EVALUATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF INDUCED OSTEOARTHRITIS IN RATS: DEVELOPMENT OF PARAMETERS FOR PRECLINICAL STUDIES

INTRODUCTION: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease of the joints that affects millions of people around the world, and is characterized by progressive loss of cartilage which leads to pain, stiffness, and limitation of movement. The Main Problem of Studying Osteoarthritis in humans is the complex logistics and ethical issue involved in studies with this species. Due to the peculiarity of the disease and different degrees of subjectivity, data tend to be collected only in advanced stages, which is a limiting factor for studies and human research. For this reason, experimental models in animals, such as the Experimental osteoarthritis in rats are a viable alternative for the study of the disease. Or The objective of this study is to establish parameters for the evaluation and characterization of the evolution of induced osteoarthritis in rats, producing scores for OA assessment, associating them with Evolution of the disease based on radiological examinations and histological analyses. In addition The interference of sex and correlations with the analyses of the tests will be evaluated will be carried out. METHOD: The animals will be submitted to induction of disease caused by injection of sodium monoiodine acetate (MIA) in the right knee, being divided into Three groups of animals: healthy (5 animals), positive control (30 animals induced and treated with meloxican, 10mg/kg, by gavage, once a day) and negative control (30 animals induced and untreated)