Short term clodronate treatment does not increase trabecular bone in posttraumatic osteopenia

Area of Science:

• Bone metabolism research
• Pharmacology of bisphosphonates
• Animal models in bone research

Background:

• Bisphosphonates, such as clodronate, are known to affect bone metabolism.
• Previous studies suggested clodronate increases bone calcium content.
• The effects of clodronate on bone histomorphometry in response to surgical trauma are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine serum and bone concentrations of clodronate after subcutaneous administration in growing rabbits.
• To evaluate the effects of long-term clodronate treatment on trabecular bone histomorphometry.
• To investigate if clodronate can prevent osteopenia induced by surgical trauma.

Main Methods:

• Two experiments were conducted on growing rabbits.
• Experiment 1: Assessed serum and bone clodronate concentrations.
• Experiment 2: Utilized quantitative histomorphometry to analyze trabecular bone after 18 weeks of clodronate treatment and surgical intervention (tibia plate fixation).

Main Results:

• Clodronate demonstrated rapid and high affinity for bone following subcutaneous administration.
• Surgical trauma (tibia plate fixation) led to a significant 25% decrease in bone volume in femoral condyles.
• 18 weeks of clodronate treatment did not inhibit this surgically induced bone loss.
• Increased bone calcium content, observed in previous studies, was not verified in the trabecular bone histology.

Conclusions:

• Clodronate exhibits rapid bone uptake in rabbits.
• Surgical trauma is a significant factor in inducing osteopenia in growing rabbits.
• Clodronate treatment for three months was ineffective in preventing surgically induced bone loss or increasing trabecular bone calcium content in this model.