Health

Protein from parasitic worm could help wounds heal faster

By Mallika Marshall, MD

August 26, 2024 / 6:12 PM EDT / CBS Boston

BOSTON – A parasitic worm could help skin wounds heal faster and better.

Skin wounds must close quickly to avoid infection but this rapid closure promotes the formation of scar tissue rather than regenerated skin. However researchers at Rutgers University found that applying a highly purified protein produced by parasitic worms in the gut to skin wounds in mice sped up wound closure, improved skin regeneration, and reduced scarring.

The worm protein may work by stimulating immune cells that promote regeneration while inhibiting immune cells that promote scarring. They now plan to test this protein on human wounds.

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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