The WE-HEAL Study

Chronic Wounds which have failed to heal after 3 months of appropriate wound care:

  • Affect 1% of the US population
  • Cost >$25 billion
  • Cause significant pain
  • Impact mortality

There is an unmet need to improve outcomes and patient well-being for patients with these wounds

Targeted biologic therapy has been harnessed to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. Preliminary data suggests that the interplay of the host immune response, the wound bed microbiome, and pain pathways may be crucial in unlocking the secrets of wound healing.

Immune System in Wound Healing      Microbiome in Wound Healing      Pain Pathways in Wound Healing      Hidradenitis Suppurativa

Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) is Elevated in Wound Exudate from Hidradenitis Suppurativa. Banerjee A, McNish S, Shanmugam VK. Immunol Invest. 2016 Nov 7:1-10. PMID: 27819528

Modalities to Treat Venous Ulcers: Compression, Surgery, and Bioengineered Tissue. Gould LJ, Dosi G, Couch K, Gibbons GW, Howell RS, Brem H, Tomic-Canic M. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2016 Sep;138(3 Suppl):199S-208S. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000002677. DOI: 10.1080/08820139.2016.1230867. PMID: 27556762

Septic Arthritis in a Patient with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Essential Thrombocythemia. Reuben A. Falola, Victoria K. Shanmugam, Mark R. Abbruzzese. Total Knee Arthroplasty Following Mycobacterium Kansasii. Ortho & Rheum Open Access J. 2016; 2(5): 555100. DOI: 10.19080/OROAJ.2016.02.555600

Poly-ADP-ribose polymerase inhibition enhances ischemic and diabetic wound healing by promoting angiogenesis. Zhou X, Patel D, Sen S, Shanmugam V, Sidawy A, Mishra L, Nguyen BN. J Vasc Surg. 2016 Jun 7. pii: S0741-5214(16)00820-X. doi: 10.1016/j.jvs.2016.03.407. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 27288104

Electrochemical detection of Pseudomonas in wound exudate samples from patients with chronic wounds.  Sismaet HJ, Banerjee A, McNish S, Choi Y, Torralba M, Lucas S, Chan A, Shanmugam VK, Goluch ED. Wound Repair Regen. 2016 Jan 27. doi: 10.1111/wrr.12414. PMID: 26815644.

Outcomes After Combined Radical Resection and Targeted Biologic Therapy for the Management of Recalcitrant Hidradenitis Suppurativa.  DeFazio MV, Economides JM, King KS, Han KD, Shanmugam VK, Attinger CE, Evans KK.  Ann Plast Surg. 2015 Nov 10. PMID: 26559649. 

Clinical Biofilms: A Challenging Frontier in Wound Care. Hurlow J, Couch K, Laforet K, Bolton L, Metcalf D, Bowler P. Adv Wound Care (New Rochelle). 2015 May 1;4(5):295-301. Review. PMID: 26005595

Postoperative wound dehiscence: predictors and associations. Shanmugam VK, Fernandez S, Evans KK, McNish S, Banerjee A, Couch K, Mete M, Shara N. Wound Repair Regen. 2015 Feb 13. doi: 10.1111/wrr.12268. PMID: 25683272

Utility of a human-mouse xenograft model and in vivo near-infrared fluorescent imaging for studying wound healing. Shanmugam VK, Tassi E, Schmidt MO, McNish S, Baker S, Attinger C, Wang H, Shara N, Wellstein A. Int Wound J. 2013 Dec 23. doi: 10.1111/iwj.12205. PMID: 24373153

Late failure of a split-thickness skin graft in the setting of homozygous factor V Leiden mutation: a case report and correlative animal model from the Wound Etiology and Healing (WE-HEAL) study.  Shanmugam VK, McNish S, Duncan J, Root B, Tassi E, Wellstein A, Kallakury B, Attinger CE. Int Wound J. 2013 Sep 13. doi: 10.1111/iwj.12156. PMID: 24028566

Chronic leg ulceration associated with polycythemia vera responding to ruxolitinib (Jakafi(®)). Shanmugam VK, McNish S, Shara N, Hubley KJ, Kallakury B, Dunning DM, Attinger CE, Steinberg JS. J Foot Ankle Surg. 2013 Nov-Dec;52(6):781-5. doi: 10.1053/j.jfas.2013.07.003. Epub 2013 Aug 14. PMID: 23953278

Matriptase regulates proliferation and early, but not terminal, differentiation of human keratinocytes. Chen YW, Wang JK, Chou FP, Wu BY, Hsiao HC, Chiu H, Xu Z, Baksh AN, Shi G, Kaul M, Barndt R, Shanmugam VK, Johnson MD, Lin CY. J Invest Dermatol. 2014 Feb;134(2):405-14. doi: 10.1038/jid.2013.320. Epub 2013 Jul 26. PMID: 23900022

Prevalence of immune disease in patients with wounds presenting to a tertiary wound healing centre. Shanmugam VK, Schilling A, Germinario A, Mete M, Kim P, Steinberg J, Attinger CE. Int Wound J. 2012 Aug;9(4):403-11. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-481X.2011.00899.x. Epub 2011 Dec 14. PMID: 22168783

Leg ulcers associated with Klinefelter's syndrome: a case report and review of the literature. Shanmugam VK, Tsagaris KC, Attinger CE. Int Wound J. 2012 Feb;9(1):104-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-481X.2011.00846.x. Epub 2011 Aug 19. PMID: 21854549

Lower extremity ulcers in rheumatoid arthritis: features and response to immunosuppression. Shanmugam VK, DeMaria DM, Attinger CE. Clin Rheumatol. 2011 Jun;30(6):849-53. doi: 10.1007/s10067-011-1710-9. Epub 2011 Feb 22. PMID: 21340497

Lower extremity ulcers in systemic sclerosis: features and response to therapy. Shanmugam VK, Price P, Attinger CE, Steen VD. Int J Rheumatol. 2010;2010. pii: 747946. doi: 10.1155/2010/747946. Epub 2010 Aug 18. PMID: 20827313

A 65-year-old man with longstanding seropositive rheumatoid arthritis and lower extremity ulceration. Charabaty S, Shanmugam V.Arthritis Rheum. 2009 Sep 15;61(9):1275-80. doi: 10.1002/art.24700. PMID:19714596

Lower extremity ulcers in connective tissue disease. Shanmugam VK, Steen VD, Cupps TR. Isr Med Assoc J. 2008 Jul;10(7):534-6. Review. PMID: 18751636