The young Argentine geneticist Mikele Amondarain is currently in the spotlight for developing a regenerative stem cell patch that could contribute to improving the quality of life for older adults and patients with wound healing difficulties.

She is the winner of a grant from the “Deep-Tech for Intelligent Longevity” program, in which participants were required to work on solutions in this area.

The innovation is part of the geneticist’s doctoral research in tissue regeneration. “The device is a hydrogel, with the consistency of a bandage. But the idea is that it covers the wound or injured tissue — anything that has difficulty regenerating, closing, or healing — and restores the body’s ability to regenerate the injured tissue,” Amondarain explained.

He referred to the decrease in the body’s production of collagen, elastin, and other skin components after age 20 or 30, which affects tissue regeneration. “So, when we have a wound, it takes longer to close, the scar is more sensitive, and the tissue gradually loses functionality.”

Once applied, the patch is reabsorbed; that is, it doesn’t need to be changed, which is usually painful for the patient. During reabsorption, “it captures the signals from the exosomes, which are the biological compound in the patch, and then takes effect.”

The patch is initially targeted at older adults due to their greater difficulty in healing, but patients with underlying conditions, such as diabetes or venous insufficiency, could also be included.

The scientist emphasized that all the laboratory development has been completed, “which involves cell culture, and we’ve moved on to the animal model. We still need to move to a larger animal model and finish the preclinical trials before proceeding to the first clinical trial.” There is still a way to go, considering that exosomes are not yet FDA-regulated for application. Regulatory approval is required, although the situation is different in the cosmetic field.

M.Pino

Source: infobae

(Reference image source: Stephen Andrews on Unsplash)

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