMRC's 10 of the Best publication for 2008.

Associate Professor Cowin is leading a research team which has identified the important role played by a protein in altering cell proliferation and migration as a wound heals.

A novel antibody being developed by Associate Professor Cowin's research team suppresses this protein, fast tracking the healing process and leading to improved healing.

"The faster a wound heals, the better the body is protected against blood loss and infection," Associate Professor Cowin said. "But in its haste to heal, the body creates scar tissue that can cause chronic pain, deformity and disability. Children recovering from burns can be most affected, as scar tissue over joints limits their mobility, requiring repeated surgical interventions as their bodies grow.

"When the antibody is applied to wounds, the healing process is improved. Sufferers of burns and other injuries can look forward to the site of the injury looking as it did before the injury occurred," Associate Professor Cowin said.

Associate Professor Cowin is an affiliate of the University of Adelaide's Faculty of Health Sciences in the Discipline of Surgery.