A research group at Hyogo College of Medicine has succeeded in elucidating the mechanism of "postoperative adhesions".
Postoperative adhesions are a phenomenon in which the peritoneum and other visceral organs, or organs centered on the intestinal tract, stick to each other after surgery.It is estimated that about 120 million people have adhesions in Japan each year.Postoperative adhesion formation rates range from 67 to 93% in the abdomen.In addition to complications such as intestinal obstruction, stubborn abdominal pain, and infertility, adhesions also increase the difficulty of surgery for surgeons.In addition, adhesion-related medical expenses are estimated to reach 1 billion yen / year in the United States and 560 billion yen / year in Japan, which is a heavy burden in terms of medical expenses, but the mechanism of adhesions is It wasn't clear.
In 2008, the group announced a part of the molecular mechanism of postoperative adhesions, saying that the formation and deposition of fibrin at the site of surgical invasion triggers adhesions.In this study, which is a continuation and development study, peritoneal dermal cells produce interleukin 6 (hereinafter referred to as IL-6) after fibrin deposition, and IL-6 causes neutrophils to produce TNF-α and TGF-β. It was clarified that by producing and TGF-β, the mesenteric cells themselves become fibrosis and become the main body of adhesion formation.
The elucidation of the molecular mechanism of adhesion formation is expected to lead to the development of therapeutic agents that prevent adhesions in advance.Specifically, it can be said that the usefulness of the anti-IL-6 receptor antibody targeting IL-6 has been confirmed.
The group also states that the development of non-invasive adhesion diagnostic technology and IL-6 downstream signal molecular control method is underway as ancillary research.The possibility of new treatment has opened up for intractable diseases and postoperative adhesion disorders left behind in the rapidly developing modern surgery.
Paper information:[Scientific Reports] Anti-interleukin-6 receptor antibody treatment ameliorates postoperative adhesion formation
