Characteristics of an ovariectomized osteopenic rat model.

Although osteoporosis induced by ovariectomy (Ovx) in the rat has been widely used as a model for postmenopausal osteoporosis in humans, the findings of different investigators are not always consistent. This might be mainly due to differences in the age of the animals at Ovx, time after Ovx, and the variables measured. Therefore, in the present study, Ovx was performed at 4, 10, or 52 weeks and bone changes were observed in rats for 6 months. The effects of Ovx on body weight, femoral length, and femoral volume were marked in rats operated on at the age of 4 weeks, slight in rats operated on at the age of 52 weeks, and intermediate in rats operated on at the age of 10 weeks. A reduction in the ratio of cortical thickness to bone width at the midshaft of the femur was observed only in rats ovariectomized at 52 weeks of age. The specific gravity of the femur and the density of the metaphysis of the femur decreased after Ovx in all rats. The ratio of ash weight to dry weight of the femur, a measure of the normal calcification of bone, was unchanged shortly after Ovx but gradually decreased in all rats.