Influence of Short-term, Repeated Fasting on the Skin Wound Healing of Female Mice

Wounds. 2011 Feb;23(2):38-43.

Abstract

Caloric restriction in mice has been found to retard the rate of aging, increase mean and maximum life spans, and inhibit the occurrence of many age-associated diseases. The following study was conducted to investigate the effect of short-term repeated fasting (4 consecutive days, every 2 weeks) before wound creation on skin wound healing. Mice were used for macroscopic study (n = 40) and hydroxyproline analysis (n = 10). Mice were also used for microscopic study (n = 36) and were divided equally into a fasting group and a control group. The results revealed that there were significant differences in epithelialization, contraction, healing, amount of collagen, and hydroxyproline between the control and fasting groups (P < 0.05). Based on the results, it can be argued that caloric restriction preceding the wound-healing period has the potential to accelerate the healing process. .