Razi Journal of Medical Sciences

  Background : Rebuilding and renovation of lost bone whether because of physiologic or pathologic factors was one of the surgeons’ motivations from the past. Statins are commonly prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs however, it has recently been shown that they also have the beneficial side effect of enhancing bone matrix formation. As a result, this study evaluates the possible osteogenic effect of Simvastatin on the experimental femoral defect in rats.

  Methods: This experimental study was conducted on 30 male SD rats. Animals were divided randomly into 3 groups (control and experimental). After induction of general anesthesia, a 2mm hole was made using a dental bit in the width of the femur reaching the medullary channel. After surgery, the control group received orally physiological serum daily and experimental groups 1 and 2 respectively received daily 10 and 20 mg/kg/PO of Simvastatin. Histopathological and histomorphometrical studies for evaluation of bone healing were carried out in experimental rats, which were euthanized after 45 days of the experiment using hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining method. For data analysis ANOVA and Tukey tests along with SPSS version 18 was used.

  Results: In control group, defect seemed to be filled with woven bone and bone marrow spaces in spite of a poor osteogenic activity. In experiment groups, young bone trabeculae had increased in number and were more organized. Histomorphometric results observed that Simvastatin has significant effect on bone healing in experimental groups 2 and 3 than control group, but no significant effect was observed between groups that received low and high dosage of simvastatin.

  Conclusion: The results of this study show that Simvastatin could stimulate osteogenesis in rats.