Wound Healing: Molecular Pathways, Therapies, Shortcomings, and the Potential of Natural Products

Wound healing is a challenging clinical problem in modern biomedical sciences mainly because of its unknown mechanism of healing. Wound healing research is a neglected area by the global research community as it falls outside WHO’s priority disease areas. Today there are no suitable drugs capable of curing wounds as a number of parameters are involved for successful healing. The present book presents a thorough analysis and a critical review of the investigations that have been carried out globally on the molecular pathways of wound healing, wound infection, treatment by antibiotics/antiseptics and their shortcomings, wound dressings used and under development, different therapies used and under development like synthetic drugs, growth factors, nanomaterials, antimicrobial peptides, gene therapy, stem cell therapy, bioengineered skin substitutes, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, non-surgical treatments and a thorough analysis of the investigations that have been carried out on plant-based natural products (bioactive compounds) for wound healing. The book, based mainly on exhaustive literature survey and analysis of research reports, will be an excellent source of reference not only for the clinicians but also for the medical teaching community and students engaged in wound healing research.