Lick Your Wounds
To ‘lick one’s wounds’ is a phrase that means to recover one’s strength or confidence after a defeat or humiliating experience. However a recent study* gives new definition to the phrase as it explores the mystifying fact that wounds in the mouth heal faster and more efficiently than wounds elsewhere on the body.
Until now, it was understood that saliva played a part in the wound healing process but the extent of its role was unknown. The study examined the effects of salivary histatin-1 (molecules found in the saliva) on angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels) which is critical to the efficiency of wound healing. Researchers found that histatin-1 does promote angiogenesis.
Scientists and researchers are always on the lookout for more effective wound healing solutions that can help patients recover fast and get back to a normal life. These findings open up new alternatives to better understand the differences between oral and skin healing and researchers believe it could help the design of better approaches to improve wound healing.
The next step for researchers is to look into what can be developed from this discovery. The team is exploring other wound care materials.
*The Official Journal of the Federation for American Societies of Experimental Biology
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