Safety and Efficacy of a Scar Cream Consisting of Highly Selective Growth Factors Within a Silicone Cream Matrix: A Double-Blinded, Randomized, Multicenter Study.

BACKGROUND: Several growth factors and hyaluronic acid are implicated in fetal scarless healing. Whether these factors can be applied to an adult scar to improve scar characteristics is unknown. OBJECTIVES: This study compared the efficacy and safety of SKN2017B, a proprietary topical cream consisting of selective synthetic recombinant human growth factors and hyaluronic acid in a silicone base containing a specifically formulated silicone cream for postsurgical scar treatment. METHODS: In this prospective, randomized, controlled, double-blinded study, unilateral or bilateral facial or truncal scars in adult surgical patients were randomly treated with SKN2017B or silicone cream. Study investigators, study patients, and 2 independent reviewers assessed improvement in scar characteristics after 4 and 12 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: Forty-nine bilateral and 12 unilateral scars in 45 patients were treated with SKN2017B or silicone. At 12 weeks, investigators rated 74% of scars treated with SKN2017B as showing overall improvement vs 54% of silicone-treated scars, a 73% relative improvement with SKN2017B (P < 0.0001). Patients rated a moderate-to-significant improvement in 85% of SKN2017B-treated scars vs 51% of silicone-treated scars, a 67% relative improvement with SKN2017B (P < 0.001). Independent reviewers rated 87% of scars treated with SKN2017B to be better overall vs 1% of scars treated with silicone (P < 0.0001). There were no tolerability issues or adverse reactions with either cream. CONCLUSIONS: SKN2017B consists of highly selective growth factors within a silicone cream matrix and is well tolerated and effective for surgical scar management.

A rare case of rapidly progressive atrial myxoma masquerading as cough syndrome.

Primary cardiac tumors are rare; however, atrial myxoma is one of the most common benign cardiac tumors. Myxomas may arise from any of the cardiac chambers but have a predilection for the left atrium. Its manifestations may mimic left heart failure or pulmonary hypertension either by causing blood flow obstruction or by mitral regurgitation. Patients can also present with thromboembolic features. Often, the diagnosis may be missed or delayed due to subclinical cardiac manifestations. Prompt diagnosis and surgical resection is necessary for favorable prognosis. Often, mitral valve replacement may be needed. We report a rare case of rapidly growing atrial myxoma in a 39-year-old female who presented with progressively worsening shortness of breath and cough with a previously normal echocardiogram 8 months prior. Her symptoms resolved after surgical resection and mitral valve replacement.

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli in common vampire bats Desmodus rotundus and livestock in Peru.

Antibiotic resistance mediated by bacterial production of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) is a global threat to public health. ESBL resistance is most commonly hospital-acquired; however, infections acquired outside of hospital settings have raised concerns over the role of livestock and wildlife in the zoonotic spread of ESBL-producing bacteria. Only limited data are available on the circulation of ESBL-producing bacteria in animals. Here, we report ESBL-producing Escherichia coli in wild common vampire bats Desmodus rotundus and livestock near Lima, Peru. Molecular analyses revealed that most of this resistance resulted from the expression of blaCTX-M-15 genes carried by plasmids, which are disseminating worldwide in hospital settings and have also been observed in healthy children of Peru. Multilocus sequence typing showed a diverse pool of E. coli strains carrying this resistance that were not always host species-specific, suggesting sharing of strains between species or infection from a common source. This study shows widespread ESBL resistance in wild and domestic animals, supporting animal communities as a potential source of resistance. Future work is needed to elucidate the role of bats in the dissemination of antibiotic-resistant strains of public health importance and to understand the origin of the observed resistance.

Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles from Marine Seaweed Sargassum cinereum and their Antibacterial Activity.

Seaweed extracts of Sargassum cinereum was used as a reducing agent in the eco-friendly extracellular synthesis of silver nanoparticles from an aqueous solution of silver nitrate (AgNO3). High conversion of silver ions to silver nanoparticles was achieved with a reaction temperature of 100(°) and a seaweed extract concentration of 10% with a residential time of 3 h. Formation of silver nanoparticles was characterised by spectrophotometry and the scanning electron microscope. The average particles size was ranging from 45 to 76 nm. Antimicrobial activities indicate the minimum inhibitory concentration of biologically synthesised nanoparticles tested against the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus with 2.5 µl (25 µg/disc). High inhibitions over the growth of Enterobacter aerogenes, Salmonella typhi and Proteus vulgaris were witnessed against the concentrations of 100 µg/disc. Promising potential and the future prospects of S. cinereum nanoparticles in pharmaceutical research are the highlights in this paper.