. Scar forms after tendon injury. It binds the tendon and prevents it from gliding freely, resulting in diminished movement in a high percentage of patients. Prophylactic application of an agent that inhibits adhesion formation would improve the outcome of these patients. Gliatech, Inc. has developed a series of proprietary materials that inhibit scar formation. The purpose of the proposed research is to develop a chicken model and to test ASCON-T, one such scar inhibiting agent. The chicken is chosen as a preclinical model because the movement of a chicken foot mimics the movement of the human hand. Specifically, the investigators propose to develop a reproducible model for injury of and immobilization of the tendon. They propose to develop test methods for evaluating the resulting scar. Once this model is developed in Phase I they propose to test ASCON-T for safety and efficacy in Phase II.
