venous leg ulcers

Early endovenous ablation of superficial venous reflux as an adjunct to compression therapy is associated with a shorter time to healing of venous leg ulcers than compression therapy alone, according to the firsts results from the Early Venous Reflux Ablation (EVRA) ulcer randomised controlled trial.

The Royal Society of Medicine’s Venous Forum (UK) has issued a guidance document for the ‘Management of patients with Leg Ulcers, to ensure that all patients with leg ulceration are offered the most appropriate care. In the guidance document, the Venous Forum state that leg ulcers continue to cause great distress to patients, cost the NHS millions of pounds each year and the prevalence of leg ulcers is increasing.

A Chochrane review examining evidence on the effects of treatments designed to lower the levels of protease in venous leg ulcers (VLUs) has found that the evidence from clinical trials is ‘unclear’ as to whether there is a benefit of 'protease-modulating matrix' (PMM) dressings on hard-to-heal VLUs, in conjunction with compression treatment, compared with other dressings.

Apligraf, an FDA-approved bioengineered living-cell therapy from Organogenesis, has become the first wound-healing therapy to demonstrate a significant change in the genomic profile of a treated non-healing wound, according to new research published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Translational Medicine.