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Bone Disorders

Bone Disorders

Aging and its effect on bone remodeling is the most common cause of bone disorders. In young and healthy people, bone deposition and resorption happen at an equal rate to maintain optimal bone health.
Bone deposition is also affected by the levels of sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone that promote osteoblast activity and bone matrix synthesis. When the level of these hormones decreases due to aging, it causes a reduction in bone deposition. As a result, bone resorption by osteoclasts...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 29, 2026

Longitudinal Evaluation of Mouse Hind Limb Bone Loss After Spinal Cord Injury using Novel, in vivo, Methodology

Longitudinal Evaluation of Mouse Hind Limb Bone Loss After Spinal Cord Injury using Novel, in vivo, Methodology

Published on: December 7, 2011

Evaluating Bone Loss in ISS Astronauts.

Jean D Sibonga¹, Elisabeth R Spector, Smith L Johnston

¹NASA Johnson Space Center and Wyle Science, Technology and Engineering Group, Houston, TX, USA.

Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance

|December 3, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Astronauts experience significant bone density loss in hips and spine during space missions. New technologies are needed to better assess skeletal health beyond dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans.

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Last Updated: Mar 29, 2026

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Published on: January 13, 2019

Area of Science:

Space medicine
Skeletal physiology
Astronaut health

Background:

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is used by NASA to monitor astronaut bone mineral density (BMD).
DXA scans revealed substantial BMD declines in hip and spine after 6-month International Space Station (ISS) missions.
Concerns exist regarding the sufficiency of DXA alone for assessing skeletal integrity.

Purpose of the Study:

To evaluate the risk of premature osteoporosis in ISS astronauts due to prolonged spaceflight.
To explore advanced research technologies for astronaut skeletal health surveillance.
To enhance the long-term management of bone health for astronauts on extended missions.

Main Methods:

Utilizing dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for BMD measurements.
Analyzing BMD data from ISS crewmembers during the first decade of operation.
Proposing the use of novel research technologies for risk surveillance.

Main Results:

Significant declines in hip and spine BMD were observed in astronauts post-mission.
DXA measurements indicated substantial bone loss after typical 6-month ISS missions.
The study highlights limitations of solely relying on DXA for skeletal assessment.

Conclusions:

Prolonged spaceflight poses a risk for significant bone loss in astronauts.
Current DXA methods may not fully capture the risks to skeletal integrity.
New technologies are recommended for comprehensive astronaut skeletal health monitoring.