The effects of leukotriene receptor antagonist montelukast on histological, radiological and densitometric parameters of fracture healing

Objectives: In this study we evaluated the effects of montelukast, a leukotriene-receptor antagonist, on fracture healing, and investigated the hypothesis that enhanced fracture healing would be observed with montelukast in a rat tibia fracture model. Materials and methods: Sixty adult (6 months old) female Wistar albino rats (mean weight 220 g, range 210-270 g) were randomly divided into two groups: a montelukast group (n=30) and a control group (n=30). Closed tibia fractures were created and fixed by intramedullary Kirschner wire. The rats were sacrificed three and six weeks after the fractures. Radiological and histological evaluations were performed, and bone mineral density was measured. Results: Three rats died in the montelukast group, whereas only one died in the control group during the study. Initial weight and weight gain at the 3(rd) and 6(th) weeks were not significantly different between the groups (p>0.05). Bone mineral densities in the control and study groups were 0.13 +/- 0.009 gr/cm(2), and 0.13 +/- 0.01 gr/cm(2) at week three and 0.16 +/- 0.02 gr/cm(2), and 0.13 +/- 0.01 gr/cm(2) at week six, respectively. Histopathological scores in the control and study groups were 3.42 +/- 0.6, and 3.0 +/- 0.0 at week three and 3.5 +/- 0.5, and 3.4 +/- 0.8 at week six, respectively. Radiological scores in the control and study groups were 1.19 +/- 0.6, and 1.0 +/- 0.6 at week three and 3.0 +/- 0.8, and 2.9 +/- 0.9 at week six, respectively. There were no significant differences between the two groups in any parameters evaluated at either time interval (p>0.05). Conclusion: Our study failed to show a possible positive effect of leukotriene receptor inhibition on fracture healing at the 3(rd) and 6(th) postoperative weeks.