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The effect of supplemental copper on osteopenia induced by ovariectomy in rats
H Rico1, C Roca-Botran, E R Hernández
1Department of Medicine, University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain.
Objective:
The effect of a copper supplement on preventing bone mass loss induced by ovariectomy in rats was investigated.
Design:
Three groups of fifteen 100-day-old female Wistar rats, each with a mean initial weight of approximately 260 g per animal, were selected for a 30-day experiment. One group of 15 ovariectomized rats was fed a diet supplemented with 15 mg of copper per kilogram of feed. The other two groups: 15 ovariectomized and 15 Sham- ovariectomized rats did not receive the supplement. Morphometric (weight and length) and densitometric studies with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry were performed on the whole femur and the fifth lumbar vertebra of each animal at the end of the 30-day period.
Results:
The ovariectomized rat group fed a diet supplemented with copper did not show the bone mass loss at the axial (fifth lumbar vertebra) or peripheral (femur) level that was evidenced in the ovariectomized group.
Conclusions:
The results of the measurement of axial and peripheral bones show that a supplement of copper may have a potential therapeutic application in the treatment and prevention of involutional osteoporosis.