WOUND-HEALING AROUND ENDOSSEOUS IMPLANTS IN EXPERIMENTAL DIABETES

Wound healing has been shown to be altered in diabetes mellitus. The a im of this study was to identify the effects of streptozotocin-induced diabetes on osseointegration. Diabetes was induced in 40-day-old rats by intraperitoneal injection of 70 mg per kg streptozotocin. At 14 da ys postinjection, implants were placed in the femora of 10 diabetic an d 10 age-matched normal rats. Animals were sacrificed at 28 and 56 day s following implantation. Histometric results indicated that the quant ity of bone formation was similar for diabetic and control animals (P > .05). However, less bone-implant contact was observed for diabetic c ompared to control animals at both 28 and 56 clays (P < .0001). This s tudy demonstrates that the process of osseointegration is affected by streptozotocin-induced diabetes.