Effects of experimental hyperadrenocorticism on the growth of the femur and tibia in normal and bipedal rats.
Daily subcutaneous injections of glucocorticoid preparations have been shown to produce clinical signs of hyperadrenocorticism which resulted in interference with the growth of rats, shown by measurements both of body weight and of the length of long bones. The purpose of this study was to see if increased, intermittent, compressive forces, produced by experimental bipedalism, would mitigate the negative effects of cortisone injections on long bone growth and if there would be a difference in reaction between male and female rats. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were used for control, cortisone-injected, and cortisone-injected plus bipedal groups. Experimental bipedalism was produced at 10 days of age; cortisone injections began at 30 days of age; all animals were sacrificed at 65 days of age. Tibial and femoral lengths were measured. The results do not support the hypothesis that bipedalism can be instrumental in mitigating the effects of hyperadrenocorticism on hindlimb long bone growth.
D000303:Adrenal Cortex Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000818:Animals; D003348:Cortisone / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D005269:Femur / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D005684:Gait; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats / Q000502:physiology*; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013977:Tibia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*
D003348:Cortisone