Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

Fall 12-4-2019

Faculty Advisor(s)

Frank Frisch

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a disease that causes the density and quality of bone to be decreased, which can increase the risk of fracture by 40%. 1 in 3 women over the age of 50 will be affected by osteoporosis. This study aimed to show how bone strength and distal femur trabecular thickness might be affected by Zoledronate and sleep-deprivation in estrogen-deficient rats. Wistar female rats were ovariectomized to contrive postmenopausal estrogen-deficiency. The rats were separated into 4 groups. The control group (C, n=4) was given an intraperitoneal (IP) injection of 0.45 mL of 0.9% saline, were housed in standard conditions permitting 12 hours light and 12 hours dark. The Zoledronate (Z, n=8) were given an IP injection of 50ug/kg of 10% Zoledronate and housed in standard conditions with a 12 hour light/dark cycle. The sleep-deprived group (SD, n=8) were given the same IP injection as the rats in C but were housed in chambers that did not permit sleep for 18 hours, then moved to sleep chambers for 6 hours. The sleep-deprived Zoledronate group (SDZ, n=8) experienced the same sleep deprivation as the SD group but received an IP injection of 50ug/kg body weight of 10% Zoledronate. After 5 weeks, tibiae and femora were harvested, wrapped in saline-soaked gauze and stored at -80F until a 3-point bending test, high-resolution micro-CT and peripheral computed tomography was done. The SD group showed reduced bone strength compared to the SDZ group (162.21N and 165.97N, respectively; N.S). The SDZ group also showed improved distal femur trabecular thickness compared to the SD group (75.5 microns and 68.375 microns, respectively; p<0.05). The value of bisphosphonates is well documented. We attempted to illuminate the value of bisphosphonates in sleep-deprived environments in the hopes of evaluating the efficacy and potential therapy for executive women who consistently work in sleep-deprived states. Our findings are equivocal but encouraging to pursue studies of longer duration.

Comments

Presented at the Fall 2019 Student Scholar Symposium at Chapman University.

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