1988 Volume 50 Issue 6 Pages 1060-1068
The effects of a topically applied 70% sucrose solution on the wound healing process were investigated in open wounds induced by trepanation on the rat dorsal skin. As indices of wound healing, glycogen and hyaluronic acid contents were estimated histologically in regenerated epidermis and in wounded dermis, respectively. In a control group, distilled water was applied instead of the 70% sucrose solution. After skin trepanation, the glycogen content gradually increased in the regenerated epidermis and reached the maximum level 4 days after skin trepanation in the control group, and at this time, in the sucrose treated-group, a larger increase in the glycogen content was observed than in the control group. The increases in glycogen content were fairly well correlated to the number of mitotic cells counted in the regenerated epidermis. In regard to the wounded dermis, hyaluronic acid content was increased from day 1 through day 3 after skin trepanation, then gradually decreased and, on the 6th day after skin trepanation, it reached almost the same level as that observed on day 1 after skin trepanation in the control group. In the sucrose treated-group, hyaluronic acid content was somewhat higher until the 3rd day after trepanation, and afterwards became lower than in the control group. These results suggest the accelerating effects of sucrose on the healing process of experimentally induced open wounds.
