No effect of growth hormone on bone graft incorporation: Titanium chamber study in the normal rat

Abstract

A recent series of publications reported greatly improved mechanical properties and increased callus size during the late stages of fracture healing in normal (not hypophysectomized) rats after twice daily injections of growth hormone (GH). We tested whether GH could enhance the incorporation of bone allografts in a new experimental model where we have demonstrated an increase in bone allograft incorporation by local application of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF)- Cylinders of defatted allogeneic cancellous bone were placed as grafts in titanium Bone Conduction Chambers in the tibiae of female rats. Only one end of this chamber is open for tissue ingrowth. This permits us to measure th..