We often think of sugar as harmful – it rots our teeth and causes obesity. But what if we could use it as a treatment for burns?
Sugar has many uses in Professor Liam Grover’s research. The Director of the Healthcare Technologies Institute has found it to be useful in the treatment of diabetes, as the materials made from sugar are very effective at entrapping and protecting harvested pancreatic islets, which are used to restore function in diabetics.
The research team have also created an eye-drop out of a sugar solution that has been proven to effectively treat scarring, returning the scarred eyeball to almost normal levels after it is applied. The pioneering eye drop has gone on to win prizes, and is now packaged with hopes to move to clinic next year. This could revolutionise how corneal burns are treated.