# EFFECTS OF AGING AND EXERCISE ON BONE MASS

> **NIH NIH R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 1990 · $93,109

## Abstract

Loss of bone mass with aging and consequent increase in fracture incidence
among the elderly is a major medical and societal problem.  There is
currently no accepted treatment for type II, or age-related (senile)
osteoporosis.  Physical exercise has been suggested as a possible treatment
for or preventive measure against age-related bone loss, but most past
studies have been compromised by lack of sufficient controls.  Also,
several important issues regarding the interaction between exercise
treatment and other factors have been inadequately studied.  In this
investigation, the Beagle dog, which has been shown to lose bone with aging
in a manner similar to that of humans, will be used as a model to study the
effects of increased physical exercise on bone mass in a controlled
environment.  24 female Beagles in a laboratory colony ranging in age from
8 to 13 years, equivalent to humans in the sixth through eighth decades,
will be subjected to 20 minutes per day of graded treadmill running for 8
months.  The effects of the treatment will be evaluated in vivo using dual
energy photon absorptiometry or quantitative digital radiography, and
computed tomography.  Using these techniques, bone mineral content of the
distal and midshaft femur, lumbar vertebrae, and mandible-maxillae, and
cortical geometry of the midshaft femur will be determined 12 months prior
to treatment, at the beginning and end of treatment, and 8 months after
treatment.  Individual pre-treatment baseline rates of change in these
parameters will be compared with rates of change during treatment and post-
treatment periods.  Activity levels of the animals in all periods will also
be monitored.  The long-term goal of the study is to determine if
moderately strenuous physical exercise can be used to treat or prevent age-
related bone loss.  The influence of several specific factors on the
efficacy of exercise treatment will be investigated:  initial subject age
and relative activity level or baseline increases in mechanical loading,
and response to deconditioning following an exercise treatment period.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3121259
- **Project number:** 1R01AG009412-01
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **SAM.gov UEI:** FTMTDMBR29C7
- **Principal Investigator:** CORALEASE RUFF
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1990
- **Award amount:** $93,109
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 1990-05-01 → 1993-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3121259

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3121259, EFFECTS OF AGING AND EXERCISE ON BONE MASS (1R01AG009412-01). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3121259. Licensed CC0.

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