Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan.
Rheumatology (Oxford). 2012 May;51(5):789-93. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/ker197. Epub 2011 Jul 8.
To investigate the effects of an anti-platelet drug (clopidogrel) on the prevention of steroid-induced osteonecrosis (ON) in rabbits.
Adult male Japanese white rabbits were divided into two groups and treated as follows: one group received daily clopidogrel mixed in normal saline (AP; n = 35), the other received only normal saline (NS; n = 30). One week after the administration, all rabbits were injected once intramuscularly with 20 mg/kg of methylprednisolone acetate into the right gluteus medius muscle. Three weeks after, both the femora and humeri were examined histopathologically for the presence of ON. The platelet aggregation assay and hematological examinations were performed before and after the steroid injection.
The incidence of ON in the AP group (48.5%) was significantly lower than that observed in the NS group (73.3%). The platelet aggregations in the AP group were significantly inhibited by the administration of clopidogrel. The levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides showed no significant differences between the AP and NS group.
The present experimental study demonstrated that the administration of an anti-platelet drug prevented steroid-induced ON in rabbits and that platelet aggregation seems to be one of the possible factors involved in the pathogenesis of steroid-induced ON.
研究抗血小板药物（氯吡格雷）对预防兔激素诱导性骨坏死（ON）的作用。
成年雄性日本白兔分为两组，分别给予以下处理：一组每日给予氯吡格雷混合生理盐水（AP；n=35），另一组仅给予生理盐水（NS；n=30）。给药 1 周后，所有兔子均在右侧臀中肌单次肌肉注射 20mg/kg 的醋酸甲泼尼龙。3 周后，对股骨和肱骨进行组织病理学检查，以确定是否存在 ON。在激素注射前后进行血小板聚集试验和血液学检查。
AP 组（48.5%）的 ON 发生率明显低于 NS 组（73.3%）。氯吡格雷给药后，AP 组的血小板聚集明显受到抑制。AP 组和 NS 组的总胆固醇和甘油三酯水平无显著差异。
本实验研究表明，抗血小板药物的给药可预防兔激素诱导性 ON，血小板聚集可能是激素诱导性 ON 发病机制中的一个可能因素。
