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UCI study finds astronauts at risk for bone loss
The study reveals astronauts spending months in space lose significant amounts of hipbone strength.
By Kristen SchottPublished: January 26, 2009 09:29 AM
UC Irvine and UC San Francisco conducted a study of 13 astronauts who spent four to six months on the International Space Station and found that those astronauts are at a greater risk for bone deterioration. On average, astronauts' hipbone strength decreased 14 percent. Three of the astronauts experienced losses of 20 to 30 percent, similar to older women with osteoporosis.
The study was led by Joyce Keyak, an orthopedic surgery and biomedical engineering professor at UCI. "If preventive measures are not taken," asserts Keyak, "some of our astronauts may be at increased risk for age-related fractures decades after their missions."
Keyak and her team, which also included Alain K. Koyama, Ying Lu and Thomas F. Lang of UC San Francisco, and Adrian Leblanc of the Universities Space Research Association in Houston, used a computer program she developed that identifies hipbone fracture risk in people who suffer from osteoporosis. One female and 12 male International Space Center crew members' hipbone CT scans were examined through the product. It found that the decrease in bone strength was between 0.6 percent and 5 percent for each month at the station.
The findings were much larger than previous studies, which saw monthly decreases in bone mineral density of 0.4 percent to 1.8 percent.
The study was funded by NASA, and the results appear in the online version of Bone, the official journal of the International Bone and Mineral Society.
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The study was led by Joyce Keyak, an orthopedic surgery and biomedical engineering professor at UCI. "If preventive measures are not taken," asserts Keyak, "some of our astronauts may be at increased risk for age-related fractures decades after their missions." Keyak and her team, which also included Alain K. Koyama, Ying Lu and Thomas F. Lang of UC San Francisco, and Adrian Leblanc of the Universities Space Research Association in Houston, used a computer program she developed that identifies hipbone fracture risk in people who suffer from osteoporosis. One female and 12 male International Space Center crew members' hipbone CT scans were examined through the product. It found that the decrease in bone strength was between 0.6 percent and 5 percent for each month at the station. The findings were much larger than previous studies, which saw monthly decreases in bone mineral density of 0.4 percent to 1.8 percent. The study was funded by NASA, and the results appear in the online version of Bone, the official journal of the International Bone and Mineral Society. Related headlines O.C. Performing Arts Center to raffle Mercedes-Benz OC METRO Minute Jan. 16: Vanguard University holds Environmental Sustainability Conference UCI police named Investigator of the Year OC METRO Minute Jan. 20: Advanced Medical Optics' new product approved by FDA |
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