Oral and maxillofacial surgery
The effect of fluoxetine on bone regeneration in rat calvarial bone defects

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tripleo.2009.01.006Get rights and content

Objective

Fluoxetine is one of the most common medications used for the treatment of depression. Recent studies have demonstrated the possible effect of this drug on bone. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of flouxetine on bone in Sprague-Dawley rats randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 7).

Study design

Two calvarial defects, 5 mm diameter, were prepared in parietal bone. The left defects were filled with natural bovine bone mineral (NBBM) and the right defects were left untreated. The first group did not receive fluoxetine. The second group and the third group received 7.5 mg and 15 mg flouxetine, respectively, daily by gastric gavage. The animals were killed 8 weeks after surgery, and the amount of bone regeneration was evaluated using histometric analysis.

Results

The defects showed dose-dependent increase in bone formation. The bone fill length had statistical significant differences between NBBM/flouxetine (15 mg) group and other groups (P < .05). The presence of the NBBM had positive effect on the bone formation in all groups in so far as the maximum amount of the increasing effect was seen in those rats filled with NBBM that received 15 mg flouxetine (P < .05). The minimum bone length in fluoxetine-treated defects was seen in 7.5 mg defects (0.36 mm)

Conclusion

Fluoxetine may improve the amount of bone regeneration in the rat calvarial defects.

Section snippets

Animals

Twenty-one male Sprague-Dawley rats (Razi Institute, Tehran, Iran) weighting 150-200 g at commencement of experiments were used in this study. The animals were housed in groups of seven in polycarbonate cage in a temperature-controlled (22 ± 3°C) colony room. They were maintained in a 12 hours on/12 hours off light/dark schedule with ad libitum food and water. Subjects were experimentally native, and each rat was used only once. Treatment groups consisted of 7 animals, and rats housed in the

Histologic observation

In this study, a total 21 experimental animals with 42 defects were analyzed for both histologic and histometric evaluation of calvarial defect. At 8 weeks, there was no adverse reaction around the remaining NBBM within the defects. Bone growth mainly was in the periphery of the defects and crept toward the center. In all specimens, no cartilage matrix was seen and the lamellar bone matrix was well formed. Bone-forming cells could be seen at the periphery, and their dense arrangement adjacent

Discussion

The regeneration of bone has long been the critical issue in osseous defects and around dental implants. Many procedures have been developed for the purpose of promoting regeneration, including guided tissue regeneration and bone grafts; therefore, factors with possible impact on bone regeneration would be of interest. In the present experiment, the data revealed that daily dosage of 15 mg fluoxetine synergistically with NBBM increased the amount of bone regeneration in rat calvarial defects.

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    Supported in part by a grant-in-aid from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences (Vice-chancellor for Research).

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