Serum transforming growth factor beta 1 contributes to bone healing in patients with bone fractures combined with spinal cord injuries

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that transforming growth factor beta 1 plays an important role in the healing of fractures, but in spinal cord injury combined with fracture, transforming growth factor beta 1 has been never reported how to promote fracture healing. OBJECTIVE: To observe the changes of serum transforming growth factor beta 1 levels in patients with spinal cord injury combined with bone fractures and to discuss the mechanism of transforming growth factor beta 1 in fracture healing after spinal cord injury with bone fractures. METHODS: Totally 28 patients admitted at the Department of Spinal Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from May 2012 to March 2014 were collected and divided into two groups according to whether they suffered from spinal cord injury: fracture+spinal cord injury group(n=12) and simple fracture group(n=16). Fasting peripheral blood samples were collected from patients in the two groups at 2, 7, 14, 28 days after injury, and ELISA method was used to detect the level of serum transforming growth factor beta 1. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference in the level of serum transforming growth factor beta 1 between the two groups at 2 days after injury(P > 0.05), but the levels of serum transforming growth factor beta 1 in the fracture+spinal cord injury group were lower than those in the simple fracture group at 7, 14,28 days after injury(P < 0.05). In the fracture+spinal cord injury group, the level of serum transforming growth factor beta 1 had a rapid increase on the 7th day, and reached the peak on the 14 th day, and then, this level had no significant decrease until the 28 th day. In the simple fracture group, the level of serum transforming growth factor beta 1 began to increase on the 2nd day, reached the peak on the 7th day, and then decreased gradually. Remarkable changes of serum transforming growth factor beta 1 levels in patients with bone fracture combined with spinal cord injury may be associated with fracture healing in different periods.