Outcome

Combining hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) significantly improved diabetic wound healing in rats. The combination treatment reduced the number of active skin ulcers and wound areas increased dermal collagen and resulted in better overall healing compared to control and single therapies.

Introduction

Diabetic wounds pose a considerable challenge in medical care due to their chronic nature and resistance to conventional healing methods. This study investigates the effects of combining hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on diabetic wound healing in an experimental rat model. The research evaluated multiple healing parameters including ulceration epidermal thickness collagen density and blood vessel proliferation. The findings indicate that the combination of HBOT and PRP significantly reduces the number of active skin ulcers increases dermal collagen and decreases wound size compared to control groups. While both HBOT and PRP individually show positive effects their combination enhances healing outcomes more effectively. The results suggest promising advancements in diabetic wound treatment offering potential improvements in patient recovery and reduction of complications.

Results

The study examined the effects of combining hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on diabetic wound healing using a rat model composed of thirty-six diabetic female Wistar albino rats. The findings revealed that the combination therapy group receiving both PRP and HBO exhibited significantly fewer active skin ulcers compared to the control group (p = 0.039). Moreover wound areas across all treatment groups were notably smaller than those in the control group with the combination therapy group showing the most significant reduction (p < 0.001).

The treatment groups also demonstrated improvements in dermal collagen content. The PRP and combined therapy groups had greater amounts of dermal collagen than the control group with the increase in dermal collagen reaching statistical significance (p = 0.008). Although the thickness of the epidermis was observed to be higher in the PRP and combined therapy groups these differences were not statistically significant (p = 0.097 for PRP and p = 0.074 for combination therapy).

In terms of angiogenesis all treatment groups showed an increase in new blood vessel formation compared to the control group. However this increase was not statistically significant (p = 0.65).

In summary the study demonstrates that the combined use of HBOT and PRP significantly improves diabetic wound healing by reducing the number of active ulcers decreasing wound size and increasing dermal collagen content. Despite the absence of a significant enhancement in angiogenesis the combined therapy outperformed individual treatments suggesting its potential as a superior therapeutic approach for diabetic wound management.

Conclusion

The integrated use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) demonstrated significant advantages in promoting diabetic wound healing in a rat model. The study found that combining these therapies resulted in a marked reduction in active skin ulcers decreased wound size and enhanced dermal collagen deposition compared to control groups and single therapies. While the combined treatment did not significantly impact blood vessel proliferation the observed improvements in key healing metrics suggest a synergistic effect between HBOT and PRP.

These findings are particularly relevant in the context of ongoing HBOT research where enhancing wound healing capabilities for diabetic patients remains a critical objective. The synergistic effects observed in this study highlight the potential for combination therapies to offer superior clinical outcomes over monotherapies.

Future research should aim to validate these results in human studies and explore the underlying mechanisms driving the synergistic benefits of HBOT and PRP. Additionally optimizing treatment protocols and understanding the long-term effects of such combination therapies will be pivotal in translating these findings into standard clinical practices.