Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and the often concurrent obesity, causes metabolic changes that affect many organs and tissues, including bone. Despite a normal or even higher bone mineral density (BMD), T2DM has often been associated with a higher fracture risk, indicating a compromised bone quality. In this work, we use a novel congenic leptin receptor-deficient BioBreeding Diabetes Resistant rat (BBDR.cg.lepr.cp) to investigate the impact of T2DM and obesity on bone morphology and architecture at the microscale. Two different anatomical locations, i.e., femur and cranium, were studied combining micro-computed X-ray tomography (micro-CT) with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Micro-CT data were examined using advanced image analysis tools in three-dimensions (3D).Introduction and Objective
Materials and Methods