Discordance between bone turnover and bone loss: effects of aging and ovariectomy in the rat.

Mechanical strain maintains bone architecture even under conditions of increased bone turnover such as occurs with ovarian hormone deficiency. The rat distal femur contains two sites that apparently experience different levels of mechanical strain and therefore the rat is a suitable model for investigating such effects. The femoral epiphysis experiences higher strain energy compared with the metaphysis and we report the effects of aging between 7 and 12 months and the postovariectomy effects over the same time period on cancellous bone variables measured at these two sites.

Comparison of three methods for estimation of bone resorption following ovariectomy in the distal femur and the proximal tibia of the rat.

The study of estrogen-deficient bone loss requires accurate assessment of bone resorption; however, there has been considerable variance in the values reported for this variable. We compared three techniques for estimating bone resorption in the adult rat at four anatomical sites, the metaphysis and epiphysis of the distal femur and the proximal tibia. The techniques include an osteoclast-morphology-based method (VK-Oc), a bone-surface-based method (Pit-Oc), and an enzymatic method (AP-Oc).

Variation in the short-term changes in bone cell activity in three regions of the distal femur immediately following ovariectomy.

The effect of ovariectomy (OVX) on cancellous bone in the rat is not uniform at all sites of the skeleton. We report variation in the short-term effects of adult OVX in three regions of the distal femur: the diaphysis (DIA), the metaphysis (META), and the epiphysis (EPI). Cancellous bone parameters were estimated in the three separate zones of the femora and compared with changes in bone cell activity, as estimated by osteoclast surface (Oc.

Prepubertal oophorectomy limits the accumulation of cancellous bone in the femur of growing rats with long-term effects on metaphyseal bone architecture.

Bone loss after oophorectomy of adult rats is more rapid and complete in the metaphysis than in the epiphysis of the femur, particularly in the proximal region of the metaphysis distant from the growth plate. This study was undertaken to determine the effects of prepubertal oophorectomy, on femoral cancellous bone acquisition during growth. Rats were oophorectomized (OVX) or sham operated at 3 weeks of age and killed at intervals up to 78 weeks for scanning electron microscopy and histomorphometry of the distal femur.

Estradiol treatment transiently increases trabecular bone volume in ovariectomized rats.

The effect of short-term estradiol treatment, administered from the time of ovariectomy, on increased bone turnover and subsequent bone loss was studied in the rat. Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were ovariectomized and administered daily subcutaneous (s.c.