A pilot evaluation of wound surface electrical potentials in diabetes.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A pilot evaluation of wound surface electrical potentials in diabetes.
IRAS ID
104245
Contact name
Mary Anne Cotter
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NHS Grampian
Research summary
Foot ulceration is an important and much feared complication for people with diabetes. It is well established that electrical potential gradients act as directional cues during growth and development. Moreover, during wound healing, this cue is important to promote wound closure. When the skin is wounded it produces an electrical signal, this is known as the wound potential. This has an important role in orchestrating the subsequent healing process. There have not been any published studies examining the effect of diabetes upon skin wound potentials. The project will address this by directly measuring wound potentials in human subjects. Skin potentials will be measured non-invasively by a newly available device, the Dermacoder. In humans this will be used to scan 4 lancet prick wounds, 2 made on either forearm. The study will compare measurements with a control group and assess the relationship with glycaemic control and other risk factors for the development of ulceration.
This work builds on previous work by Aberdeen University Systems physiology team using the rodent cornea as a simple model to demonstrate that wound potentials were severely impaired by diabetes, with adverse consequences for healing after corneal damage. The proposed research builds on this in two ways. First by transferring the analysis to the skin, which has a much more complex structure than the corneal epithelium. Second by making direct measurements on people with diabetes, to assess any abnormality of wound potential and correlations assessing blood glucose control and risk factors for diabetic complications. If electrical wound potential measurements demonstrate a significant difference in individuals with diabetes, this would provide a scientific base for designing therapeutic interventions in the future.
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 2
REC reference
13/NS/0092
Date of REC Opinion
13 Aug 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion