A compound from vitamin A, which is used to treat acne is now being used to treat diabetic foot ulcers, which heals the ulcers, according to a recent research.

There have been studies that were conducted previously that suggested low incidence of topical Retin-A helping in wound healing in patients with diabetes.

There was a clinical trial that was conducted by researchers on about 24 volunteers who had diabetic foot ulcers with no evidence of infection, circulatory or neurological issues in the lower extremities. After that the patients were given treatment for four weeks with daily topical application of 0.05 percent tretinoin solution and the wound size was assessed every two weeks.

The patients then completed the study, and out of a total of about 24 ulcers, 10 ulcers got completely healed at the end of the therapy. To the researchers surprise there was essentially no side effects from the therapy, although some of the patients had mild discomfort at the site of the ulcer.

The researchers said that to their surprise the results were quite amazing because tretinoin is an irritating compound and they were not thinking that the patients would have been able to bear its effects, but to their surprise the patients tolerated it quite well and also had pretty good results from this intervention.

So the researchers are thinking that when other forms of therapies are not working for diabetic foot ulcers, they can use this approach to help heal the diabetic foot ulcers.

Related: Home remedies for Diabetes

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