The effect of L-dopa on the healing of a rat mandibular defect

Abstract

aPurpose This study was designed to evaluate the effect of L-dopa on healing of a surgically created bony defect in the adult male rat.Materials and Methods Thirty-six animals underwent surgery to create a 4mm circular defect in the left mandibular angle. They were then randomly divided into two equal groups, one receiving 0.2 g/kg/day of L-dopa for 10 days by orogastric gavage, the other group acting as a control. Six experimental and six control animals were killed at 2 weeks, and five experimental and six control animals were killed at 4 and 6 weeks postoperation. Healing was classified as complete, partial, or incomplete based on gross and radiographic observations.Results Gross observation of the experimental mandibles showed five completely healed defects (31.25%), five partially healed defects (31.25%), and six defects with no healing (37.5%). Control mandibles showed three defects with partial healing (16.67%) and 15 with no healing (83.33%). Radiographs were taken of randomly chosen mandibles in each control and experimental group. Of the six experimental mandibles, one showed no healing, three showed partial healing, and two showed complete healing of the defect. The six control mandibles showed three defects with no bone formation and three with partial healing.Conclusions The data from this study indicate that L-dopa had a promoting effect on the bony healing of defects in the rat mandible.