The skin of tilapia fish is rich in collagen, and the abundance of this structural protein has made the fish a popular resource in veterinary and human medicine. Researchers are now investigating the use of this fish’s skin in burn treatment and abdominal hernia repair, as well as in the treatment of heart valves and vaginal reconstruction. writes about this Scientific American.
Mirza Melo, a veterinary ophthalmologist in Brazil’s northeastern state of Ceara, tested tilapia skin to treat a common problem: corneal ulcers and perforations, especially those seen in short-nosed dogs. “The eyes of these species are very bulging,” he says. “That’s why they get injured a lot.”
These types of corneal injuries are usually treated by surgically placing a membrane from horse placenta (also a source of collagen, but at a lower concentration than tilapia skin) over the affected area to help it heal. Melo first replaced this membrane with tilapia skin in 2019 when he successfully operated on a Shih Tzu with severe corneal perforation.
The Brazilian Burn Institute and the Federal University of Ceará, which formed the basis of the tilapia skin project, were the first to use the skin to treat burns. With their support, Melo began testing a membrane he calls acellular dermal matrix (ADM), made from pure collagen derived from fish skin.
Collagen is known to stimulate cell growth and “support the formation of various tissues,” Melo says. He said that tilapia’s collagen supply and quality remain high throughout the fish’s life, while the amount of collagen in the horse’s placenta varies depending on factors such as the animal’s age and weight.
Processed ADM resembles a thick sheet of paper. Before surgery, veterinarians moisten it with physiological saline, then apply it to the dog’s corneal damage and suture it.
The more than 400 dogs Melo treated this way showed no side effects after surgery.
Melo now wants to use this technique on cats and says discussions have begun on how to adapt it to humans. He also hopes to expand his research to the retina, which is particularly difficult to treat because of its highly sensitive specialized neurons.
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