Papel del manganeso y del cobre en la prevención de la osteoporosis postmenopáusica

The present study explores effect of manganese (Mn) alone and in combination with copper (Cu) about prevention of postmenopausal bone loss. Four groups of fifteen 100-day-old female Wistar rats were study. The groups were Iabelled according to what type of diet the animals received: two experimental groups of fifteen ovariectomized rats (OVX) each, were fed suppiemented diet; 49 mg/kg of Mn per kilogram of feed corresponded to OVX+Mn group and 40 mg/kg of Mn plus 15 mgkg of Cu corresponded to OVX+Mn+Cu group. Another group of fifteen OVX rats and fifteen Sham-OVX rats did not receive supplements. A€ the conclusion of the 30-day experiment, the rats were sacrificed and their femurs and the 52h lumbar vertebrae were dissected. Femoral and vertebral length were measured with a caliper and bones were weighed on a precision balance. The bone mineral content (BMC), and density (BMD), of the femur (F-BMC mg and F-BMD mgIcm2) and the 5th lumbar vertebrae (V-BMC mg and V-BMC mglcm2) were measured separately with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. The F-BMD mglcm2 was lower in the OVX group than in the Sham-OVX (p< 0.0001) and in the remaining two groups (p<: 0.005 in both). The FBMC mg was significatively lower in the OVX group than in the rest (pc 0.0001 in all). The V-BMC mg and V-BMD mglcm2 data could be extrapolated on those observed in the femurs. Rats have been validated as an experimental model for studies on human bone disorders and the use of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for bone mas determinations in small animals has been also verified. The data showed that Mn supplement is efficient in the prevention of postmenopausal bone loss, both, at the axial and peripheral levels, and that this effect is not potentiated by the addition of Cu to the diet.