Endangered animals could be the key to helping individuals with diabetic foot ulcers. A new study discovered a potential treatment for the condition from unexpected species.
Diabetic Foot Ulcers' Potential Treatment
Researchers have so far found beneficial viruses that could fight the bacteria causing diabetic foot ulcers in the feces of Guinea baboons, giraffes, lemurs, Visayan pigs, and binturongs. The creatures are a part of Yorkshire Wildlife Park's collection of 450 creatures from more than 70 rare and endangered species.
Diabetic foot ulcers reportedly occur yearly, leading to over 7,000 amputations and costing £1 billion. Treating these ulcers can be challenging since bacteria frequently invade them and slow the healing process. Antibiotics cannot kill these germs because they are resistant to them.
However, scientists have discovered in the lab that some of the most prevalent dangerous bacteria found in foot ulcers can be killed by the viruses present in animal manure. Although scientists have not yet tested these viruses on the ulcers of diabetic patients, they are optimistic that they have made a significant advancement. Bacteriophages, which are viruses, were discovered in the animal waste at Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
According to Professor Graham Stafford, who is in charge of research on the viruses at the University of Sheffield, they were the first to look for such a virus in zoo waste. They have been looking for new therapies for antibiotic resistance for a while and he finds it wonderful that threatened animals are supporting such a worthwhile cause.
Bacteriophages come in thousands of different varieties and are considered a new frontier in medicine that may one day be employed to treat sepsis as well. Around 450,000 of the estimated 4.5 million diabetics in the UK may get a foot ulcer at some stage in their lives.
Dr. Dinesh Selvarajah, a consultant physician at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said she has a number of patients with diabetic foot ulcers and treating the condition effectively will significantly decrease their risk of amputations.
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What Is Diabetic Foot Ulcers?
A diabetic foot ulcer is an open sore or wound that typically develops on the bottom of the foot and affects 15% of people with diabetes. Six percent of people who get foot ulcers end up in the hospital because of an infection or another problem related to the ulcer.
Diabetes is the most common reason for nontraumatic lower extremity amputations in the US, and 14 to 24% of diabetic patients who develop foot ulcers end up having an amputation. However, studies have shown that developing a foot ulcer is avoidable.
A foot ulcer can happen to anyone who has diabetes. The likelihood of developing an ulcer is higher in older men, Native Americans, African Americans, and Hispanics.
Patients with diabetes-related kidney, eye, and heart illness as well as those who use insulin have an increased chance of getting a foot ulcer. Alcohol and tobacco use, as well as being overweight, contribute to the emergence of foot ulcers.
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