الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common age-related joint degenerative disease, which is associated with post menopausal females. Therefore, this study was conducted to compare the effect of hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) (Oestrogen and Progesterone) and calcitonin administration on articular cartilage of the knee joints in murine model of osteoarthritis induced by ovariectomy. Thirty six female rats were divided into five groups. group I: control; group II: sham operated; group III: ovariectomized rats: group IV: ovariectomized then received HRT (for 4 and 8 weeks); GroupV: ovariectomized then received calcitonin (for 4 and 8 weeks). Half the rats of each group were sacrificed after 4 weeks and the other half after 8 weeks. Articular cartilage of knee joints were processed and stained with Haematoxylin and Eosin, Alcian blue, PAS and immunohistochemical staining of Bcl-2. Ovariectomy resulted in degeneration, apoptosis and deterioration of normal structure of articular cartilage, with decreased PAS reaction, decreased Alcian blue staining, and weak immunoreactivity for Bcl-2 when compared with the control and sham operated groups. Calcitonin and HRT supplementation after ovariectomy mostly prevented these changes. So it can be concluded that calcitonin can be used to protect against post menopausal osteoarthritis similar to HRT |