The effect of intra-arterial hydrogen peroxide on the healing of standardized ischemic lesions in rabbits

Abstract

The effect of the intra-arterial infusion of dilute hydrogen peroxide on the healing rates of ischemic lesions was investigated based on the proposal that an increased healing rate could be achieved through the alleviation of regional tissue anoxia by super-oxygenation. Standardized ischemic lesions were placed on the lateral portion of each hind leg of 30 New Zealand albino rabbits. One of the legs on each rabbit was infused with a dilute solution of hydrogen peroxide once a day for seven days. The other leg served as the control. The alterations in the healing rates were evaluated ont eh basis of the following criteria: (1) changes in the wound area of the infused and control lesions on days four and eight, (2) histological changes in the control and infused lesions on day eight, (3) differences in hydroxyproline content of the infused and control lesions on day eight, and (4) differences in the mitotic rates of the proliferating epithelium of the infused and control lesions on day eight through the use of autoradiography. ...