Reduction by Calciphylaxis of the Effects of Chronic Dihydrotachysterol Overdosage upon the Periodontium

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Abstract
Forty female Holtzman rats, mean initial body weight 215 g, were subdivided into 4 groups. Group 1 was given dihydrotachysterol (DHT) (Calcamin) in a daily dosage of 50 ug in 0.5 ml corn oil by mouth. Group II received DHT plus an intraperitoneal injection of FeCotD3 with dextran (Fe-Dex) (Imposil) in amounts equivalent to 50 [mu]g of metallic Fe in 1 ml of water intraperitoneally every 5 days beginning on the fifth day after the initiation of DHT treatment. Group HI was given Fe-Dexalone; Group IV was untreated for control. The DHT-treated animals developed a progeria-like syndrome which consisted of wrinkled skin, ruffled and sparse hair, weight loss, pronounced kyphosis and malocclusion. Microscopically the DHT-treated animals presented osteosclerosis of the alveolar bone, buccal and lingual ex-ostoses, pronounced deposition of osteoid, hypercementosis with spike formation, calcification and degeneration of the periodontal ligament which in extreme instances was almost completely disintegrated and replaced with newly formed osteoid and cementoid. Tooth eruption was retarded. Intraperitoneal administration of Fe-Dex induced calciphylaxis which reduced the toxic effects of DHT upon the periodontium. The Fe-Dex alone group was unaltered.