Cortical bone water changes in ovariectomized rats during the early postoperative period: Objective evaluation using...

To evaluate the cortical bone signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in ovariectomized (OVX) rats during the early postoperative period as a method to measure bone quality using the sweep imaging with Fourier transform (SWIFT) technique.

Twelve-week-old female Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 64) were divided into sham and OVX groups. Preoperative tetracycline was immediately administered subcutaneously to distinguish new cortical bone area, and tibial samples were collected at 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks postoperatively. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed using proton density-weighted imaging (PDWI) and SWIFT to obtain cross-sectional images of the tibial diaphysis. The cortical bone SNR was calculated. Bone histomorphometry was performed.

Histomorphometry findings showed that the new bone area was significantly greater at 8 and 12 weeks postoperatively in the OVX group (P < 0.05) while the porosity area decreased gradually in both groups (P < 0.001). The difference of SNR receiving PDWI did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.057). The SWIFT technique showed that the SNR was significantly higher at 8 and 12 weeks postoperatively in the OVX group (P < 0.05) and was correlated with the new bone area (R(2) = 0.430).

The SWIFT findings suggest that the SWIFT technique may depict early changes in cortical bone quality.