Exercise, obesity, and cutaneous wound healing: evidence from rodent and human studies

BD Pence, JA Woods - Advances in wound care, 2014 - liebertpub.com
Advances in wound care, 2014liebertpub.com
Significance: Impaired cutaneous wound healing is a major health concern. Obesity has
been shown in a number of studies to impair wound healing, and chronic nonhealing
wounds in obesity and diabetes are a major cause of limb amputations in the United States.
Recent Advances: Recent evidence indicates that aberrant wound site inflammation may be
an underlying cause for delayed healing. Obesity, diabetes, and other conditions such as
stress and aging can result in a chronic low-level inflammatory state, thereby potentially …
Significance: Impaired cutaneous wound healing is a major health concern. Obesity has been shown in a number of studies to impair wound healing, and chronic nonhealing wounds in obesity and diabetes are a major cause of limb amputations in the United States.
Recent Advances: Recent evidence indicates that aberrant wound site inflammation may be an underlying cause for delayed healing. Obesity, diabetes, and other conditions such as stress and aging can result in a chronic low-level inflammatory state, thereby potentially affecting wound healing negatively.
Critical Issues: Interventions which can speed the healing rate in individuals with slowly healing or nonhealing wounds are of critical importance. Recently, physical exercise training has been shown to speed healing in both aged and obese mice and in older adults. Exercise is a relatively low-cost intervention strategy which may be able to be used clinically to prevent or treat impairments in the wound-healing process.
Future Directions: Little is known about the mechanisms by which exercise speeds healing. Future translational studies should address potential mechanisms for these exercise effects. Additionally, clinical studies in obese humans are necessary to determine if findings in obese rodent models translate to the human population.
Mary Ann Liebert