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Synthetic Blood Platelets Might Be As Good As The Real Thing To Stop Bleeding

University of Virginia biomedical engineering professor Thomas Barker co-founded SelSym, a company developing a product to stop uncontrolled bleeding caused by traumatic injury or surgery.

SelSym, a company co-founded by University of Virginia biomedical engineering professor Thomas Barker, is developing a product to stop uncontrolled bleeding caused by traumatic injury or surgery.

Findings published in April in Science Translational Medicine showed synthetic platelets made of ultrasoft hydrogel reduced bleeding in animal models.

The research suggests the technology could save lives as a transfusion alternative or point of care treatment if whole blood or platelets, cell fragments that help clotting, aren't available when patients need them most — for example, on a battlefield or remote accident scene.

"You can't do that with donated platelets because after about five days, they lose their function and may not be safe to use," Barker said.

SelSym's answer to the longevity problem, called SymClot, has already demonstrated a shelf life of six months at room temperature. The team members, including UVA research scientist Jagathpala Shetty and Barker's co-founders and collaborators at North Carolina State University, Duke University and Chapman University in California, believe they can extend the window to one year.

In the face of blood shortages, the prospect has grabbed headlines in Wired and Fierce Biotech.

Special Molecules Boost Targeted Clotting

SymClot is composed of hydrogels, unique particles that are mostly water painted with special molecules designed to bind only to fibrin, a specific form of our natural blood-clotting protein found at wound sites.

The team calls the hydrogels "platelet-like particles" because they act like the real thing. Their properties turn up the clotting process where it is needed while allowing the particles to change shape, mimicking the behavior of natural platelets and leading to a process that enhances healing.

Even better, in the animal studies there appeared to be no "off-target" clotting and the particles were completely excreted by the kidneys. This suggests SymClot may be delivered into the blood stream to find and stop difficult-to-detect internal bleeding from traumatic injury.

In First Responders' Hands

Next comes studies to support the team's Food and Drug Administration application for the Investigational New Drug (IND) authorization needed to start human clinical trials, hopefully within two years.

"In another five years we could see this product in the hands of medics and doctors making an impact and saving lives," Barker said. "It is exciting to think that SymClot could eventually be standard in basic first aid and trauma kits, further extending its impact to those in need."

Before then, the technology must be scaled for manufacturing, which SelSym is working on with industry partners. While the hydrogel is easy to produce in quantity and quality, the team is investigating several approaches to scale production of the fibrin binding component in a cost-effective way.

The National Institutes of Health has granted SelSym about $3 million since the company's founding in 2019, most of it for manufacturing feasibilities studies and preclinical research, according to Fierce Biotech.

Barker is a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, a joint program of UVA's School of Engineering and Applied Science and School of Medicine.

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Buzz By The Bay: Dr. Jehangir Sorabjee Highlights Key Tips For Managing Health Risks

With monsoon season in full swing, it is crucial to have top-notch medical experts guiding us through health risks of the season. On this episode of Buzz by the Bay, Anushka Jagtiani is in conversation with Dr. Jehangir Sorabjee, a renowned physician specialising in infectious diseases, and one of Mumbai's finest. 

In this episode, Dr. Sorabjee sheds light on monsoon health hazards, particularly dengue. When should one consider hospital admission? Essential prophylactic vaccines, including those for influenza, shingles, pneumonia, and cervical cancer.

His views on Ozempic, The long-term side effects of the COVID vaccine and The NEET scandal in India: we also discuss Dr. Sorabjee's personal journey and words of wisdom for young doctors. He says, ego is a very dangerous thing for doctors to have, and truly caring for a patient is what is most important. 

Excerpts from the interview

Every monsoon the story is the same –infections are rampant. Must be a very busy time for you. Has the situation improved at all over the years?

Monsoon is always a tricky time because there's plenty of problems going on. And even disruptions in transport, which means sometimes patients can't get to the clinic. But Mumbai has improved – it's become a little bit healthier. Previously we used to see a lot of patients with typhoid and viral hepatitis - certainly those numbers have become less. And even the number of patients with Malaria goes up and down but it's not what it was like many years ago, partly also because the treatment has become so much more effective.

Which are the diseases that we only see in the monsoon? What is most prevalent right now?

Leptospirosis is a disease, which we only see in the monsoon. It's caused by flooding and people having to walk through waters which get infected with rat particles, and that goes through the skin. People get Dengue towards the tail end of the monsoon and we see a lot of gastrointestinal diseases. A lot of people gastroenteritis, viral hepatitis, typhoid and sometimes even cholera. These tend to be more monsoon because the flooding tends to cause leakages in the sewage system and there's contamination of your drinking water.

With Gastroenteritis can most people be treated at home?

Many can be treated at home. The problem with gastroenteritis is that people tend to get dehydrated, and then they can land up with kidney dysfunction. It's difficult to let family members assess whether someone is getting dehydrated specially if they are elderly and they are on multiple other drugs, which they are taking. In certain conditions when you're not sure what is happening it's better to keep them under observation for a couple of days and fill them with IB fluids, get their bowels regularlised and then send them back.

How would you advise people to stay safe – especially from Gastro?

Basically the main thing is not to eat food that is potentially infected. SO if you eat hot, freshly cooked food you are generally ok. We do have a very good immune system and the acidity in your stomach is very powerful and is even capable of digesting and dissolving bone. So it is designed to destroy a lot of the infectious particles that come through. But sometimes if the acid is buffered by the fact that you've taken a big meal or are on antacids – then what happens is the acid levels drop and infectious materials can pass through and establish itself as an infection within your GI system.

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Coming to Dengue – what are the main systems and do most people recover at home?

The thing with Dengue is that almost everybody gets a high fever and it's very sudden. So if you get a fever, which hits 103 – 104 on day one or two. It is likely to be Dengue. Most people recover on their own with nothing in about 4 to 5 days. But some people will get complications of Dengue, which consist of very low platelet count which causes bleeding, or they get Dengue Shock Syndrome where the capillaries are damaged and the fluid in your blood vessels leaks into your tissues and therefore your blood pressure drops. But they are very uncommon and they tend to occur interestingly in people who have already had an attack of dengue in the past.

So a second attack of Dengue usually worse– why is that?

Because these people have developed antibodies and by getting a new infection, their antibody levels go very high and that causes damage because along with the Dengue virus they destroy your platelets and damage your blood vessels. It's very common that many of the symptoms that we see in many diseases is not because of the infection per se but because of an overactive immune system…

Watch the full interview on Buzz by the Bay – on the Youtube Channel of The Free Press Journal

Woman Was 'told She Had Haemorrhoids' Before 'terrifying' Diagnosis

Lisa Snooks, 43, was told by doctors to carry on with haemorrhoid treatment until her pain got so severe she pushed for cancer tests and was then diagnosed with anal cancer

Lisa Snooks in hospital following surgery (

Image: Lisa Snooks/SWNS)

A woman who was misdiagnosed for months says doctors told her she had haemorrhoids - while cancer was "eating away" her bowel.

Lisa Snooks, 43, was repeatedly told by doctors to carry on with haemorrhoid treatment until her pain got so severe that she pushed for cancer tests. In February 2022 she was told after an endoscopy and MRI she had an aggressive anal cancer which had destroyed parts of her bowel and protruded externally.

The following month, Lisa faced a major operation - an 11-hour procedure to fit a colostomy bag, which also involved the removal of her pelvic floor, rectum, and vagina. This left her with an open cavity wound needing daily repacking by nurses.

Now in remission, Lisa still confronts health challenges - her bone marrow was damaged during treatment leading to a low platelet count. Adding to her worries, Lisa lost her brother to the same grim disease in February 2021, plaguing her with fears about what lies ahead, reports Gloucestershire Live.

Lisa Snooks seven months after surgery with boyfriend Gareth (

Image:

Lisa Snooks/SWNS)

Besides physical tribulations, she reveals a struggle with mental stress due to the surgery's aftermath. Speaking of her harrowing experience, Lisa stated: "If I had been seen earlier and I wasn't wrongly treated for six months, my bowel wouldn't have been eaten away. To have anal cancer is not something I've ever heard of - as soon as you notice the smallest symptoms go to the doctors straight away."

"I don't remember much after being told I had cancer, I started crying and thought I was going to die and my life was over - I was just broken. It's terrifying, I lost my brother to a low blood platelet count which I now have - I have the same faulty gene. I'm wondering if I'm going to beat this or die the same way as him, it's scary to beat cancer and still be in the same position."

Lisa, previously a lettings branch manager, sought medical help after experiencing symptoms akin to haemorrhoids in June 2021, but despite following the doctors initial advice with treatments including suppositories for five months, her condition only deteriorated. Urging her doctors for additional tests led to an alarming discovery.

Following an endoscopy in February 2022, she was hastily sent for an MRI that confirmed the fears of a cancer diagnosis. Lisa was told she had a type of aggressive anal cancer that had significantly damaged large areas of her bowel.

Among the warning signs of anal cancer to watch out for are bleeding, protrusions, discomfort, mucus discharge, and lack of bowel control. After receiving a permanent colostomy in March 2022, Lisa's treatment entailed starting a taxing regimen of chemo and radiotherapy sessions; six weeks of daily radiotherapy supplemented with chemotherapy four times a week.

However, the chemotherapy resulted in neutropenic sepsis, causing her entire body to react to an infection. After completing her treatment in April, she was scheduled for surgery in October, but requested a delay as she didn't feel mentally prepared.

During the wait for surgery, Lisa revealed that she suffered from intense pain and daily haemorrhaging, requiring frequent blood transfusions. In February 2023, she endured an 11-hour operation where surgeons removed her pelvic floor, rectum, and vagina, leaving behind a cavity wound that still hasn't healed and needs daily repacking by nurses.

The medical team also extracted a large strip of muscle from beneath her right rib cage and skin tissue from her stomach in an attempt to reconstruct her vagina and cover the wound, but the surgery was unsuccessful. Currently, Lisa has been in remission for a year, but admits to being terrified about what lies ahead.

She is awaiting a second bone marrow biopsy to determine the cause and treatment plan for her low platelet count.

"It started as something which looked and felt like haemorrhoids, it was painful to wear underwear and sit down and in the end it was painful to walk," Lisa shared. "It started bleeding and then I became incontinent which was horrific."

"It's been 16 months since I got out of hospital, but I'm still seeing nurses every day to pack the large cavity in between my legs which never healed up. I lost all my hair [during chemotherapy] and have been wearing wigs for two years."

"Mentally now I'm struggling, the last two years have been traumatic and I'm still living it every day. Mentally I'm drained and tired and scared for the future now, every day I'm scared of what's next. I've been in remission for a year, but I don't know how the future looks yet."

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