Osteoporosis drug prevents bone loss in astronauts

Astronauts in a weightless environment usually lose 5 to 7 percent of their bone density in six months even while exercising two hours per day. In the study conducted by researchers of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tokushima University and others, five astronauts, including Koichi Wakata and Soichi Noguchi, who stayed in space for 137 days and 163 days, respectively, exercised daily and took bisphosphonates used to treat osteoporosis once a week during their stay on the ISS. As a result, researchers found almost no bone density loss in the astronauts.

www.yomiuri.co.jp...

www.jaxa.jp...

Bone loss is a major threat during long-term zero-gravity flights. The ability to prevent it will be priceless for manned spaceflight in the future.

reply to post by Maslo


It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that a drug used to treat people with bone density problems is beneficial to astronauts with.......bone density problems.

That said, it is nice to see some evidence to support a seemingly obvious hypothesis. Nothing says "I told you so" like results of a scientific study.