Abstract
The influence of diabetes on the implant-bone interface of titanium (Ti) implants, inserted transcortically and extending into the medullary canal of rat tibiae, was examined, and the differences in bone reaction were quantitatively assessed using an image processing system. Thirty male Wister King A rats (aged 5 weeks) were used in this experiment, and they were divided into 2 groups, 15 for the control and 15 for the diabetes-induced (DI) group. They were sacrificed 7, 28 and 84 days after implant placement. Toluidine blue-stained undecalcified sections were prepared for histological observation and image analysis. The Ti implants in the bone marrow area had been almost encapsulated in a thick bone layer. The Ti implants in the DI group had been partially surrounded by a thin bone layer, but the thickness of the surrounding bone had decreased. Quantitative evaluation indicated that the control group showed an increase of the percent of bone contact, the thickness of surrounding bone and the area of surrounding bone throughout the experimental period, while the DI group showed a decrease of the thickness of surrounding bone and the area of surrounding bone except for the percent of bone contact.
