Effects of radiation injury on wound healing

Combined radiation and wound injury (CRWI) often occurs under the conditions of nuclear explosions, severe nuclear accidents, radiological terrorism and radiotherapy accidents. A prominent medical problem is that this kind of skin wound is very complex and difficult to heal. The quantity and function damage of cellular components in the wound sites including hematopoietic cells and repairing cells plays key roles in the healing delay process. For the treatment of CRWI, promoting wound healing and the hematopoietic recovery should be considered simultaneously. Several chemical or natural drugs and growth factors have shown promoting effects on the wound healing in CRWI. Application of adult multipotent stem cells may provide a new promising way for the management of CRWI.