Table 1.
Bone mineral content at the distal tibia epiphysis
| BDC-9 | BDC-1 | LS7 | LS14 | LS21 | R4 | R9 | R35 | R90 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total BMC | Suspended | 437.1 | 436.3 | 435.5 | 439.0 | 433.7* | 434.3** | 434.0* | 432.0** | 434.3* |
| (60.2) | (59.8) | (59.9) | (59.8) | (60.0) | (60.6) | (59.3) | (60.0) | (59.4) | ||
| Unsuspended | 436.0 | 434.4 | 435.7 | 435.7 | 434.7 | 436.1 | 437.5 | 435.6 | 436.8 | |
| (57.2) | (56.8) | (61.1) | (55.9) | (57.4) | (58.3) | (58.8) | (58.9) | (60.0) | ||
| BMC_Centr | Suspended | 155.9 | 155.7 | 155.6 | 158.1§ | 155.4 | 156.0 | 156.3 | 155.3 | 156.0 |
| (27.6) | (26.9) | (27.9) | (26.8) | (27.3) | (27.2) | (27.1) | (27.7) | (27.5) | ||
| Unsuspended | 151.3 | 150.5 | 150.9 | 150.5 | 150.4 | 150.9 | 152.1 | 151.9 | 151.3 | |
| (26.6) | (26.4) | (28.3) | (26.0) | (26.8) | (27.3) | (27.4) | (27.9) | (29.1) | ||
| BMC_Peri | Suspended | 280.9 | 281.2 | 279.9* | 280.9 | 278.4*** | 278.4** | 277.7** | 276.7*** | 278.4* |
| (34.5) | (34.7) | (33.7) | (34.5) | (34.2) | (34.6) | (33.6) | (34.1) | (33.6) | ||
| Unsuspended | 285.3 | 284.7 | 284.9 | 285.3 | 284.3 | 285.2 | 285.4 | 283.7 | 285.5 | |
| (31.0) | (31.7) | (33.8) | (31.0) | (31.7) | (32.3) | (32.5) | (32.2) | (31.9) |
Mean values (and s.d. in brackets) for baseline data collection (BDC), during limb suspension (LS) and during recovery (R).
The bone mineral content (BMC) is given in mg mm−1. The central BMC (BMC_centr) was assessed for the 45% central portion, and the peripheral BMC (BMC_Peri) is the complement of BMC_centr.
*
P < 0.05
**
P < 0.01, significantly lower than BDC
§
P < 0.05, significantly higher than BDC. Significant losses in BMC were found in the suspended leg, apparently exclusively due to losses from the peripheral portion. No significant changes were found for the unsuspended tibia.