Bad Oeynhausen,
Cold plasma treatment: effective in the treatment of chronic wounds
One of the greatest challenges when treating patients with diabetes is the management of chronic wounds since enduring healing is considerably slower. The combination of reduced healing speed and infection prevents the wound from closing and the tissue from regenerating – a problem which is significantly exacerbated by the diabetes. Treatment is expensive and lengthy, as well as arduous for physicians and patients alike, which is why new concepts are urgently needed.
One such innovative concept could be cold plasma therapy, the effectiveness of which has now been scientifically confirmed for the first time. The successful physicians and researchers came from the Herz- und Diabeteszentrum NRW (HDZ NRW) in Bad Oeynhausen, the Klinikum Karlsburg, and the Leibniz-Institut für Plasmaforschung und Technologie (INP) in Greifswald. In a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled and patient-blinded trial, 62 wounds received standard wound therapy and in addition either cold plasma or a placebo.
"The healing process was significantly accelerated using the cold plasma therapy, leading to faster wound closure," stated the leader of the clinical trial and Director of the Diabetes Center at the HDZ NRW, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Diethelm Tschöpe. "One advantage of the procedure is a high level of patient tolerance. We were unable to ascertain any side-effects linked to the treatment", added wound expert Dr. Tania-Cristina Costea, Senior Physician at the HDZ NRW. There was no evidence to support the hypothesis that cold plasma alone has an antimicrobial and infection-modulating effect. The success was probably due to the combination with effective standard treatment and shows that cold plasma has a relevant biological impact on wound healing, PD Dr. Bernd Stratmann, first-named author of the publication and Head of Research at the Diabetes Center, went on to explain.
Further information:
Herz- und Diabeteszentrum Nordrhein-Westfalen
Universitätsklinik der Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Leitung: Anna Reiss
Georgstr. 11
32545 Bad Oeynhausen
Tel. 05731 97-1955
Fax 05731 97-2028
E-Mail: info@hdz-nrw.de
www.hdz-nrw.de
