30 May 2013

Université de Sherbrooke researchers have identified a protein that hinders the recovery of diabetic patients with feet or leg injuries. This discovery suggests that treatment may be possible, thereby avoiding amputation.

Professor Pedro Miguel Geraldes’ research team noticed that the presence of a protein called kinase C delta in diabetic subjects prevented the creation of new blood vessels, which are essential to healing.

“We have demonstrated [in an animal model] that preventing the cellular expression of the protein kinase C delta makes it possible to effectively restore the blood flow,” explained the researcher at  the Centre de recherche clinique Étienne-Le Bel (CRCELB – clinical research centre) at the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke (CHUS – Sherbrooke university hospital centre).

With the assistance of Dr. Marc-Antoine Despatis, a CHUS vascular surgeon, the research team would now like to find out whether this protein is present in diabetic subjects who have undergone amputation.

The results of the Sherbrooke study were published in the prestigious journal Diabetes.

» Read the article in Diabetes

Source: Université de Sherbrooke
Photo credit: Robert Dumont