Medical Breakthrough For Burn Injury Victims
It has been commonly accepted in the medical community that a serious result of sudden extreme trauma is insulin resistance, also know as diabetes. Researchers have determined that this is also the case with sever burns. As a result, the healing process is slowed and the body is unable to fully use blood sugar for energy. Muscle tissue is use instead, which breaks down the body over time.
However, doctors have found a new treatment that may be able to fight against the onset of diabetes after severe trauma. Apparently, after a two week treatment with fenofibrate, children who have sustained burns of more than 40% of the body surface area showed significant improvements of the body's glucose uptake, almost to normal levels. These were the findings according to the lead researcher at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston. The on-site trauma center was the primary medical care source after a British Petroleum refinery explosion killed at least 15 workers and injury dozens more.
The researchers also found that trauma, particularly in children, seems to cause problems with fat metabolism, which causes the onset of diabetes. If given a two week fenofibrate treatment, morbidity outcomes improve, healing rates hasten, and there is a decrease amount of time spent in the intensive care unit.
Fenofibrate is traditionally used to lower plasma triglycerides, which in turn would help improve insulin sensitivity. The relationship between fat metabolism and glucose intake is still a bit unknown. But the researchers realized that trauma seriously affects both glucose and fat metabolism, and since their preliminary results showed that by increasing cell mitochondrial fat metabolism with fenofibrate, glucose metabolism would also improve, it seemed like a worthwhile endeavor.
The overall conclusion of the experiment was that "fenofibrate increases whole body glucose uptake in pediatric burn trauma patients, and appears to work by enhancing liver and muscle insulin sensitivity." These findings present far-reaching implications that could potentially extend into areas of medicine outside that of burn injury treatment.
More tests and experiments are already in the works to see what other application fenofibrate might offer to the medical community, especially in the area of burn victim injury recovery. The medical community is doing what it can to help victims of burn injury recover fully from their accidents.
Burn injury accidents are a serious issue in the United States. Everyday someone is affected by a preventable fire accident, or chemical plant accident that is life-altering. For more information on burn injuries visit, www.burnvictiminjurylawyers.com
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