Abstract des Autors

Muscle tissue, the dermis of the skin, connective tissue and almost all skeletal parts are to be understood as derivatives of the paraxial mesoderm. In a large scale study carried out on 201 female long-distance runners aged between 25 and 69 years and 151 male runners (35-70 years), epidermis and corium thickness were measured in the B-mode scan using high-frequency ultrasound (20 MHz); and bone mineral density (BMD) in the lumbar spine was measured by means of the DEXA method. Average cutaneous thickness decreases significantly (p<0.05) with increasing age. No correlation can be found between individual cutaneous thickness and BMD. Ultrasonic measurement could provide an efficient, economical and risk-free method for detecting a possible osteopenia below an individual limit (e.g.<0,90 mm). Verf.-Referat