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Interventions to prevent bone loss in astronauts during space flight.

Jun Iwamoto1, Tsuyoshi Takeda, Yoshihiro Sato

  • 1Department of Sports Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. jiwamoto@sc.itc.keio.ac.jp

The Keio Journal of Medicine
|August 4, 2005
PubMed
Summary

Spaceflight causes bone loss due to altered calcium balance and metabolism. Current supplements like calcium, vitamin D, and K help, but new agents are needed to protect both cancellous and cortical bone.

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Area of Science:

  • Space medicine
  • Bone metabolism
  • Astronaut health

Background:

  • Spaceflight induces weightlessness, leading to deficiencies in calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin K.
  • This results in increased urinary calcium, decreased intestinal absorption, and elevated serum calcium, impacting parathyroid hormone and calcitriol levels.
  • Bone metabolism is disrupted, with increased resorption and decreased formation, causing significant bone mineral density loss.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review interventions for stabilizing calcium balance and bone metabolism during space flight.
  • To assess current strategies for preventing bone loss in astronauts.
  • To identify gaps in knowledge regarding pharmaceutical interventions for spaceflight-induced osteoporosis.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on calcium balance, bone metabolism, and osteoporosis prevention in astronauts.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analysis of the effects of calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin K supplementation.
  • Examination of data on pharmaceutical agents in animal models of weightlessness.

    • Main Results:

    • High calcium and vitamin D intake do not alter bone metabolism but help regulate serum calcium levels.
    • Vitamin K supplementation counteracts reduced bone formation.
    • While some agents show promise in rat models, their efficacy in preventing cortical bone loss in astronauts remains unproven.

    Conclusions:

    • Current supplementation strategies partially address bone loss but do not fully prevent it.
    • Pharmaceutical agents require further investigation for their efficacy and safety in preventing spaceflight-induced osteoporosis.
    • Combined anti-resorptive and anabolic agents may be necessary to fully protect astronaut bone health.