New Research on Cause and Potential Treatment of Bedsores

As anyone familiar with the care of quadriplegics can readily attest, bedsores (decubitus ulcers) are a common complication of paralysis. A study conducted by NYU School of Medicine researchers, in collaboration with the Wound Healing Program at Columbia University, sheds new light on the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of chronic wounds, including bedsores.
Published in the July 1 issue of the American Journal of Pathology, the study states that skin cells get stuck in the middle of the normal healing process and cannot migrate to the wound site, due to an overabundance of a molecule called c-myc ( a product of the ubiquitous myc gene, which has been implicated in many human cancers ). This molecule is known to suppress cell migration and to cause the skin to thicken, obstructing reparative cells from reaching the edge of the wound. The cause of c-myc overproduction was found to be beta-catenin, a critical regulator of cell behavior. According to the researchers, beta-catenin activates the production of c-myc as well as other pathways that affect the migration, growth, and regulation of skin cells. Continue below

The Shigley Law Firm represents plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases statewide in Georgia, and in other states subject to the multijurisdictional practice and pro hac vice rules in each state. Ken Shigley was designated as a “SuperLawyer” in Atlanta Magazine and one of the “Legal Elite” in Georgia Trend Magazine. He is a Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, Chair of the Southeastern Motor Carrier Liability Institute and former chair of the Georgia Insurance Law Institute. He particularly focuses on cases arising from truck wrecks and accidents (tractor trailers truck wrecks, semi truck wrecks,18 wheeler truck wrecks, big rig truck wrecks, log truck wrecks, dump truck wrecks).