Changes in S100 Proteins Identified in Healthy Skin following Electrical Stimulation: Relevance for Wound Healing.
Chloe Lallyett, Ching-Yan Chloé Yeung, Rie Harboe Nielson and 4 others
PMID 29923902WHAT IT FOUND
Electrical stimulation applied for 48 hours to healthy skin changed expression of 105 genes compared with placebo.
This was a small study in 12 men, not evidence that electrical stimulation heals wounds.
Key findings
01A paired analysis found 105 annotated genes changed by at least 1.5-fold in electrical-stimulation-treated skin compared with placebo.
02All 3 S100 genes and SERPINB4 were upregulated in venous leg ulcer wound edges but downregulated in electrical-stimulation-treated skin.
03Individual differences were the largest source of variation, and 1 of 24 RNA samples was excluded as an outlier.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study included only 12 healthy young men, so the results cannot be applied to women, older adults, or people with wounds or comorbidities. Skin biopsies were taken from healthy buttock skin, not from wound edges, so the findings may not reflect what happens in a chronic wound. Only one electrical stimulation device and one fixed pulse sequence were tested, so other devices or parameters may produce different gene expression changes. Individual differences were the largest source of variation, and one RNA sample was excluded as an outlier. The study did not measure wound healing, pain, infection, or patient outcomes, so it cannot show that electrical stimulation improves healing.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that electrical stimulation improves wound healing in patients. The study measured gene expression in healthy skin from 12 men, and the authors say it cannot be inferred that the same effect would occur in poorly healing wounds.