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Bone mineral measurements of subchondral and trabecular bone in healthy and osteoporotic rabbits

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Abstract

Introduction

Experimental models of osteoporosis in rabbits are useful to investigate anabolic agents because this animal has a fast bone turnover with predominant remodelling over the modelling processes. For that purpose, it is necessary to characterize the densitometric values of each type of bony tissue.

Objective

To determine areal bone mass measurement in the spine and in trabecular, cortical and subchondral bone of the knee in healthy and osteoporotic rabbits.

Design

Bone mineral content and bone mineral density were measured in lumbar spine, global knee, and subchondral and cortical bone of the knee with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry using a Hologic QDR-1000/W densitometer in 29 skeletally mature female healthy New Zealand rabbits. Ten rabbits underwent triplicate scans for evaluation of the effect of repositioning. Osteoporosis was experimentally induced in 15 rabbits by bilateral ovariectomy and postoperative corticosteroid treatment for 4 weeks. Identical dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) studies were performed thereafter.

Results

Mean values of bone mineral content at the lumbar spine, global knee, subchondral bone and cortical tibial metaphysis were: 1934±217 mg, 878±83 mg, 149±14 mg and 29±7.0 mg, respectively. The mean values of bone mineral density at the same regions were: 298±24 mg/cm2, 455±32 mg/cm2, 617±60 mg/cm2 and 678±163 mg/cm2, respectively. Bone mineral content and bone density of healthy rabbits followed a normal distribution at the four skeletal regions studied. Precision after triplicate repositioning yielded a coefficient of variation ranging from 2.6% to 3.8%. The least significant change ranged between 7.3% and 10.7%. Bone mineral density measured at the four different skeletal regions correlated significantly. Bone mineral density in osteoporotic rabbits was significantly lower in the four regions studied than that in controls, rendering a T-score of, respectively, −2.0±1.1 in the lumbar spine, −2.2±2.1 in the global knee, −1.9±0.6 in the subchondral bone, and −5.7±3.1 in the cortical tibia (P<0.05).

Conclusions

DXA is a reliable and precise method to evaluate the bone mass in rabbits. Our results also suggest that subchondral bone is a bone of mixed densitometric characteristics with marked cortical bone predominance.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Dr. C. de la Piedra Gordo, from the Bone Metabolism Research Unit, Dr. O. Sánchez-Pernaute, from the Inflammation Research Unit, and M. Torralbo García, from the Bone Densitometry Unit (Fundación Jiménez Díaz) for their valuable advice and technical assistance in this study. This work was partly funded by grants from the Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (CAM, 08.7/0007.1/2003), the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (SAF 2003/08379) and Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (FIS CP03/0011). M.E.M. is a fellow of the Fundación Conchita Rábago.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rheumatology Department, Hospital de la Princesa, Universidad Autónoma, Madrid, Spain

    S Castañeda

  2. Inflammation Research Unit, Rheumatology Department, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma, Madrid, Spain

    R. Largo, E. Calvo, M. E. Marcos & G. Herrero-Beaumont

  3. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma, Madrid, Spain

    E. Calvo

  4. Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Hospital de la Princesa, Universidad Autónoma, Madrid, Spain

    F. Rodríguez-Salvanés

  5. Department of Internal Medicine, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma, Madrid, Spain

    M. Díaz-Curiel

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  1. S Castañeda
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  2. R. Largo
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Correspondence to G. Herrero-Beaumont.

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Castañeda, S., Largo, R., Calvo, E. et al. Bone mineral measurements of subchondral and trabecular bone in healthy and osteoporotic rabbits. Skeletal Radiol 35, 34–41 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-005-0022-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-005-0022-z

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