title: Effect of atorvastatin on orthodontic tooth movement in male wistar rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Statins are used as cholesterol-lowering drugs by many patients and have been recently shown to affect bone metabolism. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of atorvastatinon on orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) in rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-six adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups of 12 samples each. Group A, served as control with no medication while groups B and C received a daily gavage of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as vehicle and atorvastatin (5 mg/kg) as test substance, respectively. In all three groups, 6mm nickel-titanium closed-coil springs were ligated between the maxillary incisors and first left molars to deliver an initial force of 60g. Tooth movement was measured following sacrifice, 21 days after appliance insertion. Root resorption, PDL width and osteoclast number were histologically evaluated and compared between the groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean amount of tooth movement was 0.62 mm in group A, 0.59 mm in group B and 0.38 mm in group C. OTM reduction following administration of atorvastatin was statistically significant (p<0.05), but there was no significant difference in the studied histologic variables among the three groups (p>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  According to the results obtained in the current study, atorvastatin appears to reduce tooth movement in rats; however its effect on osteoclasts, especially osteoclastic function, requires further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Orthodontic Department, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Amir Hossein
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: MirHashemi
authors.affiliation: Post Graduated Student, Orthodontic Department, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Afshari
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Dental Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mojgan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alaeddini
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Dental Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shahroo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Etemad-Moghadam
authors.affiliation: Professor Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ahmadreza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dehpour
authors.affiliation: Post Graduated Student, Orthodontic Department, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Sedigheh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sheikhzade
authors.affiliation: Professor, Dental Research Center Dentistry Research Institute, Department of Orthodontic, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Sadegh Ahmad
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Akhoundi
keywords: Atorvastatin; Rats; Tooth movement