Ndabenzinhle Mngoma; Diana Pillay & Akaashni Bhika

The impact of light, moderate, and heavy alcohol exposure on bone health has been investigated. However, there is a lack of literature concerning the effects of binge alcohol consumption on skeletal health in adolescents. Therefore, our study aimed to investigate how chronic binge alcohol consumption affects the development of femurs in adolescent Sprague Dawley rats. The study comprised of using seven-week-old Sprague Dawley rats (n = 12), randomly divided into two groups: the alcohol group, which received 20 % alcohol at 3g/kg body weight, and the pair-fed control group, which received an isocaloric equivalent of maltose dextrin through oral gavage for four weeks (administered three days a week on alternate days). To assess trabeculae in both the proximal and distal epiphysis and measure the femur's cortical dimensions, we employed three-dimensional micro-Focus X-ray computed tomography (3D-mCT) and volume graphics studio® software. Additionally, a three-point bending test was performed to examine the effects of alcohol on bone strength. The results indicated disturbances in the trabecular morphometry of the proximal epiphysis in rats exposed to alcohol. However, the trabecular morphometry in the distal epiphysis remained unaffected. Osteometric measurements did not show significant changes due to chronic binge alcohol consumption, and the tensile strength of the bones was also unaffected. These findings suggest that chronic binge alcohol consumption may have detrimental effects specifically on the trabeculae in the proximal epiphysis.

KEY WORDS: Adolescent femur; Chronic binge alcohol; Epiphysis; Tensile strength; Trabecular.

MNGOMA, N.; PILLAY, D. & BHIKA, A. The effects of chronic binge alcohol consumption on the development of the femur of adolescent Sprague Dawley rats. Int. J. Morphol., 42(6):1694-1699, 2024.