News

Can burns victims heal themselves?

Published 3 June 2013

Scientists are hoping to find ways to help burns victims regenerate new nerves and skin and leave minimal disfiguring scars.

It is believed that humans at one time had this ability – just as the liver today can regenerate after injury – but it was lost over time. Researchers are now looking into ways to restart the process again.

This is just one of the ambitions of international burns injuries expert Anthony Metcalfe, who has just taken up the appointments of Professor of Burns and Wounds at the University of Brighton and Director of Research at the Blond McIndoe Research Foundation.

The foundation is based at the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead where the late Sir Archibald McIndoe pioneered treatments for WW2 burns victims and where the famous Guinea Pig Club was formed.

Professor Metcalfe said: "The idea that humans once had the ability to regenerate skin comes from the notion that there are organs in the human body that can regenerate, like the liver."

He said modern wounds from sharp objects, suffered in such incidents as car accidents, and from surgery, were not previously experienced in nature. Today's injuries are treated in clean, sterile environments, which often lead to rapid healing – and subsequent scarring.

"The idea would be to try and create an environment in and around the wound, for the regenerative mechanisms to be encouraged to occur, hopefully reducing scarring in the process."

Professor Metcalfe will be working closely with colleagues in the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences and other University of Brighton departments to develop new techniques and approaches in regenerative medicine to improve the treatments.

He said "My role has been created to formalise, develop and promote the research partnership with the Blond McIndoe Research Foundation. We live in exciting times for interdisciplinary science, especially in the fields of burns, plastic and reconstructive surgery, wound healing, regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.

"The unique research endeavours that can be made under this exciting partnership will revolutionise potential therapies for wound healing, for reduction of scarring and restoration of normal tissue architecture for patients suffering from burns and other tissue injuries."

Professor Metcalfe said they would be building on Sir Archibald McIndoe's pioneering work: "We intend to take hold of his legacy and, using modern regenerative medicine techniques, develop new approaches to scar reduction in burns and wound healing and develop techniques to regenerate skin.

"As an innovator himself, Sir Archibald developed the groundwork of modern plastic surgery techniques and was probably one of the first clinicians to see the power of interdisciplinary approaches.

"Extensive burns injuries and the subsequent scarring that occurs creates not only physical problems for the patients, often requiring continued surgery, but there is a psychological impact that Sir Archibald recognised.

"We want to develop the holistic approach that he pioneered, using patient participatory research programmes, to gain a much better understanding of the impact of such injuries to patient's lifestyles."