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A pilot study was conducted to investigate the combined effects of ovariectomy (OVX) with preceding and concomitant mild dietary calcium restriction on the minipig skeleton. Minipigs 4 months old were fed diets containing 0.9, 0.75, or 0.5% calcium (Ca). At 10 months, the 0.75 and 0.5% pigs were OVX and the 0.9% were either sham operated or OVX. All pigs were maintained on their respective diets for an additional 6 months. Excised lumbar vertebrae and long bones were evaluated by densitometry and histomorphometry, and vertebral cancellous bone samples were tested biomechanically. In pigs fed the 0.9% Ca diet, OVX alone effected decreases of 6% in vertebral bone mineral density (BMD), 15% in trabecular bone volume (BV/TV), and 13% in trabecular number (Tb.N), an increase of 15% in trabecular separation (Tb.Sp), and a nonsignificant increase (p < 0.056) in vertebral cancellous final erosion depth (F.E.De) compared with the 0.9% Ca sham-operated group. Decreasing dietary Ca to 0.5% in combination with OVX effected an 8% reduction in vertebral BMD that was not associated with any significant alterations in parameters of vertebral cancellous bone microstructure or remodeling compared with the 0.9% Ca sham-operated pigs. Increases in serum PTH noted in the 0.5% Ca OVX group were generally paralleled by increases in calcitriol. In OVX pigs fed a diet containing 0.75% Ca, a 10% reduction in vertebral BMD was observed. This was associated with significant increases in F.E.De and vertebral marrow star volume (Ma.St.V) compared with the 0.9% Ca sham-operated pigs and the other OVX groups. In addition, Tb.Sp was increased and Tb.N decreased compared with the 0.9% Ca sham-operated pigs. Increases in serum PTH in this group were not accompanied by increases in calcitriol. Midradial and midfemoral BMD values were reduced in the 0.75 and 0.5% Ca OVX groups compared with the 0.9% Ca sham-operated pigs. Histomorphometric analyses of cortical bone suggested the reduction in cortical bone mass in the 0.75% Ca OVX group may have been largely due to net loss on the endocortical surface versus possible failure to accrue bone in the 0.5% Ca OVX group. Ash density and biomechanical parameters for vertebral cancellous bone decreased progressively in the 0.9% sham-operated, 0.9% Ca OVX, and 0.75% Ca OVX groups and then increased in the 0.5% Ca OVX group. After normalization for bone mass (ash), mechanical changes were still apparent, particularly for the 0.75% Ca OVX group compared with other OVX groups, reflecting that structural changes had taken place in the trabecular network.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

The objective of this study was to characterize the changes associated with intravenous infusions of large volumes of isotonic saline solution in rats so that effects of the infusion process could be more easily distinguished from effects of test articles. Male SpragueDawley rats weighing approximately 225-275 g at the beginning of the study were given intravenous infusions of isotonic saline solution once daily for 30 consecutive days at dosages of 40 or 80 ml/kg body weight. Saline solution was administered through catheters placed in the caudal veins of the tail according to one of the following regimens: 80 ml/kg at 0.25 ml/min; 80 ml/kg at 0.5 ml/min; 80 ml/kg at 1.0 ml/min; and 40 ml/kg at 1.0 ml/min. Control rats were catheterized but not administered intravenous fluids.One day following the last treatment, all rats were necropsied and major organs were collected in 10% formalin. Histologic lesions associated with treatment included increased incidence and severity of pulmonary periarterial infiltrates of eosinophils, multifocal pulmonary inflammation, pulmonary granulomas that often contained hairshaft fragments, endothelial hypertrophy and hyperplasia within pulmonary arterial vessels, and pulmonary arterial medial thickening. Infiltrates of eosinophils around small pulmonary arteries were more severe in rats given intravenous infusions than in untreated rats and were more severe in rats given isotonic saline at the 80-ml/kg dosage than at the 40-ml/kg dosage. The severity of periarterial infiltrates of eosinophils increased with increasing infusion rates in rats that received 80 ml/kg isotonic saline. Pulmonary granulomas and multifocal pulmonary inflammation were observed in more rats that received intravenous saline than in control rats, but their incidences did not appear to vary with the volume or rate of infusion. Multifocal endothelial hypertrophy and hyperplasia occurred in most rats given isotonic saline solution at all volumes and rates, but not in untreated control rats. Inflammatory lesions in the tail near the injection site were considered sequellae of catheter insertion that, in some instances, may have been exacerbated by intravenous saline infusion. There were no lesions in other organs that were attributable to intravenous infusions of isotonic saline solution.

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