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Updated: Apr 6, 2026
Osmotic Drug Delivery to Ischemic Hindlimbs and Perfusion of Vasculature with Microfil for Micro-Computed Tomography Imaging
Published on: June 29, 2013
Synergistic local drug delivery in a piglet model of ischemic osteonecrosis: a preliminary study
Yuan Zou1, Paul D Fisher, Joanna K Horstmann
1Departments of aBiomedical Engineering bOrthopaedic Surgery, University of Kentucky cShriners Hospital for Children, Lexington, Kentucky dDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
Abstract:
A locally injectable system sequentially delivering an antiresorptive drug (clodronate) followed by an osteogenic agent (simvastatin) was hypothesized to improve femoral head microarchitecture, size, and shape compared with untreated or partial treatment groups in an established piglet osteonecrosis model. After 6 weeks, the clodronate+simvastatin treatment resulted in no collapse, microCT measurements and epiphyseal quotients within 10% of control, normal microstructure, and healthy histology. All other groups exhibited collapse, lower epiphyseal quotients and total femoral head volumes (P<0.05), and abnormal histology. This pilot study provides evidence of synergistic antiresorptive and osteogenic activities, which may prevent femoral head collapse in Perthes disease.
