TEHRAN- PlasmaDerm, a new device that can improve wound healing in Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) patients, was piloted in Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital in Tehran. 

The device was established by researchers of Shahid Beheshti University, said a member of university’s Laser and Plasma Research Center, ISNA reported on Tuesday.
Mohammad Reza Khani announced that Shahid Beheshti University started its research on plasma technology in 2010.

EB is the name for a group of rare inherited skin disorders that cause the skin to become very fragile. Any trauma or friction to the skin can cause painful blisters.

The PlasmaDerm device has already been used in some Iranian hospitals for skin rejuvenation, said Khani, adding that cold plasma was used in it formulation.

According to National Center for Biotechnology Information, cold plasma also known as non-thermal atmospheric-pressure plasma can support wound healing by its antiseptic effects, by stimulation of proliferation and migration of wound relating skin cells, by activation or inhibition of integrin receptors on the cell surface or by its pro-angiogenic effect.  

The Plasmaderm device was also used in Razi hospital for treatment of diabetic wounds and displayed some successful results in 15 patients, he further noted.

The research on this new device is continouing in knowledge based companies and we look for investors to begin the mass production, he concluded.

Jamshid Kermanchi, an advisor to the health minister said in April that Iran has allocated a substantial budget to improve services for patients suffering from EB.

Referring to the huge cost of EB treatment, Kermanchi highlighted the importance of preventing the disease via pre-birth genetic tests available. 

Currently, some 600 EB patients have been diagnosed in Iran while it is expected that some 800 patients live in the country.

SJ/MQ/MG