The Effect of Guided Bone Regeneration,• Bisphosphonates and Periostat® on The Healing of Bony Defects in Ovariectomized Rabbits

Abstract

Bone resorption is a process that is common to both osteoporosis and periodontal disease. Normal bone remodeling is a two-stage, linked process that consists of bone resorption followed by bone formation. When the resorption phase exceeds the formation phase, the net result is loss of bone mineral. In some women these effects are extremely sever and the resulting condition is osteoporosis. (Ross, 1996). Prevention and treatment of osteoporosis IS a rapidly changing field. Recently, the attention has been focused on anti-resorptive medications which can retard the resorptive phase without affecting bone formation (Chestnut, 2001). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved anti-resorptive medications such as Alendronate and sub-antimicrobial dose doxycycline (Periostat) for prevention or treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis (Chestnut, 2001). The current work ••aimed to •determine whether Alendronate and Periostat

alone or in combination could enhance guided bone regeneration in surgically created bony defects in ovariectomized rabbits. The study also aimed to studying the effect of ovariectomy on the healing of the surgically created bony defects.

In the present study, we considered 50 non-pregnant female rabbits. Only 40 rabbits was subjected to ovariectomy and the remaining 10 rabbits were retained non-ovariectomized to act as a negative control group. At the end of the 1 ih week

from the beginning of the study, 10 rabbits (5 ovariectomized and 5 non­ ovariectomized) were sacrificed while all the remaining rabbits were subjected to another surgical procedure on their right femurs to create two bony efects. One of these two defects was covered with BioMend membrane* as a GBR regenerative barrier, and the other defect lifted uncovered to serve as a self-control group.