[Micromorphological findings in jaw bone after radiotherapy. Confocal laser scanning microscopy and fluorescence...

Early radiation effects on human bone may lead to osteoradionecrosis (ORN). Direct bone cellular lesions [28] as well as fibrous degeneration of blood vessels [21] are considered to be pathologically relevant. Only few data on initial subclinical radiation effects are available. Patients were grouped according to the dose of radiation and clinical findings. Group 1: sound human bone of lower jaw, mostly collected during orthodontic surgery (n = 10 patients); group 2: specimens of lower jaw from patients with ORN (n = 12 patients); group 3: specimens of lower jaw from patients with head and neck cancer who were preoperatively treated with 36 Gy radiation; group 4: specimens of lower jaw from patients with head and neck cancer (n = 9) who were treated with 60-70 Gy radiation. Specimens were studied by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), by conventional light microscopy (DL) and by fluorescence darkfield microscopy (DFM) after bisbenzimide staining (H 33258) of the viable cellular nuclei. For the correlating study of identical areas in CLSM and DL the specimens were prepared according to the sawing and grinding technique [8]. All the radiated bony specimens, regardless of the dose of radiation, showed areas of extensive or total loss of vitality of the osteocytes. This finding was also evident after 36 Gy and a short interval between radiation and sample collection (group 3). Additionally, in CLSM micromorphologic lesions of the lamellate structure were seen. With these results we can confirm the loss of vitality of the osteocytes as an initial radiation effect as described earlier [10, 23, 28]. In addition to these findings, alteration of the lamellate microstructure was found in the early phase after radiation. The functional and mechanical significance of these findings should be the subject of further studies.