Elcatonin attenuates disuse osteoporosis after fracture fixation of tubular bone in rats

Abstract

BackgroundElcatonin (ECT) is used to prevent and treat osteoporosis. However, little is known about its effect on the disuse osteoporosis (DOP). The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of ECT on DOP caused by fracture fixation.MethodsForty-five male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, aged 6 weeks, were randomly allocated into three groups: the control group without surgery and elcatonin treatment (CTR, n = 15), the surgery group without elcatonin treatment (SUR, n = 15), and the surgery group which received elcatonin subcutaneously (SUR + ECT, n = 15). Surgery was produced by cutting the midshaft of the right femur transversely, fixing with stainless intramedullary needle, and immobilizing the right leg. All the proximal tibias from the random five rats in each group were harvested and investigated by evaluating bone mineral density (BMD), X-ray images, and histological staining respectively at the 4th, 8th, and 12th weeks after surgery.ResultsBoth of the SUR and SUR + ECT groups obviously exhibited lower BMD values compared to the CTR group; however, the SUR + ECT group showed significantly higher BMD values (p < 0.001, p < 0.05, and p < 0.05) than the SUR group at each time point after surgery. Moreover, similar changes were observed between these groups when examining the radiographs and hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining.ConclusionsElcatonin attenuates disuse osteoporosis after fractures in rats, which may provide a new avenue to prevent and treat disuse osteoporosis after surgery in clinic.

Impact of Alendronate Sodium plus Elcatonin on Postoperative Bone Pain in Patients with Osteoporotic Fractures

“…EC is also shown to play an antibone resorption role by enhancing the osteoinduction related to recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 and can promote the anabolism of osteoblasts [ 31 ]. According to Ji et al [ 32 ], EC can inhibit bone resorption by binding to EC-like receptors on OC membrane, thus disrupting OC activity. Our study confirmed that patients with OPFs can relieve postoperative BP through the intervention of ALN plus EC, which provides a new idea for clinical management of such patients.…”

The underlying pathophysiology and therapeutic approaches for osteoporosis

“…Long‐term bed rest, immobilization due to motor paralysis, application of cast to treat fractures, and prolonged weightlessness during space flight are common causes of disuse osteoporosis. During prolonged immobilization, the loss of mechanical stress on bone induces bone resorption and inhibits bone formation . In children of 8 to14 years age group, a rare form of osteoporosis known as juvenile osteoporosis is often caused by hypercalciuria and poor calcium absorption.…”