ABSTRACT
Pressure ulcer (PU) remains a common worldwide problem in all health care settings, it is synonymous with suffering. PU is a complex disease that is dependent on a number of interrelated factors. It involves multiple mechanisms such as physiological risk factors, chronic inflammation, oxidant-antioxidant imbalance and proteolytic attack on extracellular matrix by matrix metalloproteinases (MMP). Therefore, we propose that these wounds lead to molecular variations that can be detected by assessing biomarkers. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the major clinical elements and biological scars in Tunisian patients suffering from PU. Consistently, non-healing wound remains a challenging clinical problem. The complex challenges of the wound environment, involving nutrient deficiencies, bacterial infection, as well as the critical role played by inflammatory cells, should be considered because of their negative impact on wound healing. In addition, an imbalance between pro-oxidants and antioxidant systems seems to be more aggravated in patients with PU compared to healthy subjects. Of interest, this study provides further evidence to support a core role of the biological activity of MMP-9 in the pathogenesis of PU and indicates that the MMP9-1562 C/T (rs 3918242) functional polymorphism is associated with protection against this disease.