ARTICLE | Targets & Mechanisms
Beta-blocking wounds
February 19, 2009 8:00 AM UTC
Researchers at the University of California, Davis think they may have identified a new indication for β-blockers: wound healing.1 Although the safety profile of the drugs in cardiovascular disorders provides an incentive to repurpose them,there still remains lack of clarity on how β-blockers actually work in wound repair and how many wound types could be addressed by this approach.
Wound healing is a highly organized, stepwise process that comprises three basic phases: clotting and inflammation, new tissue formation and tissue remodeling. Each phase involves multiple cell types and signaling pathways that could potentially be targeted to accelerate wound repair...