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Moderately High Consumption of Ethanol Suppresses Bone Resorption in Ovariectomized but not in Sexually Intact Adult Female Rats
Author(s) -
Fanti P.,
MonierFaugere M.C.,
Geng Z.,
Cohen D.,
Malluche H.H.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1997.tb04266.x
Subject(s) - ovariectomized rat , endocrinology , medicine , bone resorption , sham surgery , resorption , ethanol , osteoporosis , osteoclast , menopause , estrogen , bone remodeling , chemistry , receptor , alternative medicine , organic chemistry , pathology
Epidemiological studies suggest that moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages may be beneficial for bone in postmenopausal women. To investigate prospectively these uncontrolled obsewations, female rats were divided in four groups of 10 animals each and treated with 1) ovariectomy (OVX) and 2.5% ethanol diet (OVX‐ETOH group), 2) OVX and control diet (OVX‐C group), 3) sham surgery and 25% ethanol diet (SHAM‐ETOH group), or 3) sham surgery and control diet (SHAM‐C group). Three weeks after surgery, bone histomor‐phometfy revealed that the OVX‐C group, as expected, had lower trabecular bone volume and higher parameters of bone formation and resorption than the SHAM‐C group (p < 0.01). Intake of ethanol did not change these parameters in the SHAM rats, but in the OVX rats it was associated with sharp reduction in parameters of bone resorption (p < 0.01) without a concomitant effect on parameters of bone formation. The cytokines are believed to contribute to accelerated bone resorption during the early postmenopausal period. Indeed, the peripheral blood monocybc cells (PBMC) from the OVX‐C rats produced higher amounts of TNF‐α than the PBMC from the SHAM‐C rats (p < 0.05) and administration of ethanol prevented this increase in OVX rats but had no effect in SHAM rats. In summary, short‐tetm intake of moderate doses of ethanol was associated with markedly different eftects in rats with and without ovarian function. Although ethanol had no significant effect on the bone tissue and TNF‐α production of the SHAM rats, it was associated with markedly lower parameters of bone resorption and less TNF‐α production in the OVX animals. This suggests that exposure to low‐dose ethanol may protect from osteopenia following cessation of ovarian function.