Long term bone alterations in aged rats suffering type 1 diabetes

LUCIANA M. SÁNCHEZ; ROMINA C. DE LUCCA; MARIANELA LEWICKI; ANGELA MATILDE UBIOS

EXPERIMENTAL GERONTOLOGY

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2016 vol. 85 p. 9 - 12

0531-5565

Increasing duration of type 1 diabetes mellitus alters bone metabolism. Clinical studies and experimental studiesin long bones of ratswith experimentally induced diabetes have reported a decrease in bone density. Fewstudieshave explored this diabetes related alteration in the maxillae. Given that this finding could indicate the possibledevelopment of osteopenia in the maxilla in the long term, the present study sought to analyze alterations in alveolarbone in aged rats, 12, 18, and 24 weeks after inducing diabetes, and compare alveolar bone response tothat of tibial subchondral bone at the same experimental times. Thirty-six male Wistar rats, 130 g body weight,were divided into 2 groups: an experimental group (E) receiving a single i.p. 60mg/kg dose of streptozotocin, anda control group (C). Both the control and experimental groups were divided into 3 sub-sets, according to the timeof euthanasia: 12, 18 and 24 weeks. The alveolar bone and tibiae were examined histologically andhistomorphometrically. The results were analyzed using Student's t-test; a value of p b 0.05 was considered statisticallysignificant. Results: Subchondral bone volume and bone activity/remodeling, mainly bone rest, weresignificantly lower in diabetic animals compared to controls, at both 12 and 18 weeks. No differences in alveolarbone parameters were observed between diabetic and control animals at either of the experimental times. Animalssurviving at 24 weeks showed few trabeculae at rest and severe destruction of dental and periodontal tissues.The results of the present study show that diabetic osteopenia is evident in the tibia at 12 and at 18weeks, whereas its effects on the maxilla can be seen at 24 weeks, with substantial destruction of alveolarbone and of the remaining periodontal and dental tissues. All the above observations highlight the need for preventiveoral care in diabetic patients, before irreversible damage to dental and periodontal tissues occurs.© 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.