MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tony M. Keaveny, Ph.D. Professor, Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering; Co-Director, Berkeley BioMechanics Laboratory University of California Berkeley, CA 94720-1740 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: As men age, they experience decreased serum testosterone concentrations, decreased bone mineral density (BMD) and increased risk of fracture. While prior studies have been performed to determine the effect of testosterone treatment on bone in older men, for various reasons those studies have been inconclusive. The goal of this study was to overcome past limitations in study design and determine if testosterone treatment — versus a placebo — in older men with low testosterone would improve the bone. Specifically, we used 3D quantitative CT scanning to measure changes in BMD and engineering “finite element analysis” to measure changes in the estimated bone strength, both at the spine and hip. The study was performed on over 200 older men (> age 65) who had confirmed low levels of serum testosterone. (more…)