SERUM COLLAGENASE-LIKE PEPTIDASE ACTIVITY CORRELATED WITH BONE-MINERAL DENSITY - A STUDY OF 102 ELDERLY WOMEN

To clarity the relationship between collagenase-like peptidase (CL-pep tidase) and bone metabolism, serum CL-peptidase activity and bone mine ral density (BMD) in the lumbar spine, measured by dual energy X-ray a bsorptiometry (DEXA), were determined in 102 women with a mean age of 70 (41-94) years. The serum activity of CL-peptidase increased slightl y with age up to the 8th decade, and then decreased. Next, we classifi ed the subjects into the following 2 groups by age: a postmenopausal g roup 50-69 years, and an elderly group over 70 years. In the younger g roup serum CL-peptidase activity did not correlate with BMD, while in the elderly it did. Our result suggests that serum CL-peptidase activi ty may reflect bone resorption in elderly women.