Dear Colleagues,

Chronic venous diseases (CVeD) of the lower limbs include different pathological events characterized by distinctive features sharing common hallmarks of hemodynamic alteration, inflammation, and proteolysis. The first step is represented by varicose veins (C-2) and the final disease is named non-healing leg ulcers (C-6), according to the international CEAP classification. CVeD affects a significant part of the populations worldwide with a prevalence up-to 15% in subjects aged over 70 years. Non-healing skin wounds represent a cause of significant disability and huge financial burden to the healthcare budget worldwide. Although great efforts have been made in characterizing early biochemical and molecular pathways during CVeD initiation and progression, discerning the biomolecular basis of healing/nonhealing processes, the exact biomolecular pathogenetic basis from C-2 to C-6 stages is not fully understood. Although several previously published histochemical, biochemical and molecular analyses, and pharmacological treatments, have indicated that the hemodynamic shear stress, pro-apoptotic and pro-inflammatory processes, coagulative events, and enhanced degradative proteolysis, may cooperate in harmful pathways leading to nonhealing ulcers, there is an urgent need to focus more attention on the importance of adequate biomolecular screening for hemodynamic stress, endothelial damage/repair, wound microenvironment, therapeutic treatments for improving CVeD management and ulcer healing. Moreover, the metabolic signature predictive of healing in venous leg ulceration may present potential translational applications for disease prognostication and development of targeted therapies. This Special Issue aims to collect insights about this complex and intricate cross talk, increasing the knowledge on both the clinical management and the pathophysiological processes of CVeD for improving the knowledge in this field, enhancing diagnosis and therapy, and translating the usefulness of investigations in vascular medicine and health sciences.

We invite experts to contribute high-quality original papers, research communications, or reviews.

Prof. Dr. Ferdinando Mannello
Prof. Dr. Raouf A. Khalil
Prof. Dr. Joseph D. Raffetto
Dr. Daniela Ligi
Guest Editors

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• chronic venous disease
• clinical management
• metabolomics
• biochemistry
• degradomics
• inflammation
• venous leg ulcer
• healing
• non-healing
• diagnosis
• therapy
• endothelium
• hemodynamics