title: Growth hormone is a stimulating but not an essential factor in healing of colon. A study in GH-deficient dwarf rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Growth hormone (GH) has been implicated as an important factor in the healing and previous studies showed significant strength acceleration of experimental intestinal anastomoses.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To study the healing of experimental colonic anastomoses in GH-deficient rats and to study the potential physiological effects of GH-substitution on healing parameters.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Exogenous rhGH treatment started 7 days prior to surgery and continued until day 4 postoperatively accelerates the strength development of the experimental colonic anastomoses in dwarf rats indicating a potent role of growth hormone in colonic healing. However, GH is not essential in the healing process, since anastomotic healing in GH-deficient dwarf rats is like rats with normal pituitary function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery L, University Hospital of Aarhus, Medical Research Lab M., Aarhus, Denmark. tei@dadlnet.dk
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Tei
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kissmeyer-Nielsen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Flyvbjerg
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Christensen
mesh_terms: D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical; D000818:Animals; D003106:Colon / Q000187:drug effects / Q000601:surgery*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004393:Dwarfism, Pituitary / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D013006:Growth Hormone