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Mechanical Properties of Femoral Diaphysis and Femoral Neck of Female Rats Chronically Exposed to Various Levels of Cadmium

Calcified Tissue International volume 76, pages 287–298 (2005)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 14 February 2007

Abstract

The effect of chronic exposure to cadmium (Cd) on the mechanical properties of femoral diaphysis and femoral neck was investigated on a rat model of human exposure. Three-week-old female Wistar rats were exposed to Cd in drinking water at concentrations of 1, 5, 50, or 100 mg/L for 12 months. Biomechanical properties of the femoral diaphysis were evaluated in a three-point bending test and those of the femoral neck in a bending test with vertical loading of the head. Bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) at the whole femur, and BMD at the diaphysis and proximal femur (head and neck region) of the Cd-treated rats decreased in a dose-dependent manner, except for the diaphyseal BMD at a Cd concentration of 1 mg/L. Exposure to Cd concentrations of 1 and 5 mg/L had only little effect on the diaphyseal mechanical properties (decreased yield load with unchanged bending strength, stiffness, yield stress, ultimate stress, and Young modulus), whereas the bending strength and stiffness of the neck decreased and the yield load clearly tended to decline or declined. The effect of Cd at the two locations was more marked in the 50 and 100 mg/L groups, and changes in the bone geometry were observed in these animals. The results clearly revealed that chronic, even low-level, exposure to Cd results in demineralization and weakening of the femur. The femoral neck seems to be more vulnerable than the diaphysis to failure from Cd. We conclude that environmental exposure to Cd may be an important risk factor for femoral neck fracture.

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Acknowledgment

The present study was supported by the Grant (No. 6PO5D 093 20) from the Committee for Scientific Research (KBN, Poland).

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Toxicology, Medical University of Białystok, Mickiewicza 2C, Białystok, 15-222, Poland

    M. M. Brzóska & J. Moniuszko-Jakoniuk

  2. Chair of Food Plant Chemistry and Processing, Faculty of Food Science, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Plac Cieszyński 1, Olsztyn, 10-957, Poland

    K. Majewska

Authors
  1. M. M. Brzóska
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  2. K. Majewska
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  3. J. Moniuszko-Jakoniuk
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. M. Brzóska.

Additional information

The results were in small part presented at the 31st European Symposium on Calcified Tissues, Nice, France, 5–9 June 2004, with abstract published in Calcif Tissue Int 2004;74 (Suppl. 1):S68.

An erratum to this article is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-006-1025-z.

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Brzóska, M.M., Majewska, K. & Moniuszko-Jakoniuk, J. Mechanical Properties of Femoral Diaphysis and Femoral Neck of Female Rats Chronically Exposed to Various Levels of Cadmium. Calcif Tissue Int 76, 287–298 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-004-0089-x

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Keywords

  • Cadmium
  • Femoral diaphysis
  • Femoral neck
  • Bone mineral density
  • Mechanical properties