For those of you who haven't seen the sci-fi television epic, Heroes, Claire Bennet is the lead character--a cheerleader with the super power of rapid cellular regeneration. Basically if she gets hurt, she heals automatically. Fast forward to real life: scientists have captured Claire Bennet and bottled her genetic code.
Well, not exactly. But the truth is pretty darn cool.
Cell Biologist David Becker and his team are currently working to produce a toothpaste-like substance that, when applied externally to wounds, causes the affected areas to heal up to five times faster than normal. The gel, called Nexagon, interrupts cellular communication, preventing certain proteins that prohibit healing to make way for those cells which cause regeneration.
The substance is in testing right now on patients with chronic leg ulcers. These wounds have a reputation of healing in no less than six months or not at all, with a 60% chance of returning. Yet Nexagon patients reported total healing in just four weeks with no return ulcers.
Wait…leg ulcers? Don't these generally affect the elderly? Yes, but another cause of ulcers is diabetes, and a major cause of diabetes is obesity. The CDC reports that in 2008 obesity among youth between age 12 and 19 was up to 18.1%. Those within this percentage are at a greater risk of staying obese into adulthood, which further increases the chance of developing diabetes and, in turn, ulcers. Nexagon will surely treat the skinned knee from that failed kick-flip, but it's also applicable to chronic wounds that young adults are susceptible to.
Becker's team has tested 100 subjects so far--including a 25-year-old New Zealander who, after spraying liquid cement in his eyes, was treated with Nexagon, which regenerated his outer eye lining and inner blood vessels, ultimately saving his eyes. Nexagon has already been endorsed by the FDA for use on serious eye injuries.
Consumer costs haven't been listed yet, but Nexagon should cost only a fraction of typical chronic wound treatment.
So basically, with little cost to the consumer, Nexagon will turn the average paper cut or chronic wound victim into a first-grade superhero. I don't know who this David Becker is reporting his findings to--if it's Superman or Doc Ock--but it sounds to me like he's doing something amazing.
--Chris
Photo taken from this photostream and used with permission of a Creative Commons license.
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