The Cuban drug Heberprot-P was used for the first time in a pediatric patient, as a treatment for a child from Sancti Spíritus who had suffered serious injuries to his lower limbs due to a traffic accident.
Dr. Rafael Ibargollín, a specialist at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, told the Escambray provincial media that “the application of the drug managed to granulate in a record time of two or three weeks all the tissue that had previously been operated on, to then be covered by skin.”
The procedure applied made it possible to cure the foot of the nine-year-old infant, without the need to resort to amputation and a prosthesis. Ibargollín affirmed that the recovery was advancing progressively, according to Prensa Latina (PL) news agency.
The minor received ten applications of the medication recognized as a revolutionary therapy for the cure of diabetic foot ulcers, which significantly improved the lesion and contributed to rapid healing.
This favored the essential skin grafts, avoiding the risk of infection appearing, the publication stated.
Preparing the results of the case
Ibargollín explained that the treatment was carried out in compliance with all established ethical protocols.
“We held several consultations at the national level (including with the creator of Heberprot-P, Dr. Jorge Berlanga), we made an informed consent model with the family, the institutional management of the Pediatric Hospital and its Ethics Committee agreed, because when an investigation like that is carried out and especially in a child you have to take all the care. Once everyone agreed, we began to apply the medication and the results were spectacular,” he explained.
According to Escambray newspaper, the orthopedics service of the provincial Pediatric Hospital is preparing an international publication with the results of the case and preparing a summary to establish a national protocol for the use of Heberprot-P in the pediatric age, based mainly on this experience.
Effective healing of diabetic foot ulcers
The drug was previously used by specialists in the province to treat wounds that are difficult to cure, such as those limited to the male genital organs, varicose ulcer lesions, bedsores, and orthopedic surgeries in adults.
This made it possible to reduce hospital stays, and the use of antibiotics and treatments due to its ability to accelerate healing.
Heberprot-P represents, at the moment, the only therapy for the effective healing of diabetic foot ulcers, as it reduces the risk of lower limb amputation. It contains recombinant human epidermal growth factor for the effective healing of this type of lesion, both neuropathic and ischemic, deep and complex.
More than 300,000 patients from all over the world have been successfully treated with this medicine, which is registered in more than twenty countries, including Russia, Kuwait, Ukraine, Argentina, Turkey, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mongolia and Colombia.
