What Researchers Did
Researchers conducted a clinical study with 27 participants to evaluate if hyperbaric oxygen therapy could ameliorate the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition phenomenon in keloid tissue.
What They Found
In the group receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy (O group, 9 patients), keloid blood perfusion was significantly reduced. Compared to the control keloid group (K group, 9 patients), the O group showed lower expression of vimentin, fibronectin, VEGF, and HIF-1α, while E-cadherin and ZO-1 expression was significantly higher.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
This study suggests that hyperbaric oxygen therapy may help reverse the cellular processes involved in keloid formation. Canadian patients with keloids might benefit from this therapy as a potential treatment option to reduce scar tissue.
Canadian Relevance
This study was not conducted in Canada and does not have direct Canadian relevance.
Study Limitations
A limitation of this study is its small sample size of only 9 patients per group, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.