Abstract
Fracture healing in alcoholics is delayed and often associated with infections resulting in prolonged rehabilitation. It has been reported that binge drinking of alcohol increases oxidative stress and delays fracture healing in rats, which is prevented by treatment with the antioxidant n-acetyl cysteine (NAC). Oxidative stress is a significant factor in pathologies of various organs resulting from chronic alcoholism. Therefore, we hypothesize that treatment with NAC reduces oxidative stress and restores fracture healing in chronic alcoholics. Rats (10months old) were pair-fed the Lieber-DeCarli ethanol (EtOH) diet or control diet for 16weeks. A closed fracture was performed and rats allowed to recover for 72hours. Rats were divided into 4 groups-control, control+NAC, EtOH, and EtOH+NAC-and injected intraperitoneally with 200mg/kg of NAC daily for 3days. Serum and bone fracture callus homogenates were collected and assayed for traditional markers of inflammation, oxidative stress, and bone regeneration. The oxidative stress marker malondialdehyde (MDA) was increased in both serum and bone tissue in EtOH-fed animals compared to controls. NAC treatment significantly (p<0.01) reduced MDA to near normal levels and dramatically increased the index of antioxidant efficacy (catalase/MDA ratio) (p<0.01). Inflammatory markers tumor necrosis factor-α, interferon-γ, and interleukin-6 were significantly decreased in serum and callus following NAC treatment. NAC treatment reduced EtOH-induced bone resorption as evidenced by significant decreases in C-telopeptide of type-I-collagen levels (p<0.05) and band-5 tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase levels in the tissue (p<0.001). Oxidative stress and excessive inflammation are involved in the inhibition of fracture healing by EtOH. In this study, early short-term treatment of EtOH-fed animals with the antioxidant NAC reduced oxidative stress and normalized the innate immune response to fracture in the early phase of fracture healing, thereby restoring the normal onset of bone regeneration.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
