title: Histological assessment of the effect of alpha-tocopherol on fracture healing in rabbits.
abstract: To investigate the effect of alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) on fracture healing in rabbits, two groups of 10 rabbits were either injected with alpha-tocopherol (treated) or untreated (controls). The right femurs of both groups were fractured, and the treated group were injected intramuscularly with 20 mg/kg alpha-tocopherol daily for 5 days starting on the day of fracture. After 21 days, histological sections of the fractured region were examined and scored. Fracture healing had progressed further in the alpha-tocopherol group than in the control group. A statistically significant difference between the histological grading of fracture healing in the two groups was found. This difference may result from an antioxidant (alpha-tocopherol) effect on free oxygen radicals in the fracture area. We conclude that alpha-tocopherol may affect fracture healing favourably and might be useful as a therapeutic agent in clinical fracture management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Uludag University Faculty of Medicine, Bursa, Turkey. kdurak@uludag.edu.tr
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Durak
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sonmez
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sarisozen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ozkan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaya
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ozturk
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017102:Fracture Healing / Q000187:drug effects*; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D011817:Rabbits; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D024502:alpha-Tocopherol