Dietary ethanol does not accelerate bone loss in ovariectomized rats

The abuse of alcohol is a behavior that can significantly compromise skelet al health, Because postmenopausal women are already at risk for low bone ma ss and osteoporotic fracture, this investigation sought to determine whethe r high concentrations of dietary ethanol exacerbate the bone loss associate d with ovariectomy in rats, an animal model of human postmenopause. Six-mon th-old Sprague-Dawley rats were ovariectomized or sham-operated and randoml y divided into groups fed a modified Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet isocalorica lly supplemented with 0%, 13%, or 35% ethanol (by daily caloric intake), fo r a period of 2 months. All animals were injected with fluorochromes at the start, 2 weeks, and 2 days before sacrifice to label mineralizing bone sur faces. At sacrifice, blood, uterus, and tibiae were harvested, No differenc es in serum calcium or cholesterol were found, Serum creatinine was also fo und to be unvaried, indicating this level of alcohol consumption did not co mpromise liver function, Dietary alcohol consumption at 35% of daily calori c intake was determined to increase tibial cortical medullary area and endo cortical perimeter, while not affecting cortical area and periosteal perime ter, Ovariectomy significantly increased indices of bone turnover and resul ted in cancellous bone loss, whereas alcohol consumption had no additional detrimental effects. This was a consistent patter for other indices of prox imal tibial architecture, In summary, this investigation has found that chr onic ingestion of high concentrations of alcohol does not accentuate bone l oss in ovarian hormone-deficient adult female rats.