General Medical Information

Cytokine Therapy

David J. Terris

Although cytokine treatment may improve the rate and strength of normal wound healing, a more likely use is to reverse the detrimental effects of conditions like diabetes mellitus. Such conditions known to impede wound healing may be ameliorated, based on experimental evidence that GH improves wound healing in malnourished animals treated with corticosteroids. This reversal of the deleterious effects of steroids on wound healing was achieved with the use of several other cytokines, including TGF-b, PDGF, and insulin-like growth factor-1. Ultimately, a combination of manipulative techniques may be the preferred tactic, as suggested by evidence that the benefits of pharmacologic doses of cytokines may be amplified when combined with treatments such as hyperbaric oxygen.