Nicotine impairs intra‐substance tendon healing after full thickness injury in a rat model

• DOI: 10.1002/jor.24167
• Publication Date: 2018-10-22T08:39:38Z
• Authors: Adnan N. Cheema; Joseph B. Newton; James F. Boorman‐...; Stephanie N. Weiss; Courtney A. Nuss; Daniel J. Gittings; Daniel C. Farber; Louis J. Soslowsky
• Keywords: Rat model

Nicotine is harmful to many bodily systems; however, the effects of nicotine on intra-substance tendon healing remain largely unexplored. The purpose this study was examine functional, structural, and biomechanical Achilles tendons in rats after an acute full-thickness injury. Sixty Sprague-Dawley were enrolled study. Half exposed 0.9% saline half 61 ng/mL for 3 months via subcutaneous osmotic pumps. At months, all underwent blunt full thickness transection left immobilized one week plantarflexion. In-vivo assays conducted prior injury, at 21 days, 42 days post-injury included following: Functional limb assessment, passive joint mechanics, vascular evaluation. Rats sacrificed testing histologic demonstrated decreased vascularity, greater alteration gait increased ROM ankle joint. Biomechanically, failed lower maximum loads, less stiff, had smaller cross-sectional areas altered viscoelastic properties. Histologically, vessel density injury site. This demonstrates that leads worse functional outcomes properties tendons. vascularity group may suggest underlying mechanism inferior healing. Patients should be counseled using products increase their risk poor predispose them re-rupture. © 2018 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res.