Andrus Viidik

THE ROLE OF ELASTIN IN THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF SKIN

The elastin fibers of rat skin samples were degraded by the use of a purified preparation of elastase to which soybean inhibitor was added, preventing the collagenolytic activity of the elastase on collagen. Control experiments ascertained degradation of elastin and no effect on collagen. The mechanical properties of the skin samples were studied before and after the enzymatic treatment and differences ascribed to the degraded elastin fibers. Elastin plays a role in the mechanical behaviour of rat skin at small stress values and small deformations. Especially, the elastin fibers are responsible for the recoiling mechanism after a stress or deformation has been applied.

Correlation Between the Compressive Strength of Iliac and Vertebral Trabecular Bone in Normal Individuals

Intrabone and interbone variations and age-related changes in vertical and horizontal trabecular bone compressive strength (CS) were evaluated for loadbearing (vertebral) and nonloadbearing (iliac crest) trabecular bone from 30 normal individuals, 17 females and 13 males, aged 15-87 years. All had died suddenly. The vertebral bodies of Th6, L1, and L3 and the right and left iliac crests were frozen at -20 degrees C immediately after removal. Cylindrical bone samples in the vertical and horizontal direction were taken from the frozen bone, and load-deformation curves were recorded by a materials testing machine. For all vertebral bodies, the vertical CS was much larger than the horizontal CS (P less than 0.01), whereas no significant difference was found for the iliac crests. The anisotropy expressed as an index of vertical to horizontal CS, therefore, was higher in the vertebrae than in the iliac crest. The anisotropy index (Al) increased with age in the vertebrae but not in the iliac crest (r = 0.56, P less than 0.01). Age related, almost identical decreases in CS were observed in the vertebrae (vertical direction) (r = 0.81, P less than 0.01) and in the iliac crest (horizontal direction) (r = -0.69, P less than 0.01). In spite of the pronounced differences in the architecture between the vertebral body and iliac trabecular bone, the vertical vertebral CS could be predicted from the horizontal iliac crest CS (r = 0.88, P less than 0.01, SEE = 0.9 MPa). The vertical iliac crest CS showed a less significant correlation to the average vertical vertebral CS (r = 0.53, P less than 0.05, SEE = 1.25 MPa).

A biomechanical study of the human periodontal ligament.

The mechanical properties of the normal human periodontal ligament (PDL) were investigated at eight different root levels. One millimetre transverse sections of teeth, PDL and alveolar bone of mandibular premolars were examined in a materials testing machine. During testing bone was supported by metal rings and teeth by metal cylinders of individually adjusted sizes. Having corrected for differences of size and width of the PDL the influence of root level was estimated using a multivariate analysis of variance. The shear strength was almost constant at the upper part of the root, diminishing in apical direction. The shear extensibility and the relative failure energy in shear were higher at the middle of the root, diminishing coronally and apically. Only the elastic stiffness did not vary significantly along the root. These results demonstrate that in order to compare the mechanical properties of PDL care should be taken to compare areas at the same root level.

Does long‐term physical exercise counteract age‐related Purkinje cell loss? A stereological study of rat cerebellum

Physical exercise affects properties of the central nervous system that may increase the brains ability to counteract degenerative changes. We have previously reported that rats trained from 5 to 23 months of age have less age‐related decrease in spontaneous motor activity than sham‐treated sedentary rats. Each rat ran at a speed of 20 m/min on a horizontal treadmill, for 20 minutes, two times per day, 5 days a week. In the present study we have carried out stereological analyses of the cerebella of the same rats. The total number of Purkinje cells was estimated with the optical fractionator technique, the local volumes of individual Purkinje cells with the planar rotator technique, and the volumes of the cerebellar layers with Cavalieri`s principle. We found that sedentary aged rats have 11% fewer Purkinje cells and 9% smaller Purkinje cell soma volumes (both 2P = 0.02) than exercised aged rats, and that exercised aged rats have the same number of Purkinje cells as young rats. These findings indicate that the degree of age‐associated degenerative changes in parts of the central nervous system is dependent on earlier life style and health habits and may be prevented or delayed by physical exercise. J. Comp. Neurol. 428:213–222, 2000.

Voluntary and forced exercise influence the survival and body composition of ageing male rats differently

The importance of maintaining physical fitness by engaging in exercise in a life-long perspective as well as the avoidance of obesity has been emphasised in recent years by epidemiological studies on human populations as well as studies on laboratory rodents. In laboratory studies, voluntary running in wheels and forced training in a treadmill have been used with beneficial results. Restriction of the food intake of sedentary laboratory rodents can be regarded either as life prolongation or prevention of life shortening by obesity. We compared the effects of these interventions on male Sprague-Dawley rats from the age of 5 to 23 months in the following groups: (1) RW=voluntary running in wheels; (2) PW=fed to pair weight with RW animals; (3) TM=forced training in a treadmill; and (4) S1=sedentary with ad libitum access to food. Each group consisted of 32 animals, all housed individually in cages. Two RW animals died, five died in each of the PW and S1 groups and 10 in the TM group (p<0.05). The S1 and TM groups gained most weight, the TM less after the age of 21 months (p<0.05). The body weights of the RW group was lower than those of the S1 and TM groups all the time (p<0.001) and the difference increased all the time. Body composition was analysed by bioelectrical impedance analysis. There were no differences in fat free mass (FFM) neither between RW and PW at any time, nor between S1 and TM. FFM was lower for RW and PW compared to S1 and TM. TM gained FFM until the age of 17 months, while S1 gained FFM all the time. S1 gained fat all the time, but the gain for TM levelled off. It stayed constant for RW until 13 months and decreased afterwards. We conclude that voluntary running in wheels enhances survival and keeps body fat lower than in PW animals up to the age of 17 months. Body composition and survival data suggest that voluntary running is more optimal than forced. Care must, however, be taken in analyses, since RW is a heterogenous group because there is a large variation between the animals with respect to how much they run.

Is there an association between rumination and self-reported physical health? A one-year follow-up in a young and an elderly sample.

Cross-sectional studies have suggested an association between rumination and subjective health. The aim of the present study was to investigate in a longitudinal design whether rumination was related to self-reported physical health. A total of 96 young (age range 20–35) and 110 elderly (age range 70–85) participants completed questionnaires measuring rumination, negative affect, life events, and self-reported physical health at baseline and at 1-year follow-up. Multiple linear regressions showed a significant association between self-reported physical health at time 1 only for the elderly and negative affect mediated the association. At follow-up, rumination was significantly associated with self-reported physical health only for the young and the association was only partly mediated by negative affect. In conclusion, rumination is associated with poorer self-reported physical health, but the association depends on the age of the individual as well as time span studied.

Bone structure and metabolism in a rodent model of male senile osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a common and severe condition in elderly men, which is poorly characterized. In order to identify the hallmarks of age-related bone loss in the male mammalian skeleton, we studied several aspects of bone structure and metabolism in 23-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats and compared them to 5-month-old animals. Cancellous bone mineral density, bone volume and trabecular number were markedly reduced in the proximal tibia of aged rats when compared to the young rats. An increase in bone matrix material density indicating a reduced deposition of new bone matrix was seen. Also, serum levels of osteocalcin, a marker of bone formation, were reduced in old males. The decreased bone formation could in part be linked to the decreased serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels which were observed in these animals. Serum levels of RatLaps (c-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen) were increased. Interestingly, an ex vivo osteoclast generation assay revealed that bone marrow from aged rats formed fewer osteoclasts than that from young rats. Consistent with this observation, serum levels of soluble RANKL, a critical osteoblast derived factor for osteoclastogenesis, were decreased in aged rats and RANKL mRNA expression was slightly reduced in bone marrow cells. Elevated leptin and adiponectin levels present in these animals could have contributed further to impaired osteoclastogenesis. We conclude that aged male rodents are characterized by a severely diminished cancellous bone network and a bone turnover situation in which bone formation is decreased to such an extent that it is outweighed by bone resorption, despite a blunted osteoclast generation potential of the bone marrow.

Tensile Properties and Morphology of Healing Wounds in Young and old rats

Studies of incisional wounds in young (2.5-3.0 months) and old (18-23 months) rats were undertaken at days 8 and 21 of healing. Load-deformation diagrams were obtained from standardized strip specimens of the wounds, and several parameters were assessed from these curves. The morphological changes in the wounds during mechanical straining were studied by incidental light microscopy. The wounds in young rats had better mechanical properties, i.e. greater strength, elastic stiffness and energy absorption, than those in old rats. The morphological analysis demonstrated that at 21 days of healing the wounds from young rats displayed a more complex and organized fibre arrangement than the wounds from old rats. These findings indicate that the faster healing observed in young rats is, at least to some extent, due to a better organization of the collagenous fibre meshwork.

Influence of physical exercise on aging rats. III. Life-long exercise modifies the aging changes of the mechanical properties of limb muscle tendons

We have previously shown that long-term regular physical exercise has a systemic influence on the rat by slowing the aging of its connective tissues, measured as thermal stability and biomechanical properties of tail tendons. This paper analyses whether the properties of limb muscle tendons are influenced not only by the aging process and the systemic effects of exercise but also from direct mechanical stimuli from long-term physical exercise. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained in a treadmill from the age of 5 to 23 months. The effects of training on muscle tendons were analyzed with respect to biomechanical properties. Also, the viscoelastic activation energies for interactions between collagen and the proteoglycan gel as well as between collagen fibrils were measured. Finally the asymptotes from the creep curves were calculated in order to estimate the magnitude of the viscoelastic creep. The effects of aging were analyzed with respect to the same parameters by comparing the group of 23-month-old sedentary rats with a 5-month-old baseline group. The biomechanical parameters did not change significantly with physical exercise. Neither did the activation energies change, but the asymptotes of the creep curves decreased, showing that there was less viscoelastic creep. Aging rendered the tendons significantly stronger and stiffer, increased the energy-absorbing capacity and decreased the strain values. The activation energies did not change with aging, but the high creep curve asymptote for the flexor tendons decreased. We conclude that aging rendered both types of tendons stiffer, and decreased their strain values at breaking point. Aging also increased the stress value, the energy absorption and the dry weight for the flexor tendon. Further, while physical exercise has a systemic delaying effect on age changes in connective tissues, in tendons subjected to substantial mechanical loads this effect as measured with biomechanical methods is counteracted by the optimization process elicited by the same physical exercise.

Influence of physical exercise on aging rats: I. Life-long exercise preserves patterns of spontaneous activity

Physical exercise has been shown to delay a number of aging changes and increase life expectancy but not maximum lifespan. We trained male Sprague-Dawley rats in a treadmill from the age of 5 months to 23 months. Up to this age the mortality (19%) was not different from that of the sedentary controls (16%). The body weights of the trained animals remained lower and reached a plateau, while those of the sedentary controls continued to increase. The spontaneous activity was assessed in an open-field setting every second month. Movement parameters (running distance, running speed, percentage of large and local movements), resting time and number of changes of direction were calculated. The running parameters were higher for the trained animals from the age of 12 months onwards, the relative difference increasing all the time. The resting time was lower for the trained animals, while the number of changes of direction did not change. It is suggested that this retardation of decline of spontaneous physical activity is due to a slowing of development of sensorimotor disturbances. These observations are compatible with a better preservation of cholinergic and dopaminergic activity.