Venous Ulcer Metabolic and Protein Phenotyping
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Metabolic and Protein Phenotyping in Chronic Venous Ulceration of the Leg
IRAS ID
306784
Contact name
Alun Davies
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 3 months, 31 days
Research summary
The term “leg ulcer” refers to any open wound in the skin of the leg which takes at least 2 weeks to heal. Problems with the veins in the leg are the most common underlying cause, with venous leg ulcers (VLUs) representing over 80% of cases. Despite treatment with wound care, application of tight bandages to compress the affected leg, and interventions to decrease backflow of blood into the leg, VLUs may not heal and, of those that do, up to one in five recur within 1 year.
Healthy veins have valves that allow blood to flow from the legs back to the heart. It is generally accepted that VLUs develop from backflow of blood and increased pressure in the veins. This pressure leads to damage in smaller blood vessels, skin breakdown and development of the ulcer. This mechanism however cannot explain why certain VLUs do not heal and why VLUs recur – despite clinical and research efforts, we are still unable to predict who will heal and the time taken for this to occur. Studies have shown that proteins involved in inflammation are produced differently in VLU patients. Previous work from Imperial College London has also shown certain molecules, or chemicals, to be associated with VLU healing; further research is required to understand these better.
This work aims to analyse spectral information generated from analysis of tissue samples to identify and understand the chemical differences between healing VLUs and non-healing VLUs. This can help the development of personalised treatments for specific individuals, as opposed to using the same treatment for everyone. This may be achieved with the identification of clinical biomarkers to identify non-healing VLUs, and increased knowledge of potential targets in biological pathways involved in the development and recurrence of VLUs.REC name
Wales REC 6
REC reference
22/WA/0104
Date of REC Opinion
17 May 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion