beta adrenergic antagonist for the healing of chronic dfu

Conditions: Chronic Diabetic Foot Ulcers; Diabetic Neuropathic Ulcers; Non Healing Wound

Summary: one in four veterans is affected by diabetes and will develop a diabetic foot ulcer. diabetic ulcers are very challenging to manage and are the most common cause of leg amputation. many advanced treatments are expensive and difficult to use in the clinic or at home. those newer therapies have shown little success in healing diabetic foot wounds. the investigators' laboratory and animal work has suggested that a safe medication, currently used as an eye drop for treatment of glaucoma, can heal these ulcers. the investigators are proposing to test this drop (timolol) directly on the surface of the foot ulcer to see if can improve healing faster than the current standard of care. to do this, the investigators propose a "randomized controlled trial" with two groups of patients with diabetic foot ulcers: one will receive standard of care with timolol while the other will receive standard of care with a gel (hydrogel, as placebo medicine).

the trial is designed as a prospective, randomized, double-blinded controlled study of subjects presenting with diabetic foot ulcers. the purpose of this study is to evaluate the superiority of timoptic-xe therapy in conjunction with standard of care (soc) treatment (group a: timoptic-xe + soc) versus soc (group b: soc + plus a non-biologically active gel, i.e., hydrogel, as placebo medication) in the clinical effectiveness in promoting wound healing and closure.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * male or female subject of any race 18 years old or older * lower extremity ulcer located anywhere on the foot (as defined as beginning below the malleoli of the ankle): * of more than 30 days duration and less than 2 years duration * surface area between 0.5cm2 and 20cm2 (as measured with the silhouette imaging system at randomization). the ulcer with largest surface area meeting inclusion criteria will be selected as index ulcer * if two ulcers present with the same surface area, the ulcer of the longest duration will be selected as index ulcer * documented ankle brachial index (abi) between 0.8 and 1.2 on the study limb or toe pressure over 65mmhg within 3 months of screening phase * documented biopsy report to rule out malignancy of ulcer of \> 6 months duration * subject or legally authorized representative understands and is willing to give written informed consent * subject or legally authorized representative is willing and able to comply with a trial (13 to 17 days) of protocol-specified standard care prior to randomization and to comply with all study requirements exclusion criteria: * ulcer of non-diabetic etiology, such as venous, arterial and burn wounds * index ulcer is less than 3 cm in distance from any other ulcer on the same extremity * there are greater than 3 ulcers on the study foot * index ulcer presents with any of the following: cellulitis, osteomyelitis, exposed bone, tendon or fascia, capsule , purulent exudate or gangrene * index ulcer shows evidence of infection (defined as a moderate or severe rating of all of the following clinical signs/symptoms: * increased warmth * increased pain * erythema * malodorous exudate at screening or at randomization (visit 1), or total organism count \> 1 x 105 colony forming units (cfu) from the screening visit study ulcer culture sample) * index ulcer surface area has decreased or increased \> 40% between screening and at randomization (visit 1) as assessed by the silhouette imaging system * has acquired or is known to be infected with human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) * has active malignancy on the study foot * has uncontrolled diabetes mellitus as defined by glycosylated hemoglobin a1c \> 12% * has immunodeficiency as defined by serum igg, iga, and igm less than one-half the lower limit of normal * has severe protein malnutrition as defined by serum albumin \< 2.5 g/dl * has serum aspartate aminotransferase (ast, sgot, got) or serum alanine aminotransferase (alt, sgpt, gpt) levels greater than twice the upper limit of normal * has fatigue, palpitations, dyspnea, and/or angina at rest * has a history, within the previous 12 months from date of screening visit, of alcohol or drug abuse, particularly methadone or heroin * has received previous treatment with the following during the 60 days prior to screening: * immunosuppressive agents * radiation * chemotherapy * growth factors (epidermal growth factor, tumor necrosis factor, transforming growth factor, platelet derived growth factor, etc.) * at the site of the study ulcer, split- or full-thickness skin graft at the site of the study ulcer, biologically-active (or engineered) cellular or acellular product(s) at the site of the study ulcer, investigational drug or device * has been hospitalized for treatment of a diabetic foot ulcer within the previous 30 days from screening * has history of heart block 2nd and 3rd degree * female who is pregnant or refuses to use adequate contraceptive methods and is of childbearing age during the trial * prisoners, institutionalized individuals or vulnerable population