Fresh Science

Dr Joan Rohl – Associate Lecturer, Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Queensland University of Technology

Putting an end to non-healing wounds

Almost half a million Australian suffering from wounds that won’t heal could benefit from recent research that identified a means to reduce inflammation and promote healing.

Queensland University of Technology researchers identified specific proteins within sufferers’ immune cells that could be targeted to reduce inflammation.

Scientists looked at how immune cells, called macrophages, are invading tissues that fail to heal, resulting in persisting wounds.

“The proteins we found could be used as targets for future drug development to treat these wounds,” says Dr Joan Rohl.

The findings from the study has the potential to reduce the $3 billion annual costs to the Australian health system from treating non-healing wounds.

Written by Dr Joan Rohl and edited by Econnect Communication.