Gale
07-28-2009, 08:37 AM
It seems any extended time spent in space causes major bone loss. NASA has been investigating this for some time now.
Lang and his colleagues, which included researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, used computer tomography to map the bone density and structure for ISS crewmembers' hips both before and after their flights, which lasted between four and six months. Fogleman told SPACE.com the experiment was the first time reseachers have been able to take subsurface bone measurements in ISS crewmembers.
Researchers combined that data with ultrasound measurements of the heel bone, as well as x-rays of crewmember spines, and found that on the average ISS crewmembers lost interior bone material at a rate of up to 2.7% for each month they spent in space. Outer hipbone material was lost at up to 1.7% each month.
Bone loss still a challenge for Space Station crews (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-03-15-bone-loss-in-space_x.htm)
The bones and muscles of astronauts, freed from the familiar strains of gravity, can weaken alarmingly. Muscles atrophy relatively quickly, while bones lose mass during prolonged exposures to weightlessness ... Unfortunately, such "countermeasures" have not solved the problem of muscle or bone loss. It's an ongoing problem for astronauts -- and for researchers! ... But now, perhaps, there could be a solution -- at least for bones: NASA-funded scientists suggest that astronauts might prevent bone loss by standing on a lightly vibrating plate for 10 to 20 minutes each day. Held down with the aid of elastic straps, the astronauts could keep working on other tasks while they vibrate.
A new treatment under study by NASA-funded doctors could reverse bone loss experienced by astronauts in space. (http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast02nov_1.htm)
If the lack of gravity and weightlessness is the cause why don't they just fix that problem?
Lang and his colleagues, which included researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, used computer tomography to map the bone density and structure for ISS crewmembers' hips both before and after their flights, which lasted between four and six months. Fogleman told SPACE.com the experiment was the first time reseachers have been able to take subsurface bone measurements in ISS crewmembers.
Researchers combined that data with ultrasound measurements of the heel bone, as well as x-rays of crewmember spines, and found that on the average ISS crewmembers lost interior bone material at a rate of up to 2.7% for each month they spent in space. Outer hipbone material was lost at up to 1.7% each month.
Bone loss still a challenge for Space Station crews (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-03-15-bone-loss-in-space_x.htm)
The bones and muscles of astronauts, freed from the familiar strains of gravity, can weaken alarmingly. Muscles atrophy relatively quickly, while bones lose mass during prolonged exposures to weightlessness ... Unfortunately, such "countermeasures" have not solved the problem of muscle or bone loss. It's an ongoing problem for astronauts -- and for researchers! ... But now, perhaps, there could be a solution -- at least for bones: NASA-funded scientists suggest that astronauts might prevent bone loss by standing on a lightly vibrating plate for 10 to 20 minutes each day. Held down with the aid of elastic straps, the astronauts could keep working on other tasks while they vibrate.
A new treatment under study by NASA-funded doctors could reverse bone loss experienced by astronauts in space. (http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast02nov_1.htm)
If the lack of gravity and weightlessness is the cause why don't they just fix that problem?