Background: Diabetic ulcer of the foot is a major health problem with a high socioeconomic impact and may finally progress to amputation.
Methods: Forty patients suffering diabetic foot ulcers with history of non-healing for 8 weeks at least were subdivided into two groups (20 patients each). The first group (control) was treated with local antibiotic ointment and the second group (study) was treated with twice weekly local platelet gel application for 10 weeks. The aim of the study was to clinically evaluate the impact of platelet gel on healing of diabetic foot ulcers and to verify the effect of topical platelet gel therapy on the serum level of platelet derived transforming growth factor beta (TGF-ß).
Results: Analysis of ulcers' criteria showed that patients treated with platelet gel twice/week had a highly significant increase in rate of re-epithelialization compared to patients treated with topical antibiotic ointment. Serum TGF-ß was found significantly increased in the patients treated with platelet gel in comparison to the control group. There was no correlation between the level of TGF-ß and ulcer criteria at the beginning of the study, however; there was a negative significant correlation between its level and ulcer surface area, volume and Gilmen index in the study group after 10 weeks.
Conclusion: Platelet gel can be accepted as a valuable alternative in the wound healing pharmacology