Exercise necessary for bone density

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This study suggests that at least 180 minutes of weight bearing exercise may

help forestall bone loss.

I run on a treadmill 6 days per week at a fast clip, and 3 times per week I lift

weight heavy weights rather intensely. I go all out.

Exercise can forestall osteoporosis

IMAGE: Dr. ph Cannon, Kellet Chair in Allied Health Sciences, presented

findings that higher levels of follicle-stimulating hormone decrease bone

density.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – The stage for osteoporosis is set well before menopause—but

exercise can help rewrite the script, according to Medical College of Georgia

researchers.

Declining estrogen levels have long been associated with osteoporosis, but bone

density starts to decline years before these levels drop, according to Dr.

ph Cannon, Kellet Chair in Allied Health Sciences and principal investigator

of the National Institute of Aging-funded study. It's during that time that

levels of follicle-stimulating hormone, released by the pituitary gland to help

regulate ovarian function, actually increase.

Cannon theorizes that higher levels of FSH decrease bone mineral density by

increasing cytokines, regulatory proteins produced by white blood cells. One

cytokine in particular, interleukin-1, signals certain cells to transform into

osteoclasts, which break down and resorb bone. " We hypothesize that the higher

levels of FSH decrease bone mineral density by influencing the production of

cytokines, " said Cannon, who presents his team's research at the American

Physiological Society's Experimental Biology 2010 conference in Anaheim, Calif.

April 24-28.

After measuring FSH and bone mineral density in 36 women between the ages of 20

to 50, the researchers correlated higher FSH levels with lower bone mineral

density. When they incubated FSH with white blood cells isolated from the women,

it stimulated production of interleukin-1. Moreover, higher circulating levels

of IL-1 correlated with lower bone mineral density, if the levels of

interleukin-1 inhibitory factors were taken into account.

Additionally, they found that study participants who exercised more than 180

minutes a week retained greater bone density.

" Our work provides more evidence that physical activity is important for

maintaining bone density. It's a case of 'use it or lose it,' " Cannon said,

citing his team's findings that exercise seemed to promote inhibitory factors

that help keep interleukin-1 and bone breakdown under control.

The team's next step is to determine how exercise influences the expression of

interleukin-1 inhibitory factors.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-04/mcog-ecf042610.php#