Subperiosteal hydroxyapatite implants in rats submitted to ethanol ingestion.

It has been reported that excessive alcohol consumption can contribute to failures on the osteointegration process in the site of implantation. Hydroxyapatite blocks were implanted under the periosteum of the femur and skull of 40 rats divided into two groups of 20 animals, one of them received 25% ethanol diluted in water and the other did not. Bone formation close to the hydroxyapatite implant was observed in the femur of all animals 2 weeks after surgery, however the bone volume was lower in ethanol-treated animals. It was observed in the skulls of the ethanol-treated animals a delay in new bone formation process, as a lower bone volume, too. After 4 weeks of the implantation, just one ethanol-treated animal showed no new bone formation in the femur, while no bone formation was observed in the skulls of two other rats. On the 8th and 16th weeks, bone formation was observed in both femur and skull from both groups, although always with less volume in ethanol-treated rats. We concluded that ethanol consumption did not impair osteointegration of ceramic implants, but it might have reduced the osteogenic capacity of periosteal cells in the femur and parietal bone of the rats.