The effect of pantothenic acid supplementation and deficiency on wound healing was investigated over a one month postoperative period in rabbits. The supplemented group was injected with pentothenate (20 mg/kg of body weight/24 h) for three weeks and compared to a placebo group (0.5 ml of distilled water). Deficient animals were fed with a pantothenate free diet also for three weeks. These three experimental groups were matched against a control group. The degree of wound healing was determined by the mean of postoperative breaking strength and wound fibroblast population changes. Pantothenic acid urinary excretion measured by gas chromatography served as control of pantothenate consumption. With regard to these three parameters no significant difference has been found between placebo and controls. The average urinary elimination in the pantothenic acid group was significantly higher as far as the pantothenate supplemented group was concerned, while the deficient group showed no significant decrease when compared to controls. Chronic pre- and postoperative pantothenic acid supplementation significantly increased aponeurosis strength after surgery; it improved slightly, but not significantly the strength of the skin. Furthermore, the fibroblast content of the scar became significantly greater during the fibroblast proliferation phase after pantothenic supplementation. These data suggest that pantothenic acid induces an accelerating effect of the normal healing process. The mechanism responsible for this improvement seems to be an increase in cellular multiplication during the first postoperative period. But the exact intimate mechanism of the beneficial effect of pantothenate remains unclear.
Morphologic and functional adaptations of the functioning intestine were evaluated in 41 patients before and after biliopancreatic bypass for morbid obesity. This surgical procedure diverts pancreatobiliary secretions via the duodenum and the jejunum into the colon, the remaining small intestine being anastomosed to the stomach after antrectomy. In the proximal ileum there was an 80% increase of the height of villi; the specific activities of maltase, sucrase, and aminopeptidase in brush border membranes remained unaffected, and that of lactase tended to decrease. In the distal ileum villi heights increased only by 58%, and disaccharidase activities (except for maltase) were slightly enhanced. In the colon the mucosa displayed, in some patients, focal appearance of true villi, and brush border enzyme activities increased concomitantly. We conclude that biliopancreatic bypass induces an adaptation of all intestinal segments of the functioning intestine; this adaptation tends to compensate for the shortening of the gut continuity.
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