Abstract :
Introduction: Shoulder rotator cuff injuries are prevalent among the elderly. Rotator cuff tears, like osteoarthritis, are an inevitable aspect of aging. The only difference is that soft tissue rather than cartilage is involved in the degenerative process.
We hypothesized that exogenous systemic administration of recombinant growth hormone would increase the concentration of various growth factors involved in rotator cuff healing,
Materials and Methods: Forty-eight Sprague-Dawley rats (Charles River, male, 400-450 g) were subjected to unilateral detachment repair of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons at Konkuk University per Institutional Animal Care Committee recommendations.
The rats were divided in two groups one were injected with recombinant GH and controls. Initially an artificial rotator cuff tear was created and later repaired with vicryl 4-0. The animals were sacrificed at 1, 3, 6, and 12 weeks. The rotator cuff was removed enmasse. Both groups were compared histologically and immunologically for collagen 1 and 3. Statistical analysis between both the groups was done using SPSS software.
Conclusion: The recombinant GH helped in early healing of rotator cuff tears if injected systemically. More clinical trials need to be done before the exact dose can be determined for humans.
Keyword :
Rotator Cuff, Recombinant, Growth Hormone, Collagen 1 and 3