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Subscribe to RSSJust when you thought sunless tanning spray was good only for hiding pale skin, flabby flesh and varicose veins, scientists have come up with a new use for a compound in the body bronzer.
Turns out the sugar-based molecules that turn you brown and stick to your skin can be combined with a chemical goo to create a sticky gel bandage to help medical wounds heal better.
Plastic surgeons at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York have come up with what’s been described as an “internal Band-Aid” that can seal the gaps and holes that surgery leaves behind.
For instance, procedures to remove cancerous tissue or surgeries to reconstruct body parts often result in hollow spaces that fill with fluid, called seromas, that must be drained, either manually or with implanted shunts. By all accounts, it’s an unpleasant undertaking with the potential for pain and infection.
Using the new gel, however, doctors could simply fill the hole and let it heal, said Dr. Jason Spector, a plastic surgeon and co-author of a new study about the product published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“The new substance would act to glue together the hole left behind to prevent seroma build-up,” he explained in a statement.
The gel, composed of polyethylene glycol and a polycarbonate of dihydroxyacetone – the stuff that turns you brown – is durable enough to stick to tissue, but also biodegradable and water soluble, so it won’t hang around forever.
The scientists have studied the gel in rats, where it reduced the chance of seromas and fluid build-up. Now they’d like to try it in bigger critters, and, finally, on clinical trials in humans.
That’s good news for surgery patients. Next, maybe the scientists can do something about the orange palms and streaky ankles that regular tanning spray leaves behind.
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Leave a Comment:
Will you please hire some real writers? Band-Aid is a brand name and has no place in this article.
It's pc people like you that take the fun out of life. I hope you're happy.
Actually, you are incorrect. The Band-Aid trademark falls under the category of genericized trademarks, which in the US belong to the public domain and can be commercially exploited by anyone. Other examples include Aspirin, Escalator, Yo-Yo, Zipper, Kerosene and Frisbee.
Actually, you are incorrect. The Band-Aid trademark falls under the category of genericized trademarks, which in the US belong to the public domain and can be commercially exploited by anyone. Other examples include Aspirin, Escalator, Yo-Yo, Zipper, Kerosene and Frisbee.
Well at least now you know there is something new that can fill the cavity left behind if you ever pull your head out.
What? Didn't the comment 'THIS is news???" work in this situation? Or, do you just like making trouble for people? There are SO MANY miserable people out there. It's just sad.
Biological tissue adhesives have a track record of success. This product is interesting because it does not require "harvesting" of blood from donors or the patient him/herself. Hope that it works! I would have some uses for it in breast reconstruction, abdominal reconstruction, and facelifting.
It's part of a quote, so it has every right to be there.
Interesting.
Why are you making a big deal about it? It is just good information. Would it have made a difference if the writer had stated, "bandage aid", instead of Band-Aid?
Kacky, Get a life!!!! Informative and interesting.......
you are a nimrod
Oh Please.........shut up and quit complaining!
kacky, you really need to get out more often. The term "band-aid" is just a generic name for a bandage and has been used for many, many years. It's the same as using the name "Xerox" when referring to using a copier.
Kacky, shoot yourself. You're stupid.
LOL...
AweXome! I'll be a guinea pig for this, they just might create the first-aid spray out of Resident Evil!
I wonder what capcom's take on this is? Hope its zombie proof too.
Interesting, I wonder if it has any application as a better liguid bandage or as a protection for burns?
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So you're all concerned about someone using or not using a brand name to describe a bandage (which by the way is the ultimate goal of branding so hurray for Band-aid)? Sounds like a good topic to waste energy on debating! Did anyone catch the part about testing on animals? Lets cut up some monkeys so we can test this gel. Come on?!
Your skin's ability to produce natural oils is your body's defense mechanism in retaining its most abundant substance: water. These oils literally "seal" your skin, thus preventing excessive water loss! Without this oil barrier, your skin will dehydrate, and as you age, degrade, thin, and become dry, wrinkled, inelastic, and easily torn.
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