title: Growth hormone treatment enhances the functional recovery of sciatic nerves after transection and repair.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although nerves can spontaneously regenerate in the peripheral nervous system without treatment, functional recovery is generally poor, and thus there is a need for strategies to improve nerve regeneration.
  
  
  METHODS
  The left sciatic nerve of adult rats was transected and immediately repaired by epineurial sutures. Rats were then assigned to one of two experimental groups treated with either growth hormone (GH) or saline for 8 weeks. Sciatic nerve regeneration was estimated by histological evaluation, nerve conduction tests, and rotarod and treadmill performance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  GH-treated rats showed increased cellularity at the lesion site together with more abundant immunoreactive axons and Schwann cells. Compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitude was also higher in these animals, and CMAP latency was significantly lower. Treadmill performance increased in rats receiving GH.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  GH enhanced the functional recovery of the damaged nerves, thus supporting the use of GH treatment, alone or combined with other therapeutic approaches, in promoting nerve repair.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Santiago de Compostela, San Francisco 1, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Devesa
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gelabert
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gonźlez-Mosquera
authors.forename: Rosalía
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gallego
authors.forename: José Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Relova
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Devesa
authors.forename: Víctor M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Arce
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004576:Electromyography; D005080:Exercise Test; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects*; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000187:drug effects*; D045442:Rotarod Performance Test; D009418:S100 Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012583:Schwann Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D020426:Sciatic Neuropathy / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D016900:Neurofilament Proteins; D009418:S100 Proteins; C044882:neurofilament protein L; D013006:Growth Hormone