The pandemic of diabetes mellitus continues unabated worldwide. Nearly 250 million people were affected by diabetes in 2000 and this number is estimated to rise up to 400 million by 2020. Given this rising incidence, it is reasonable to expect that chronic diabetic complications will also increase. Diabetic foot problems are the most common among these complications. Currently, 15% of patients with diabetes are expected to develop a foot ulcer within his or her lifetime. Diabetic foot ulceration is the primary cause of hospitalization in diabetic patients resulting in lower extremity amputation in about 15% of cases. Unfortunately, there are no signs that this situation will be drastically improved in the near future.

  This is the third issue of WOUNDS dedicated to diabetic foot problems. Although no major breakthroughs or advances have arisen since the last focus issue on the diabetic foot, incremental progress continue to occur. We have tried to draw a representation of the recent advances in the management of diabetic foot ulcers and provide the readers with a general scope of the problem. We hope this issue will be helpful to all practitioners involved in the care of diabetic foot ulcerations, as well as to all who are involved in research in this field.

  Once more, we wish to thank Dr. Terry Treadwell, Michael McGovern, and HMP Communications for giving us the opportunity to oversee and contribute to this issue.

Aristidis Veves, MD, MSc
Section Editor, WOUNDS
Biology and Treatment of Diabetic Foot Ulcers
Research Director, Joslin-Beth Israel Deaconess Foot Center and Microcirculation Lab, and Associate Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School,
Boston, Massachusetts

Francesco Tecilazich, MD
Guest Editor, WOUNDS
Research Fellow, Joslin-Beth Israel Deaconess Foot Center and Microcirculation Lab, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts