Effect of running exercise on the bone loss induced by orchidectomy in the rat

Abstract

The effect of exercise on castration-induced osteoporosis in 3-month-old male rats weighing 264±4 g at the beginning of the experiment was studied. A testosterone deficiency was induced by orchidectomy (ORC), and the exercise group ran 10 m/minute for 1 hour a day on a treadmill at 0% grade. There were seven groups of eight rats (n=56) randomized into a control group killed at time 0, and sham, ORC and ORC and exercise groups killed at 4 and 8 weeks. ORC reduced body weight gain (with analysis of variance (ANOVA) P<0.001), and at 4 weeks the body weight was 343±14 g in ORC group and 301±4 g in the ORC and exercise group (P<0.01). The increase in femoral length was slower in the ORC+exercise groups. The ash weight of the tibia did not decrease significantly after ORC or ORC+ exercise. ORC did not affect ⁴⁵Ca incorporation, but exercise slightly increased it in the whole tibia 8 weeks after ORC (with ANOVA P=0.057). ORC had significantly lowered the trabecular bone volume in the secondary spongiosa of the distal femur at 4 and 8 weeks, and exercise did not prevent this. This is an opposite finding to our previous study with ovariectomized female rats [12]. ORC also significantly had reduced the osteoblast-lined trabecular bone surface and the number of osteoclasts by 8 weeks after the operation. Exercise increased the osteoblast-lined surface and the number of osteoclasts. The mechanical strength of the femoral neck also was reduced after ORC and this was not prevented by exercise either. In conclusion, ORC reduces bone growth and turnover which leads to osteopenia in growing rats. Moderate treadmill exercise does not reverse the ORC-induced loss of trabecular bone and the reduced mechanical strength of the femoral neck, although it has a positive effect on the osteoblast and osteoclast indices and on calcium incorporation into bone.