Abstract
The goal of this study was to assess the effect of the intermittent combination of an antiresorptive agent (calcitonin) and an anabolic agent (vitamin D-3) on treating the detrimental effects of Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) on mandibular bone formation and growth. Forty 3-week-old male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: the control group (normal rats), the control C+D group (normal rats injected with calcitonin and vitamin D-3), the diabetic C+D group (diabetic rats injected with calcitonin and vitamin D-3) and the diabetic group (uncontrolled diabetic rats). An experimental DM condition was induced in the male Wistar rats in the diabetic and diabetic C+D groups using a single dose of 60 mg.kg(-1) body weight of streptozotocin. Calcitonin and vitamin D-3 were simultaneously injected in the rats of the control C+D and diabetic C+D groups. All rats were killed after 4 weeks, and the right mandibles were evaluated by micro-computed tomography and histomorphometric analysis. Diabetic rats showed a significant deterioration in bone quality and bone formation (diabetic group). By contrast, with the injection of calcitonin and vitamin D-3, both bone parameters and bone formation significantly improved (diabetic C+D group) (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that these two hormones might potentially improve various bone properties.