Effects of electromagnetic pulse on bone metabolism of mice in vivo.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) on bone metabolism of mice in vivo. METHODS: Twenty-four male BALB/c mice were divided into a control group and 2 experimental groups (n=8). The whole-body of mice in experimental groups were exposed to 50 kV/m and 400kV/m EMP, 400 pulses daily for 7 consecutive days at 2 seconds intervals. Alkaline phosphotase (ALP) activity, serum calcium concentration and osteocalcin level and trabecular bone volume (BV/TV, %) were measured immediately after EMP exposure by biochemical, ELISA and morphological methods. RESULTS: The ALP activity, serum calcium concentration and osteocalcin level and BV/TV in experimental groups remained unchanged after EMP exposure. Conclusion Under our experimental conditions, EMP exposure cannot affect bone metabolism of mice in vivo.