Background: Paricalcitol has been proposed for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with renal failure and vitamin D deficiency (VDD); however, VDD is related to a range of clinical complaints. We aimed to investigate the effects of paricalcitol on body composition in VDD rats.
Methods: Thirty adult male rats aged 10 weeks were randomly divided into three groups of 10, comprising control, VDD, and VDD plus paricalcitol (32 ng/rat intraperitoneal injection) (VDD+P), at the Animal Lab of the Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Shiraz, Iran, in 2020. Body composition was assessed after three weeks via serum biochemical tests and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Finally, the data were analyzed by using the paired-sample t test, the one-way ANOVA, and the Tukey post hoc test.
Results: Global lean mass and fat mass were lower in the VDD and VDD+P groups than in the controls (P<0.001). Global fat percentage was reduced significantly in the VDD+P group (P=0.029).
Conclusion: Paricalcitol reduced global fat mass and fat percentage in a rat model with VDD. Evaluation of insulin and adiponectin levels is suggested to clarify the physiology of paricalcitol in VDD states.
Keywords: Body composition; Calcium; Rats; Vitamin D.
Copyright: © Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences.