Sweet Success Healing Diabetic Foot Ulcers
By Lynda Williams, Medwire News, 9/20/2012
Scientists have harnessed the antibacterial properties of
Manuka honey to speed healing of neuropathic diabetic foot ulcers.
Foot ulcers took significantly less time to heal in the 32
Type 2 diabetes patients randomly assigned to receive Manuka honey-impregnated
dressings than the 31 patients given conventional dressings, at an average of
31 versus 43 days.
The researchers believe the enhanced healing is due to the
antibacterial properties of the honey. All patients attending the specialist
foot clinic tested positive for bacterial infection at baseline but 78.1% of
ulcers treated with the impregnated bandages were sterile within a week of
treatment compared with just 35.5% of those given conventional dressings.
This trend continued at 2 (15.6 vs 38.7%), 4 (6.2 vs 12.9%)
, and 6 weeks (0 vs 12.9%) of follow up, report Georgios Panoutsopoulos
(University of Peloponnese, Orthias Artemidos and Plateon, Sparta, Greece) and
co-workers.
Furthermore, none of the patients given impregnated
dressings required antibiotics during 16 weeks of follow up compared with 29%
of controls. Four patients given conventional dressings were hospitalized for
28 days, with one case of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, one with
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and two patients with vancomycin-resistant Enterococci.
There was no significant difference in the overall rate of
healing for the impregnated and convention dressing groups, however, at 97% and
90%, respectively.
The researchers note that although Manuka honey has been
shown effective against the bacteria found in their patients, it has been
suggested that the antibacterial component of Manuka honey - methylglyoxal -
may impair wound closure by reacting with structural proteins to induce
endothelial cell dysfunction.
However, they say: "The results of this study showed
expedition of healing of diabetic foot ulcers and do not support the above
concerns."…
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