Composite grafts of demineralized compact bone and marrow under systemic biosynthetic growth hormone treatment

The influence of systemic treatment with biosynthetic human growth hormone on bone formation was studied, comparing rabbit radial bone defects grafted with demineralized autologous bone with contrallateral defects grafted with a composite including bone marrow. At 14 and 28 days after operation the bone-forming process was evaluated by roentgenography (planimetry included), and by scintigraphy after injection of 99mTc-labeled dicarboxypropane diphosphonate. At 28 days autoradiography was also performed. The roentgenographic and scintigraphic examinations revealed no difference between the grafted sides at either 14 or 28 days postoperatively. The elimination, after 14 days' growth hormone treatment, of a previously found difference between the marrow- and the nonmarrow-grafted sides might be an indication of accelerated osteogenesis at the beginning of the healing process.