The Effects of Autologous Platelet Gel on the Tensile Strength of Incisional Wounds

Author

Thomas Matthew Jones

Date of Award

2003

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Chemistry and Biochemistry

First Advisor

Clifford Ochs

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

Autologous platelet gel (APG) is already being used in clinical cases, as are other blood products such as fibrin glue and platelet lysate. Fibrin sealants have been show to stop capillary seepage and so reduce occurrences of hemotoma and edema, while platelets have been shown to contain a host of growth factors that promote healing including TGF-p, PDGF, lGF-1, TNF, and FGF. Platelet gel combines the hemostatic properties of fibrin glues with the growth factors contained in platelets. By harvesting the platelet-rich plasma from autologous blood, the risks of viral transmission and tissue incompatibility that are often associated with blood products are eliminated effectively and economically. The beneficial effects of APG have been documented in bum cases and face-lift procedures, which are prone to edema and hematoma. Very little information is available about APG’s affect on wounds in diabetic patients, though clinical studies showed applying platelet lysate healed chronic wounds that conventional treatments could not. Diabetic wounds are slow to heal, produce weaker scars, and often become chronic. These chronic wounds often lead to extensive tissue damage, osteomyelitis, and eventually amputation. This paper relates the findings of two APG studies on the tensile strength of incisional wounds. The first, carried out in healthy Spraque-Dawley rats, showed no difference caused by the APG. The second used Zucker rats whose homozygous genotype (fa/fa) models human type 2 diabetes. APG showed no significant effects on the tensile strength of fa/fa rats. However, non-diabetic Zucker rats receiving APG revealed a significant decrease in tensile strength. This unusual result is partially attributed to the biphasic effects of growth factors such as TGF-P, IGF-1, and TNF. Future excisional wound studies will provide a model of diabetic wounds commonly found in the clinical arena. Histological examination of these models will provide needed information on the synergistic effects of growth factors in healing-compromised wounds.

Recommended Citation

Jones, Thomas Matthew, "The Effects of Autologous Platelet Gel on the Tensile Strength of Incisional Wounds" (2003). Honors Theses. 2042.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2042

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