title: Effect of Pentoxifylline Administration on an Experimental Rat Model of Femur Fracture Healing With Intramedullary Fixation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Globally, musculoskeletal injuries comprise a major public health problem that contributes to a large burden of disability and suffering. Pentoxifylline (PTX) has been originally used as a hemorheologic drug to treat intermittent claudication. Previous test tube and in vivo studies reported the beneficial effects of PTX on bony tissue.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to evaluate the effects of different dosages of PTX on biomechanical properties that occur during the late phase of the fracture healing process following a complete femoral osteotomy in a rat model. We applied intramedullary pin fixation as the treatment of choice.
  
  
  METHODS
  This experimental study was conducted at the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. We used the simple random technique to divide 35 female rats into five groups. Group 1 received intraperitoneal (i.p.) PTX (50 mg/kg, once daily) injections, starting 15 days before surgery, and group 2, group 3, and group 4 received 50 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg, and 200 mg/kg i.p. PTX injections, respectively, once daily after surgery. All animals across groups received treatment for six weeks (until sacrificed). Complete surgical transverse osteotomy was performed in the right femur of all rats. At six weeks after surgery, the femurs were subjected to a three-point bending test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Daily administration of 50 mg/kg PTX (groups 1 and 2) decreased the high stress load in repairing osteotomized femurs when compared with the control group. The highest dose of PTX (200 mg/kg) significantly increased the high stress load when compared with the control group (P = 0.030), group 1 (P = 0.023), group 2 (P = 0.008), and group 3 (P = 0.010), per the LSD findings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Treatment with 200 mg/kg PTX accelerated fracture healing when compared with the control group.
authors.affiliation: Basic Sciences Department, Paramedical School, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Mahdi
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Vashghani Farahani
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Sciences and Biology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Masteri Farahani
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Sciences and Biology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Ataroalsadat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mostafavinia
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Akhtar Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Abbasian
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Ramin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pouriran
authors.affiliation: Dental School, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Noruzian
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, University of Qom, Qom, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Kamran
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Ghoreishi
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Sciences and Biology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Arefe
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aryan
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Sciences and Biology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran; Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bayat
keywords: Biomechanics; Femoral Fractures; Mechanical Phenomena; Pentoxifylline; Rats