Chapter 8 'GENOPEP', a Topical Cream in the Treatment of Burn Wounds

摘要

The loss of the skin's protective barrier as the result of burns fosters the susceptibility to bacterial infection, invasion, and sepsis. Infection remains the leading cause of death among patients who are hospitalized for burns. Current standards of treating the burned tissue have severe limitations and inherent risks of complications. Based upon the principles discovered in naturally occurring peptides, recent designs of synthetically engineered antimicrobial peptides have demonstrated increased potency and efficacy/tolerability, enhanced specificity, and reduced toxicity in comparison to the extant burn treatment modalities. These peptides termed as designed antimicrobial peptides (dAMP), are resistant to such effects of high solute levels and demonstrate even greater antibacterial activity than traditional antibiotics. One such peptide, GENOPEP, has shown significant antimicrobial activity and accelerated wound healing and is the first such peptide to be used to treat burns in humans. The impact of this treatment could improve patient survival or quality of life and reduce costs to the patient, their family, hospital and society.