Physical Wellness

Fat Cells Show Potential in Healing Wounds

By Tamara Ollie | Update Date: Jan 07, 2017 10:01 AM EST

Doctors have found a way to use fat to heal wounds, which is a new scientific breakthrough in medical science. The study was published on Science Journal and was primarily conducted at the University of Pennsylvania under the Perelman School of Medicine. It was continued on a bigger scale with Plikus Laboratory Developmental and Regenerative Biology at the University of California.

Dr. George Cotsarelis, Chairman of Pennsylvania Department of Dermatology stated, "Essentially, we can manipulate wound healing so that it leads to skin regeneration rather than scarring." This medical health breakthrough is seen to be a great benefit to people in the future.

Naturally, the human body has the ability to heal its own wounds with fat cells called adipocytes. However, the healing process results in an abnormal growth or texture in the skin called a scar. Dr. Cotsarelis further said, "The secret is to regenerate hair follicles first. After that, the fat will regenerate in response to the signals from those follicles."

Hair follicle and fat develop differently. The hair grows first, then myofibroblasts takes action when the hair is fully grown. Instead of seeing a scar, it will appear as a natural regeneration without any scar marks.

With the previous studies, it is thought the myofibroblasts can't do anything, until human keloids were grown in culture on a test mouse. The lead author of the research and Developmental and Cell Biology at the University of California Chairman, Professor Maksim Pikus concluded that this specific fat regeneration reaction is a window opportunity to further enhance the study.

As of writing, the Plikus laboratory has further conducted a study to fully understand the potential of the fat to heal wounds. In fact, they are also finding ways to regenerate wrinkling skin as a major use in the field of dermatology.

 

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