Choosing the appropriate treatment strategy for osteoporosis in men

Effect of 12 months of creatine supplementation and whole-body resistance training on measures of bone, muscle and strength in older males

BACKGROUND

The combination of creatine supplementation and resistance training (10-12 weeks) has been shown to increase bone mineral content and reduce a urinary indicator of bone resorption in older males compared with placebo. However, the longer-term effects (12 months) of creatine and resistance training on bone mineral density and bone geometric properties in older males is unknown.

AIM

To assess the effects of 12 months of creatine supplementation and supervised, whole-body resistance training on bone mineral density, bone geometric properties, muscle accretion, and strength in older males.

METHODS

Participants were randomized to supplement with creatine (n = 18, 49-69 years, 0.1 g·kg^-1·d^-1) or placebo (n = 20, 49-67 years, 0.1 g·kg^-1·d^-1) during 12 months of supervised, whole-body resistance training.

RESULTS

After 12 months of training, both groups experienced similar changes in bone mineral density and geometry, bone speed of sound, lean tissue and fat mass, muscle thickness, and muscle strength. There was a trend (p = 0.061) for creatine to increase the section modulus of the narrow part of the femoral neck, an indicator of bone bending strength, compared with placebo. Adverse events did not differ between creatine and placebo.

CONCLUSIONS

Twelve months of creatine supplementation and supervised, whole-body resistance training had no greater effect on measures of bone, muscle, or strength in older males compared with placebo.

[Gender medicine in ophthalmology : The "small difference" between women and men]

Gender-specific or sex-specific medicine is part of "personalized" medicine. After differences in heart diseases between women and men were first identified and increasingly published in the field of cardiology since the 1980s, differences between the sexes have also become the focus of interest in other disciplines. Immunological and hormonal aspects indicate significant differences, e.g. in the severity of the disease or the response to treatment. Even in ophthalmology epidemiological differences in some diseases are known but so far these do not lead to a different approach in the practical treatment of patients. This CME article aims to raise awareness of gender medicine also in the field of ophthalmology and at the same time to promote understanding of these differences by presenting the fundamental differences between the sexes.