Age-change of bone mineral density in the distal radius of chimpanzees and Japanese macaques

Abstract

Using peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT), we evaluated and analyzed age-related changes in bone mineral density and other properties at the site of the distal radius in two catarrhines: chimpanzees and Japanese macaques. We found that the age changes in patterns are quite similar between the two species and the patterns are composed of three stages. Quantitative differences were found between the two species in the amount of bone mineral content and age of inflection points in the age-change diagrams. These differences appear to reflect differences in scaling effect and the life span between chimpanzees and Japanese macaques. Moreover, the age-change pattern of cortical bone density in chimpanzees and Japanese macaques closely resembled that in humans. This may reflect a similar pattern of bone turnover (metabolism of bone) throughout the life-cycle within catarrhines.