A NON-HUMAN PRIMATE MODEL FOR THE STUDY OF OSTEOPOROSIS AND ORAL BONE LOSS

Osteoporosis is a morbid clinical condition of ill-defined pathogenesis in which there is progressive and inexorable loss of skeletal mass rendering bone increasingly vulnerable to fracture after minimal trauma. In addition to osteoporosis, loss of bone from the oral skeleton or the maxillofacial complex also significantly impacts the health and quality of life of patients, most often the elderly. Oral bone loss most commonly results from periodontal disease, resorption of alveolar ridges following tooth extraction, or combinations of both. Periodontal disease is caused in part by bacterial pathogens adherent to the dentition and other oral surfaces. There is now significant interest in the interrelationship of systemic osteoporosis to both periodontal disease and other forms of oral bone loss. This is in part because both diseases, while extracting significant morbidity and mortality, are often studied in isolation, thus their relationship is unknown. This paper will focus on the development of an animal model which is uniquely suited for the study of both osteoporosis and oral bone loss. Malluche et al., 1992, have conducted and reviewed many of the most widely used animal models for research in osteoporosis, along with their associated advantages and disadvantages. Data from their studies and those of Roach et al., 1989, and others have shown, however, a need for animals which develop both systemic and oral bone loss and thus can serve as models to expand our knowledge of the relationship of both diseases. In this paper we report data from studies of the baboon which show the development of ovarian dysfunction with advancing age, along with loss of systemic and oral bone mass similar to the osteoporosis syndrome of humans. These data support the utility of the baboon as a model of age related systemic and oral bone loss.