title: Effects of calcium supplements on fracture healing in a rat osteoporotic model.
abstract: Fracture healing is a complex process, which is further complicated if the bone is osteoporotic. Calcium is one of the important minerals in bone and has been found to prevent osteoporosis but its role in fracture healing of osteoporotic bone is still unclear. We carried out a study on the effects of calcium supplementation on the late phase healing of fractured osteoporotic bone using an ovariectomized rat model. Twenty-four female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups: sham-operated (SO), ovariectomized-control (OVXC), and ovariectomized + calcium supplements (Ca). The right femurs of all the rats were fractured at mid-epiphysis and a K-wire was inserted for internal fixation. After 2 months of treatment, the rats were sacrificed and the femora were dissected out for radiological and biomechanical assessment. As expected, osteoporosis resulted in impaired healing as shown by the poor radiological and biomechanical properties of the OVXC group. CT scans showed significantly lower callus volumes in the SO and Ca groups compared to the OVXC group. Radiological scoring of fracture healing and callus staging of the SO and Ca groups were better than the OVXC group. However, the biomechanical parameters of the Ca group were significantly lower than the SO group and similar to the OVXC group. Therefore, calcium supplements may appear to improve fracture healing of osteoporotic bone but failed to improve strength.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abd Aziz, 50300 KL, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Ahmad Nazrun
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Shuid
authors.forename: Sharlina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohamad
authors.forename: Norazlina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mohamed
authors.forename: Fazalina Mohd
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Fadzilah
authors.forename: Sabarul Afian
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Mokhtar
authors.forename: Shahrum
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abdullah
authors.forename: Faizah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Othman
authors.forename: Farihah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Suhaimi
authors.forename: Norliza
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Muhammad
authors.forename: Ima Nirwana
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: Soelaiman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002146:Bony Callus / Q000187:drug effects; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005264:Femoral Fractures / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D017102:Fracture Healing / Q000187:drug effects*; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000150:complications; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D002136:Calcium, Dietary