A compound of vitamin A called topical Retin-A also known as tretinoin,
mainly used to treat acne problems, enhances the healing of foot ulcers
in patients with diabetes, according to a report of the Archives of
Dermatology.
Though previous studies showed that topical Retin-A was a bit helpful
in enhancing wound healing in patients with diabetes and some results
were discussed by different scientifics, a group of researchers tried
to know if tretinoin really helped or not to these patients.
The research was carried out with 24 volunteers who had diabetic foot
ulcers but who showed no evidence of infection or circulation problems
in their extremities. Some patients were assigned to 4 weeks of daily
treatment with topical 0.05 per cent tretinoin solution meanwhile the
control group was assigned to a treatment with a saline solution. Both
groups were assessed every 2 weeks.
The 22 volunteers who completed the study were affected by a total of
24 foot ulcers. 18 per cent of patients in the control group (2 of the
11 ulcers) and 46 per cent of patients in the treated group (6 of the
13 ulcers) achieved a complete healing at the end of 16 weeks. There
was no statistical significance of adverse events, though some patients
experienced mild pain at the ulcer site.
The researchers were pleased with the results, although they were a bit
concerned because tretinoin irritates and they thought that the
patients would become so irritated that they wouldn't be able to
continue the research. However, this situation didn't seem to be a
problem in most cases, as they explained.
A conclusion for the researchers was that they hope that diabetic foot
clinics know about this and use Retin-A when other therapies that they
use don't work.
