Title:Regenerative Medicine for Neonatal Wound Healing
Volume: 2
Issue: 2
Author(s): Genieve Ee Chia Yeo*Jia Xian Law*
Affiliation:
- Centre for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical
Centre, Jalan Yaacob Latif, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Centre for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical
Centre, Jalan Yaacob Latif, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Keywords:
Neonate, skin, regenerative medicine, stem cells, skin substitute, wound healing.
Abstract: Neonates, especially premature newborns, have delicate skin that is susceptible to injury.
Furthermore, they may acquire congenital skin diseases such as epidermolysis bullosa and aplasia
cutis congenita that need prompt and effective treatment to reduce morbidity and mortality.
Conventional management involves the covering of wound with a dressing, e.g., hydrogel, hydrocolloid
and hydrofiber, which can maintain a moist wound environment that favours wound healing.
More recently, regenerative medicine approaches using stem cells and skin substitutes have
been introduced as bioactive substitutes to conventional wound dressings to promote and expedite
neonatal wound healing, especially the difficulty to treat wounds that are deep and affect a large
surface area. To date, the number of preclinical and clinical studies using stem cells and skin substitutes
to treat neonatal skin diseases is still very limited. Results from these studies showed that
regenerative medicine approaches are safe and effective in promoting the healing of neonatal skin
diseases. In future, stem cells and skin substitutes can be combined with gene therapy to ameliorate
injured skin in neonatal patients. Besides, cell-free approaches using the stem cell-derived secretome
and extracellular vesicles are also gaining popularity as they are associated with fewer risks
and hazards compared to stem cells. Herein, we discuss neonatal skin diseases, neonatal wound
healing, the standard therapy for neonatal skin diseases, regenerative medicine approaches to promote
neonatal skin regeneration and the future perspective of regenerative medicine in neonatal
wound care.