Cuba offers innovative treatment for diabetic foot ulcer
Diabetic foot ulcer is one of the serious complications which puts the health and the lives of those affected at great risk.
According to the Executive Director of Trive Resources and Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Mrs Mercy Mintah Gyampoh, with appropriate access to care and support for their well-being, everyone with diabetes has the chance to live well.
Fortunately, she said, the Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Cuba had developed a unique and innovative treatment known as Heberprot-P for diabetic foot ulcers to prevent amputation. Heberprot-P has received marketing authorisation in 23 countries, including Ghana.
World Diabetes Day is celebrated on November 14, and the theme for 2024-2026 - "Diabetes and Wellbeing" highlights the necessity for a comprehensive approach that allows people living with diabetes to attain a fulfilling life.
Mrs Mintah Gyampoh said the medication is a lyophilised product which contains recombinant human epidermal growth factor(rhEGF), a protein that stimulates cell growth, tissue repair and remarkable effectiveness in wound healing, promoting recovery and preventing amputations.
It is administered through direct intralesional injection into the edges and base of deep and complex ulcers, neuropathic or ischemic.
This targeted approach ensures maximum impact at the site of tissue breakdown.
The rhEGF promotes rapid tissue regeneration by stimulating the proliferation and migration of cells, enhancing the formation of granulation tissue and new blood vessels.
The treatment is done along with other conventional therapies such as debridement, revascularisation and antibiotics.
She said the treatment had numerous benefits, including speeding up healing and improving patients’ quality of life, reducing the need for surgical procedures and tissue debridement, minimising ulcer recurrence and decreasing the risk of infections, which is a frequent cause of amputations in diabetic patients.
Clinical use has proven its efficacy and a significant reduction in amputation rates to about 75 per cent and a longer, better quality of life for diabetic patients who have been treated with the drug.
