India ranks second in global diabetic epidemics accounting for approximately 77 million diabetic patients and the cases are expected to reach 134 million by 2045.
Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is one of the serious complications of diabetes mellitus as wound healing is impaired in DFU. DFU has a 5-year mortality rate of 50% which increases to 80% after amputation.
Despite the advancements and availability of extensive therapies, approximately 15-20% of all foot ulcers ultimately require amputation. Therefore, there is a need to develop solutions to cater to diabetic wound healing. Toward this, ICMR has awarded the prestigious Short-term studentship to first year MBBS student Anurag Singh Tomar for the development of dual-drug loaded nanofibrous wound healing patches.
The tissue engineered product will be developed under the guidance Dr. Neha Arya, Assistant Professor, Department of Translational Medicine, AIIMS Bhopal.
Prof. (Dr.) Ajai Singh, Executive Director and CEO, AIIMS Bhopal and Dr. Rupinder Kaur Kanwar, Head of the Department, Translational Medicine, AIIMS Bhopal congratulated Tomar and Dr. Arya. Prof. Singh emphasized on the importance of the unmet need in the area of diabetic foot ulcer and that development of wound healing patches will prevent the requirement of tissue grafts. Dr. Kanwar further mentioned that the support from ICMR is a plus to the existing and upcoming tissue engineering facility in the Department of Translational Medicine, primarily supported through the CSR funds from Vardhman Group.