Background: Fenspiride is an antagonist of H1-histamine receptors that is used to treat acute and chronic respiratory tract infections and otitis media in children and adolescents.
Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the influence of long-term administration of fenspiride on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone turnover in young growing rats.
Material and methods: The experiment was carried out on 18 young (8-week-old) male Wistar rats receiving either fenspiride 15 mg/kg intragastrically (ig) (group F) or saline solution 4 mL/kg ig (group C) for 3 months. On days 1 and 93, blood samples were collected and serum levels of calcium, phosphorus and markers of bone turnover were measured. On days 2 and 92, BMD was measured with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) using small animal software.
Results: We detected no influence of fenspiride on weight gain, total body BMD (0.212 ±0.010 g/cm2 vs 0.204 ±0.024 g/cm2), hind limb BMD (0.264 ±0.016 g/cm2 vs 0.252 ±0.027 g/cm2), or bone macroscopic parameters. There were no significant differences between group F and group C in serum levels of osteocalcin (group F: 0.42 ±0.09 ng/mL vs group C: 0.43 ±0.08 ng/mL), C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (F: 0.31 ±0.08 ng/mL vs C: 0.29 ±0.08 ng/mL), osteoprotegerin (F: 5.47 ±0.78 pg/mL vs C: 5.35 ±1.65 pg/mL), receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (F: 0.65 ±0.85 pg/mL vs C: 0.56 ±0.86 pg/mL), parathormone (F: 237 ±182 pg/mL vs C: 289 ±200 pg/mL), total calcium (F: 6.38 ±1.50 mg/dL vs C: 6.83 ±1.71 mg/dL), or inorganic phosphorus (F: 5.19 ±1.76 mg/dL vs C: 5.50 ±1.32 mg/dL).
Conclusions: Long-term administration of fenspiride has no negative impact on BMD and bone metabolism in young growing rats.
Keywords: bone; bone mineral density; fenspiride; histamine; rats.