Inhibition of bone resorption by pamidronate cannot restore normal gain in cortical bone mass and strength in tail-suspended rapidly growing rats.

To clarify how the changes in bone formation and resorption affect bone volume and strength after mechanical unloading, the effect of inhibition of bone resorption by a potent bisphosphonate, pamidronate, on bone mineral density (BMD), histology, and strength of hind limb bones was examined using tail-suspended growing rats. Tail suspension for 14 days reduced the gain in the BMD of the femur at both the metaphysis rich in trabecular bone and the diaphysis rich in cortical bone. Treatment with pamidronate increased the total BMD as well as that of the metaphysis of the femur but had almost no effect on the BMD of the diaphysis in both control and tail-suspended rats. Histological examinations revealed that 14-day tail suspension caused a loss of secondary cancellous bone with a reduction in the trabecular number and thickness in comparison with control rats. In the femoral diaphysis, the diameter and cortical bone thickness increased to a lesser degree in tail-suspended rats when compared with rats without tail suspension, and a marked reduction in bone formation and the layers of alkaline phosphatase-positive cells was observed at the periosteal side. Pamidronate treatment increased secondary cancellous bone but could not restore normal growth-induced periosteal bone apposition and bone strength. Because the material strength of the femoral diaphysis at the tissue level was not affected by pamidronate treatment, the inability of pamidronate to prevent the reduction in physical strength of the femoral diaphysis does not appear to be due to a change in the quality of newly formed bone. These results demonstrate that tail suspension reduces the growth-induced periosteal modelling drift and that the antiresorptive agent pamidronate is unable to restore normal periosteal bone apposition.