Effect of age and radiation on bone healing adjacent to hydroxyapatite placed in the tibia of rats

This study investigated the effect of age and radiation on healing after implantation of hydroxyapatite granule in bone. Two groups of 16 male Wistar rats, aged 4 weeks and 2 years were used for this study. Hydroxyapatite particles were placed into the tibia 28 days after the delivery of 15 Gy of irradiation from a Linac source. The results of the present study suggest that an old rat was more vulnerable to the radiation than a young rat. It seemed that age might also be an important factor in the prognosis of the implanted hydroxyapatite in irradiated bone.