In Brazil, a revolutionary method for treating severe burns with tilapia skin is developed

In Brazil, a revolutionary method for treating severe burns with tilapia skin is developed

As Brazilian scientists have found out, tilapia fish has unique potential in the field of medicine, in particular, in the treatment of second and third degree skin burns.

In the state of Ceara in northeastern Brazil, an experiment was conducted with tilapia skin, which was used to treat burn wounds.

This is the first time in world practice that the skin of aquatic animals is used for this purpose.

“In Brazil, a cream is used to treat burns, which has a duration of 24 hours. Every day, you need to change the dressing, remove the remaining cream, rinse the burn site, reapply the cream and apply a new dressing, ”Edmar Maciel, plastic surgeon, director of the Burn Patient Support Institute and coordinator of the specialized team that developed the new method, told the BBC. treatment. “It’s laborious, expensive, and very painful for the patient,” says the surgeon.

Benefits

Compared to traditional treatment, the use of tilapia skin offers many benefits. The tilapia skin is applied to the burn site for several days, depending on the severity of the burn, and does not cause traditional pain when changing the dressing. In other countries, such as the United States or Europe, donor or animal skin, in particular pig skin, is used.

But the big benefit of using the skin of aquatic animals is that “it is known that they are less likely to transmit disease than terrestrial animals,” says Masiel. “In addition, it has more protein called collagen type 1, better resistance (similar to human skin), and an appropriate degree of moisture that aids healing.”

Due to its good adhesion, this skin prevents external pollution and limits the loss of proteins and plasma, which can lead to dehydration and death.

No fish smell

Before use, the skin of the fish undergoes a cleaning process that removes scales, muscle tissue, toxins and the characteristic fishy odor.

Then the skin is pulled in a press and cut into strips of 10 cm by 20 cm. The result is elastic skin similar to human skin.

The strips of leather are stored in the freezer at 2 to 4 degrees for up to two years maximum.

The team is currently investigating the possibility of using tilapia skin in other medical fields, such as gynecology, vaginal atresia, or for use in endoscopy.

A comparative study will also be conducted to identify differences in the use of pork, canine, human and tilapia skin.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-38558721

Belarusian developments in this area

According to the Department of Technology for Petrochemical Synthesis and Processing of Polymeric Materials (TNSiPPM), scientists of the Belarusian State Technological University together with the Department of Surgical Diseases of the Belarusian State Grodno Medical University for the first time in the Republic of Belarus have developed wound dressings based on nanofibers of natural biopolymer chitosan using the technology NANOSPIDER (electroforming from solutions of polymers of nanofibers). Preclinical studies have proven that the material has pronounced regenerative and antimicrobial properties without the addition of drugs. The therapeutic effect is due to the fact that the diameter of chitosan nanofibers – in the nanometer range – provides a significant area of contact with the wound surface.

The obtained results of preclinical studies and further development of wound dressings based on chitosan nanofibers will make it possible to create products for use in clinical practice for the effective treatment of wounds in various branches of medicine – surgery, combustiology (burn medicine), traumatology, otorhinolaryngology, gynecology, plastic surgery, dentistry, and also as a means of first aid. Sourc

e: https://www.belstu.by/news/science/nauchnye-razrabotki-bgtu-nanovolokno-s-xitozanom.html