title: Effects of an anti-platelet drug on the prevention of steroid-induced osteonecrosis in rabbits.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effects of an anti-platelet drug (clopidogrel) on the prevention of steroid-induced osteonecrosis (ON) in rabbits.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult male Japanese white rabbits were divided into two groups and treated as follows: one group received daily clopidogrel mixed in normal saline (AP; n = 35), the other received only normal saline (NS; n = 30). One week after the administration, all rabbits were injected once intramuscularly with 20 mg/kg of methylprednisolone acetate into the right gluteus medius muscle. Three weeks after, both the femora and humeri were examined histopathologically for the presence of ON. The platelet aggregation assay and hematological examinations were performed before and after the steroid injection.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The incidence of ON in the AP group (48.5%) was significantly lower than that observed in the NS group (73.3%). The platelet aggregations in the AP group were significantly inhibited by the administration of clopidogrel. The levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides showed no significant differences between the AP and NS group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present experimental study demonstrated that the administration of an anti-platelet drug prevented steroid-induced ON in rabbits and that platelet aggregation seems to be one of the possible factors involved in the pathogenesis of steroid-induced ON.
authors: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan.
authors: Ryosuke
authors: R
authors: Yamaguchi
authors: Takuaki
authors: T
authors: Yamamoto
authors: Goro
authors: G
authors: Motomura
authors: Satoshi
authors: S
authors: Ikemura
authors: Kenyu
authors: K
authors: Iwasaki
authors: Garida
authors: G
authors: Zhao
authors: Yukihide
authors: Y
authors: Iwamoto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000077144:Clopidogrel; D005269:Femur / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology; D006811:Humerus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008775:Methylprednisolone / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology; D010020:Osteonecrosis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011817:Rabbits; D013988:Ticlopidine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; D000077144:Clopidogrel; D013988:Ticlopidine; D008775:Methylprednisolone