Abstract
The objective of this study is to determine the effect ics. of long-term alcohol consumption on bone morphology and composition. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed one of three diets (alcohol, pair-fed, or chow) for 18 months. The rats were sacrificed 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 months after feeding was initiated. Using right femurs and left tibias, morphological data, wet-weight, percent water, and volume were determined. Throughout a drying and ashing period, dry weight, fat-free weight, percent fat, ash weight, and ash weight per unit volume were found. Using a spectrophotometer, calcium as percent ash and milligrams per gram, and percent mineral were calculated. A decrease in longitudinal growth, in the alcohol-fed animals, was found in the early weeks of the experiment with a trend of values merging to normal as the animals aged. Similar data were observed in wet weight, dry weight, fat-free weight, and ash weight. Examination of ash weight per unit volume and percent ash, which should be essentially mineral, reveal data contradictory to that initially observed. There is not a merging period in which alcohol-treated animals reach the same mineral content as non-treated animals. At each measurement femur density is significantly less in alcohol-treated animals than in untreated animals, supporting reports of alcohol effects on bone mass that have been repeatedly confirmed. The mechanism behind the effect alcohol has on bone continues to remain unclear. There is substantial evidence to support the idea that alcohol consumption at an early age seems to slow the rate of growth and that chronic use of alcohol prevents optimal bone growth.
Hebert, Valerie Anne (1998). Changes in bone morphology and composition following long-term alcohol consumption. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -1998 -THESIS -H42.