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Type 2 Diabetes Blog

By Debra Manzella, R.N., About.com Guide to Type 2 Diabetes

Topical Anti-Infective to Treat Diabetic Foot Infections Acquired by Macro-Chem Corp.

Thursday October 11, 2007

Pexiganan, a recently developed treatment for diabetic foot ulcers has been acquired by Macro-Chem Corporation from it's parent developing company, Genaera Corporation. Pexiganan has been through phase three clinical trials and is not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The science behind pexiganan... The African clawed frog was discovered to have antimicrobial skin peptides that allowed it to heal without infection, even when exposed to bacteria. Pexiganan is a manufactured 22-amino acid linear peptide which acts like the skin peptides of the frog.

According to a press release from Genaera Corporation:

Pexiganan is a 22-amino acid, linear peptide which is formulated as a cream and has a novel mechanism of action based on its ability to selectively disrupt the integrity of bacterial cell membranes. In addition, it has antimicrobial activity against both Gram positive and Gram negative organisms that commonly infect skin and soft tissue. Pexiganan is also effective against methycillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and has a low potential for induction of resistance and no cross-resistance with existing therapeutic antibiotics.

An interesting fact about pexiganan is that it is effective against MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). MRSA is a hospital-acquired staph infection that is resistant to many antiobiotic treatments. People who are hospitalized with diabetic foot ulcers have an increased risk of MRSA, because it is easy for MRSA to enter the body through contact with the wound. MRSA also is an emerging health threat in the community, with community-acquired cases of MRSA increasing in recent years.

Pexiganan would be intended as a supplementary treatment to be used in conjunction with current treatments for diabetic foot ulcers.

More from your diabetes guide...

Photo by ERproductions Ltd/Getty Images

Comments

February 21, 2009 at 12:51 am
(1) Derek_kingsize says:

Hello…

This topic is about weight-loss or “bariatric” (or something like that) surgery. It helps to lose weight and lowers a risk of medical problems. Started collecting info and found short video which shows how the procedures (3 common types) go, here is the link…
>>Gastric_bypass_surgery.AVI

Anyone knows something about it? Is there any risk?
Is it better to perform this procedure in US?

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