Washington, Dec 14 - Researchers have developed a hydrogel that regenerated healthy and scar-free tissue on skin damaged by severe burns.

The procedure which promotes the formation of new blood vessels and skin, including hair follicles, could lead to greatly improved healing for injured soldiers, fire victims and people with third-degree burns, say researchers.

The treatment involved a simple wound dressing that included a specially designed hydrogel, a water-based, 3D framework of polymers, the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported.

This material based on mice tissue tests was developed by researchers from Johns Hopkins' engineering, medical and pathology streams.

Third-degree burns typically destroy the top layers of skin down to the muscle. They require complex medical care and leave behind ugly scarring. But Johns Hopkins team reported that their hydrogel method yielded better results, according to a Hopkins' statement.

"This treatment promoted the development of new blood vessels and the regeneration of complex layers of skin, including hair follicles and the glands that produce skin oil," said study author Sharon Gerecht, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering.

Gerecht said the hydrogel could form the basis of an inexpensive burn wound treatment that works better than currently available clinical therapies. It would be easy to manufacture hydrogel on a large scale, she added. (IANS)