Effects of high-intensity training on fatty infiltration in paraspinal muscles in elderly males with osteosarcopenia – the randomized controlled FrOST study

Abstract Background Osteosarcopenia is a common geriatric syndrome with an increasing prevalence with age, leading to secondary diseases and complex consequences such as falls and fractures, as well as higher mortality and frailty rates. There is a great need for prevention and treatment strategies. Methods In this analysis, we used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from the randomised controlled FrOST trial, which enrolled community-dwelling osteosarcopenic men aged > 72 years randomly allocated to 16 months of twice-weekly high-intensity resistance training (HIRT) or a non-training control group. MR Dixon imaging was used to quantify the effects of HIRT on muscle fat infiltration in the paraspinal muscles, determined as changes in muscle tissue, fat faction and intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) in the erector spinae and psoas major muscles. Intention-to-treat analysis with multiple imputation was used to analyse the data set. Results After 16 months of intervention, 15 men from the HIRT and 16 men from the CG were included in the MRI analysis. In summary, no positive effects on the fat infiltration of the erector spinae and psoas major muscles were observed. Conclusions The previously reported positive effects on lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) suggest that mechanotransduction induces tropic effects on bone, but that fat infiltration of the erector spinae and psoas major muscles are either irreversible or, for some unknown reason, resistant to exercise. Because of the beneficial effects on spinal BMD, HIRT is still recommended in osteosarcopenic older men, but further research is needed to confirm appropriate age-specific training exercises for the paraspinal muscles. The potential of different MRI sequences to quantify degenerative and metabolic changes in various muscle groups must be better characterized. Trial registrations FrOST was approved by the University Ethics Committee of the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg (number 67₁5b and 4464b) and the Federal Office for Radiation Projection (BfS, number Z 5–2, 246, 212 – 2017–002). Furthermore, it fully complies with the Declaration of Helsinki and is registered at ClinicalTrials. gov: NCT03453463 (05/03/2018). JAMA 310: 2191–2194, 2013.