Comparison of the effects of two different wound dressing materials on wound healing in mucosal defects created in diabetic and healthy rats.

INTRODUCTION

Diabetes mellitus impairs oral mucosal wound healing by prolonging inflammation and disrupting angiogenesis and growth factor regulation.

AIM: To evaluate the effects of Ora-Aid (TBM Corporation, Gwangju, Republic of Korea) and cyanoacrylate (GluStitch, City of Industry, CA, USA) on palatal wound healing in diabetic and healthy rats.

METHODOLOGY: A total of 146 male Wistar albino rats were used: 144 were divided into six groups: control (C), cyanoacrylate (CY), Ora-Aid (OA), diabetes (D), diabetes+cyanoacrylate (DCY), and diabetes+Ora-Aid (DOA) (n=24 each; 8 per time point), and 2 served as baseline controls. Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal streptozotocin (STZ; Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Texas, USA) at 60 mg/kg. A 4-mm palatal excisional wound was created. Wound area was measured from photographs using ImageJ v1.54g (Wayne Rasband, National Institutes of Health, USA). Immunohistochemical analyses assessed vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), interleukin-10, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test and Bonferroni-adjusted Mann-Whitney U tests. Statistical significance was evaluated based on adjusted p-values, with p<0.05 considered significant.

RESULTS

In healthy rats, wound areas after cyanoacrylate and Ora-Aid were similar to controls. In diabetic rats, both wound dressings reduced wound area, particularly on day 14 [median (IQR): D, 0.33 (0.82); DCY, 0.27 (0.71); DOA, 0.09 (0.09); D vs DCY, p=0.037; D vs DOA, p=0.002]. Immunohistochemical analyses showed that Ora-Aid more pronouncedly affected VEGF expression in healthy groups and FGF expression in diabetic groups, whereas cyanoacrylate showed time-dependent effects on growth factors and inflammatory markers.

CONCLUSION

Ora-Aid and cyanoacrylate positively influenced oral mucosal wound healing under diabetic conditions. Ora-Aid more prominently supported the VEGF-related angiogenic response under healthy conditions and FGF-related fibroblastic activity under diabetic conditions, whereas cyanoacrylate showed time-dependent regulatory effects on growth factors and the inflammatory response.