New Antibody-Based Approach to Treat Traumatic Injuries

A discovery by scientists at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF; USA) could help save lives threatened by traumatic injuries like those sustained in car crashes or on the battlefield. The work also holds potential for treating severe infectious diseases and diabetes.  Charles Esmon and colleagues have cast new light on how proteins called histones can enter the bloodstream and begin to kill the lining of blood vessels, resulting in uncontrolled internal bleeding. Building on this work, these researchers have discovered an antibody that could counter this deadly process. Esmon explains that: “This discovery could open the door to new ways to treat soldiers hurt in IED attacks, gunshot wound victims and people who suffer a traumatic injury.”  “The implications for this discovery are staggering,” said OMRF President Stephen Prescott, M.D. “Dr. Esmon and his colleagues have not only found a new key player in cardiovascular injuries and disease, but they’ve taken this work and transformed it into a potential treatment for severe trauma, diabetes, pneumonia and any other condition that results in tissue death.”