Potential antiosteoporosis effect of biodegradable magnesium implanted in STZ‐induced diabetic rats

Abstract Pure magnesium (Mg) was implanted intramedullary into the femur of streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced diabetic rats to investigate its effect on bone growth after 6 weeks degradation. The experimental results showed that the femoral BMD in diabetic rats was significantly lower than that in controls (p < 0.01) but restored notably by Mg implantation. The contents of calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), Mg, zinc (Zn), potassium (K), strontium (Sr), and sulfur (S) in bone of diabetic group were significantly lower than those in controls but remarkably increased with implantation of Mg. The residual weight calculation showed that 29.41% of Mg was degraded in vivo. The energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis showed that the reaction layer on the surface of the Mg implant mainly consisted of C, Ca, O, P, and Mg. Besides, serum Mg level was significantly decreased in diabetic group compared with the control group but increased by Mg treatment. Also, there were no significant differences in body weight and blood glucose, as well as blood glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAIc%), serum Ca, alanine aminitransperase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), uric acid (UA), nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA), cholinesterase (CHE), and creatinine (CR) levels between diabetic and Mg‐implanted rats. The study indicated that Mg implant had no obvious toxicity in STZ‐induced diabetic rats and may act as a potential agent to treat osteoporosis. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A:, 2011.