Pressure ulcers, or "bed sores" as they are sometimes called, have long been one of the biggest sources of discomfort for patients confined to beds or wheelchairs for prolonged periods of time. These ulcers also pose a significant health risk, since bed- or wheelchair-ridden patients in hospitals, acute care facilities, long term care nursing homes, and at home often suffer from other health problems that compromise the efficiency of the wound healing process.Diminished healing capability, in the case of pressure ulcers, can translate to increased risk of scarring, tissue loss, and serious or even systemic infection. This is especially true for the elderly, whose bodies with age demonstrate diminished ability to repair themselves.
For these patients, a promising new bonded cysteine supplement is available. Bonded cysteine has been shown by initial trials to improve healing times significantly and reduce the costs associated with treating pressure ulcers with conventional therapies, even in patients with especially difficult pressure ulcers.
The treatment comes in the form of a nutritional supplement called ProNutra. ProNutra works by preventing malnutrition and providing a specially tailored protein and antioxidant cocktail to bodies in distress, in effect acting as a carefully assembled nutritional "tool-box" for healing at the cellular level.
In addition to its applications for healing or preventing pressure ulcers, ProNutra can be instrumental in improving overall protein metabolism and also can help to prevent weight loss or protein energy malnutrition.
The supplement’s silver bullet is Immunocal, defined by the product’s informational site as "a cystine-rich protein nutraceutical" that has been shown to be active in healthy cellular function and accelerated rates of immune response.
Immunocal, discovered and trademarked by doctors Gustavo Bounous and Patricia Kongshavn of McGill University, is derived from an undenatured milk protein concentrate that, according to ProNutra’s informational site "sustains normal glutathione levels and promotes immune enhancing and anticarcinogenic activity." A few years following the early work, scientists discovered the active ingredients in the protein, which could then be isolated and turned into a purer product with medical and nutritional applications – such as ProNutra. While the successful treatment of pressure ulcers requires attention to many facets of the patient care process, including proper nutrition and hygiene, as well as thorough risk assessment to help prevent the incidence of pressure ulcers in the first place, ProNutra is on its way to proving itself as a invaluable component of these pressure ulcer treatment regimens.
