Vitamin A and wound healing.
Retinoids have long been associated with wound healing, but objective data, until recently, have been scarce. Vitamin A deficiency retards repair. Secondly, retinoids restore steroid-retarded repair toward normal. Because vitamin A tends to suppress fibroblasts in cell culture and stimulate steroid-treated macrophages to initiate reparative behavior in tissue, we favor the hypothesis that retinoids are particularly important in macrophagic inflammation, which plays a central role in the control of wound healing. Probably all patients who take anti-inflammatory steroids should control their retinoid intake, but how they should control it is as yet unknown.
D000818:Animals; D004347:Drug Interactions; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D012176:Retinoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012879:Skin Physiological Phenomena; D013256:Steroids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000494:pharmacology; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000502:physiology*; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000503:physiopathology; D014945:Wound Healing
D012176:Retinoids; D013256:Steroids; D014801:Vitamin A; D014212:Tretinoin