Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a global health burden as no current treatment is agreed to be optimum. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of Azadirachta indica aqueous leaf extracts on gross morphology and histopathological changes in monosodium iodoacetate-induced (MIA) OA of TMJ of adult Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: Fifty-four male adult Wistar rats were randomly allocated into 6 groups: (1) Control, (2) MIA alone, (3) MIA + Steroid, (4) MIA +250 mg/kg A. indica , (5) 500 mg/kg A. indica , (6) MIA +1000 mg/kg A. indica . Morphological data collected were condylar head shape (CHS), condylar head length (CHL), condylar head width (CHW), and condylar head height (CHH). The histopathological data collected were condylar cartilage thickness (CCT), presence of subchondral cysts (SCC), inflammation score, and Mankin’s score. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were performed. Results: The CHS, CHW, CHL, and CHH remained unchanged across the experimental animals ( P > 0.05). The CCT was smaller ( P = 0.002) in the MIA group compared to the control group. There was a larger ( P = 0.01) number of SCCs in the MIA alone group than in the controls. The value of the inflammation score was higher ( P = 0.004) in the group that received MIA only compared to the control group. The value of Mankin’s score was higher ( P = 0.002) in the group that received MIA alone compared to the control group. Conclusion: The protective effect of A. indica against MIA-induced OA of TMJ was demonstrated by histopathological evaluation but not by morphological analysis in adult Wistar rat.
Edetanlen et al. (Fri,) studied this question.