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Jan 26, 2009 05:25 PM | 1
Space travel is a dangerous business—everyone knows that. But even those astronauts who return to Earth safely may not be in the clear. A new study of International Space Station (ISS) veterans reveals a significant loss of bone strength, potentially upping their risk for injury later in life.
Scientists have long known that extended residency in microgravity can wreak havoc on bone density; the new study, published online by the journal Bone, adds to the dossier by quantifying how that decrease in density affects bone strength. The 13 astronauts studied, who had spent anywhere from 4.3 to 6.5 months aboard the ISS, showed an average loss of 14 percent in strength of the femur, or thighbone. (The researchers note that bone strength appeared to decline even more precipitously than bone density.)
"If preventive measures are not taken, some of our astronauts may be at increased risk for age-related fractures decades after their missions," lead study author Joyce Keyak, a professor of orthopedic surgery and biomedical engineering at the University of California, Irvine, said in a statement. Some subjects lost as much in a few months of spaceflight as would be expected over a lifetime under normal circumstances, with femoral strength dissipating a rate of up to 5 percent each month.
Photo of ISS courtesy of NASA
Tags:
astronaut health,
bone strength,
bone density,
hip joint,
zero gravity,
international space station,
ISS
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1 Comments
Add CommentAll the more reason why they should be working fervently on creating some sort of gravity in space. There should be some sort of module that utilizes spin and centrifugal force to create some sort of gravity. We have our sites set on Mars, with at least four months travel time to the planet. Imagine the crew arrives and can't do anything for a couple of weeks while their bodies adjust to the slight gravity of Mars after months in microgravity.
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