摘要：The myofibroblast, a major component of granulation tissue, is a key cell during wound healing, tissue repair and connective tissue remodelling. Persistence of myofibroblasts within a fibrotic lesion leads to excessive scarring impairing function and aesthetics. Various wound-healing cytokines can be modulated by topical application of active agents to promote optimal wound healing and improve scar quality. Thus, the myofibroblast may represent an important target for wound-healing modulation to improve the evolution of conditions such as hypertrophic scars. The purpose of this work is to study the modulation of myofibroblasts and integrin αvβ3 in a full thickness wound performed on rabbits treated with different topical agents using: (1) saline, (2) Tegaderm occlusive dressing (3) silver sulfadiazine and (4) moist exposed burn ointment (MEBO). The reepithelialisation was 4 days faster in the MEBO group compared with the other therapies with less oedema formation, delayed contraction, less inflammatory cells and the lowest transepidermal water loss (TEWL) resulting in a soft scar. Although α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) was the highest around day 12 in the MEBO group, wound contraction and myofibroblast's activity were the least for the same period probably because of a downregulation of the integrin αvβ3. It seems that the effect of MEBO could be more pronounced on force transmission rather then on force generation. Greater insight into the pathology of scars may translate into non surgical treatments in the future and further work in myofibroblast biology will eventually result in efficient pharmacological tools, improving the evolution of healing and scar formation.

摘要：One hundred and thirty-eight (138) patients, with five hundred and sixty-six (566) different burn sites with different degrees, severity and locations, were enrolled to a multicenter clinical trial at 25 study centers. The goal of this trial was to evaluate the efficacy of MEBO (Moist Exposed Burn Ointment) in the treatment of burn wound. Various parameters were studied including: (i) healing time, (ii) need for pain killers, (iii) consumption of i. v. Fluids, (iv) use of systemic antibiotics and (v) aesthetic appearance. There was remarkable decrease in the healing time and most patients either did not need any pain killer or were relieved with only mild analgesics, except in few cases of deep second degree and third degree burns. A decrease in the volume of i. v. fluids needed was also reported. Only 19% of cases developed clinical infection, especially in those who were not treated with MEBO immediately post burn. Even though systemic antibiotic treatment was prophylactically implemented in most cases as a routine measure, 32 cases did not receive any antibiotic prophylaxis with MEBO and yet did not develop any infection. The aesthetic appearance reported was very acceptable. This treatment modality was not associated with any side effects, and patient discomfort during application and change was negligible. Thus, MEBO treatment was associated with excellent and relatively faster healing, low incidence of wound infection, and excellent patient compliance.

摘要：The history of wound care and management closely parallels that of military surgery which has laid down the principles and dictated the practices of wound cleansing, debridement and coverage. From a treatment standpoint, there are essentially two types of wounds: those characterized by loss of tissue and those in which no tissue has been lost. In the event of tissue loss it is critical to determine whether vital structures such as bone, tendons, nerves and vessels have been exposed. It is also important to determine the amount of soft tissue contusion and contamination. In any case primary wound healing by early closure either primarily or with the help of grafts or flaps is preferred to secondary healing and wound contraction with subsequent contractures which interfere with range of motion and function. Whether the wound is acute or chronic, essential principles of wound care must be observed in order to avoid wound sepsis and achieve rapid and optimal wound healing. - Tissues must be handled gently. - Caustic solutions capable of sterilizing the skin should never be applied to the wound. It is desirable never to put anything in the wound that cannot be tolerated comfortably in the conjunctival sac. - All devitalized tissues must be debrided either hydrodynamically, chemically, mechanically or surgically. - All dead space must be obliterated. - Exposed vital structures must be covered by well vascularized tissues. An essential part of any wound management protocol is wound dressing. It cannot be too strongly emphasized that a wound dressing may have a profound influence on healing particularly of secondary type healing, a critical feature being the extent to which such dressing restricts the evaporation of water from the wound surface. A review of available dressing materials is reported with emphasis on the newly developed concept of moist environment for optimal healing. a practical guide for dressing selection is also proposed.

摘要：Objective:Moist Exposed Burn Ointment(MEB0)has been initially popularized by the Beijing Chinese Burn Center as a topical burn oint- ment capable of providing the necessary moist environment for optimal wound healing without an overlying secondary cumbersome bulky and expensive dressing. Chinese traditional medicine(CTM)is quite different from the type of medicine and approach to disease as practiced in the west. Despite its empirically time proven practices and remedies,it is difficult,however,to accept CTM without adapting it to western ways of scientific analysis and documentation and many obstacles must be overcome before adopting it in a western style medical practice.Methods:Even though the effects of MEBO have been well described in the Chinese literature,the ointment had to be sub- jected to our ways of scientific analysis and documentation before being adopted.Sev- eral clinical studies were conducted to demonstrate the effect of MEB0 on primary healing of surgically repaired cutaneous wounds and on secondary healing of split thickness skin graft donor sites. Its effect on scar quality following both primary and secondary healing was also elucidated.Wound healing cytokine modulation by MEBO was investigated experimentally using the rabbit burn model.Results:Split thickness skin graft donor site wounds treated by the moisture retentive ointment had faster re- epithelialization rate than conventionally treated wounds with Sofra-Tulle or with oc- clusive Tegaderm dressings and were markedly less hyperemic and pigmented. Final cosmetic appearance as documented photographically,as well as patient's satisfaction and preference were much superior for the MEB0 treated wounds.It was demonstrated also that the ointment under investigation not only provided optimal and rapid re-epi- thelialization of partial thickness wounds but also resulted in faster functional cutaneous recovery as determined by TEWL(trans-epidermal water loss)measurements.It re- suited also in better quality healing as evidenced by lack of epidermal sliding.The ex- perimental study demonstrated that the multitude of inflammatory cells,growth factors and cytokines present in the wound bed are positively modulated by topical application of MEBO with characteristic temporal and spatial regulation and changes in the expres- sion pattern.Conclusion:Despite the fundamental differences between CTM and west- ern style medicine,it is wrong to totally disregard CTM only because some of its ingre- dients are unknown to our pharmacopea or because the complex nature of the Chinese medicinal preparations preclude isolation of the various constituents for exact toxicologi- cal and pharmacological investigation either separately or in combination with each oth- er.Our studies have clearly demonstrated the beneficial effects of MEBO on wound healing and scar quality.This effect is not merely due to moisture retention but rather to a fundamental basic modulation of wound healing kinetics.Furthermore,the experi- mental study has proven that wound healing modulation could be achieved by simple ointment application without the need of sophisticated and expensive high-tech mo- dalities such as cytokine and gene therapies.