A clinical study is underway making available a new type of treatment for patients suffering from diabetic foot ulcers.

This exciting new topical treatment combines two components, PDGF, and collagen. Both have already been approved by the U.S. FDA for treatment of chronic wounds.

The clinical study is conducted in part to seek an approval for the combined use for poorly healing diabetic foot ulcers that have been non-responsive to standard therapies.

The study is being conducted at the Freeport Family Wellness Center in the Bahamas.

The clinic has been offering functional medicine to patients from around the world since 1999. Dr. Kevin Bethel, the Medical Director of the clinic, serves as a principal investigator of this study.

According to the website, www.dfutreatments.com, these clinical studies have yielded exceptionally good response,"current wound care focuses on delaying the ulcers progression toward surgery or amputation, whereas, this new treatment actively engages the wound with the purpose of closing it."

Clinical studies thus far have treated over 40 patients. Patients’ wounds were dressed every 14 days until wounds were healed with a maximum of 6 applications.

In the ongoing study the initial application is done by a trained healthcare professional in the clinic.

After one week of treatment, patients are then encouraged to return to the US and complete the application in the comfort of their own home.

Diabetic foot ulcers pose a huge problem for diabetics with neuropathy and/ or vascular insufficiencies where tissue damage and cell death result in large open wounds that expose layers of skin which may become infected.

According to a study by the National Diabetes Data Group at NIH, foot ulcers will develop in 25 percent of patients with diabetes. More than half of these foot ulcers will become infected requiring hospitalization and 1 in 5 will require amputation.

Standard therapies currently consist of debridement of the wound, antibiotics and grafts of artificial skin and in many cases do not completely heal the wounds.

Whereas, this new treatment offers hope for closing these potentially life-threatening wounds.

According study data, the “success rate of healing depends on the stage of the wound and a lot of variables (blood flow rate, infection, etc), but generally this treatment has been successful in healing some of the worst cases [of diabetic foot ulcers]”

Cases are available to view by request. For more information on how to receive the treatment, patients can visit the website www.dfutreatments.com or call the treatment center directly: (242) 351-5424.