Low caloric value of ethanol itself increases alveolar bone loss in ligature-induced periodontitis in male rats

Abstract

This study aimed at morphometrically evaluating the influence of variable caloric values of ethanol consumption on alveolar bone loss in periodontitis in male rats. Thirty-six male rats were randomized into four groups of nine rats each, as follows: Test group A (low) - rats were fed an ethanol-containing liquid diet (ethanol representing 22% of total caloric value); Control group A -rats were fed a pair-fed control diet (ethanol replaced by isocaloric amounts of carbohydrate); Test group B (high) -rats were fed an ethanol-containing liquid diet (ethanol representing 36% of total caloric value); Control group B -rats were fed a pair-fed control diet for Test B. Following anesthesia, cotton ligatures were placed around the cervix of the right upper second molar. At eight weeks, the maxillary bones were removed and alveolar bone loss was analyzed by measuring the distance between the cementoenamel junction and the alveolar bone crest at buccal and palatal sites of the upper second molar. The unligated groups showed no significant differences between the bone loss values observed for the low and high caloric values of ethanol (p > 0.05). In the ligated groups, the rats receiving low caloric values of ethanol showed significantly greater bone loss compared to the isocaloric rats (p < 0.05); however, the rats receiving high caloric values of ethanol showed no significant differences compared to the controls. Analysis of the results demonstrated that, in male rats, ethanol itself affected ligature-induced bone loss when representing a low value in the total caloric value.

Effects of alcohol intake in periodontitis progression in female rats: a histometric study

“…Research suggests that alcohol consumption is associated with the increase of severity of periodontitis in humans [4][5]19 , periodontal inflammation [14][15] and alveolar bone loss in periodontal disease in rats [11][12][13] . However, others studies on humans have shown no relation between periodontal disease and alcohol intake [9][10] .…”

“…However, more recent studies on humans have shown no relation between periodontal disease and alcohol consumption [6][7] . The use of rat models has been applied in the evaluation of periodontal pathogenesis 8 and regarding the influence of risk indicator/factors, such as estrogen deficiency [9][10] , alcohol consumption [11][12][13][14][15][16] , nicotine 17 and simultaneous nicotine and alcohol use 18 on disease progression.…”

“…Another study demonstrated that in male rats, ethanol increases ligature-induced bone loss when representing a low value (22%) in total caloric value 13 .…”

Influence of different durations of estrogen deficiency on alveolar bone loss in rats

“…16 Therefore, ovariectomy-induced osteopenia in the rat produces skeletal responses similar to those in post-menopausal women. 17 A morphometric analysis of defleshed jaws [11][12][13]18,19 was applied to assess the amount of periodontal bone in the rats. This analysis is reproducible and can discriminate among experimental groups.…”

“…[11][12][13][14] However, the mechanism underlying the bone loss remains unclear. The deficiency of sex steroids, particularly estrogen, is considered to be the main cause of osteoporosis, although there are many other factors involved.…”