Bisphosphonates as a supplement to exercise to protect bone during long-duration spaceflight
Abstract
Unlabelled We report the results of alendronate ingestion plus exercise in preventing the declines in bone mass and strength and elevated levels of urinary calcium and bone resorption in astronauts during 5.5 months of spaceflight. Introduction This investigation was an international collaboration between NASA and the JAXA space agencies to investigate the potential value of antiresorptive agents to mitigate the well-established bone changes associated with long-duration spaceflight. Methods We report the results from seven International Space Station (ISS) astronauts who spent a mean of 5.5 months on the ISS and who took an oral dose of 70 mg of alendronate weekly starting 3 weeks before flight and continuing throughout the mission. All crewmembers had available for exercise a treadmill, cycle ergometer, and a resistance exercise device. Our assessment included densitometry of multiple bone regions using X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and quantitative computed tomography (QCT) and assays of biomarkers of bone metabolism. Results In addition to pre- and post-flight measurements, we compared our results to 18 astronauts who flew ISS missions and who exercised using an early model resistance exercise device, called the interim resistance exercise device, and to 11 ISS astronauts who exercised using the newer advanced resistance exercise device (ARED). Our findings indicate that the ARED provided significant attenuation of bone loss compared with the older device although post-fligh…
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Astronauts are at risk of progressive bone and cartilage loss while in space.
“Astronauts are not only at risk of progressive bone and cartilage loss while in space but must also face the reality that space-related bone and joint changes may persist for years after their return to Earth despite efforts made to protect their skeletal systems [8,9,10,11,12,13].”
From Osteoclasts and Microgravity (2020) · cites this paper as [12]
Space-related bone and joint changes may persist for years after astronauts return to Earth despite efforts to protect their skeletal systems.
“Astronauts are not only at risk of progressive bone and cartilage loss while in space but must also face the reality that space-related bone and joint changes may persist for years after their return to Earth despite efforts made to protect their skeletal systems [8,9,10,11,12,13].”
From Osteoclasts and Microgravity (2020) · cites this paper as [12]
Bisphosphonates inhibit the stimulatory activity of osteoclasts on osteoblast differentiation, and as a consequence, patients on these drugs suffer from a blockade of de novo bone formation.
“biphosphonates inhibit the stimulatory activity of osteoclasts on osteoblast differentiation and, as a consequence, patients on these drugs suffer from a blockade of de novo bone formation [12,70]”
From Osteoclasts and Microgravity (2020) · cites this paper as [12]
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References 45 · Cited by 234
- Authors
- LeBlanc, A., Matsumoto, T., Jones, J., Shapiro, J., Lang, T., Shackelford, L., Smith, S. M., Evans, H., Spector, E., Ploutz-Snyder, R., Sibonga, J., Keyak, J., Nakamura, T., Kohri, K., & Ohshima, H.
- Affiliations
- Universities Space Research Association (US)
- Tokushima University (JP)
- Baylor College of Medicine (US)
- Kennedy Krieger Institute (US)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (US)
- Wyle (United States) (US)
- University of California, Irvine (US)
- University of Occupational and Environmental Health Japan (JP)
- Nagoya City University (JP)
- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JP)
- Corresponding author
- LeBlanc, A.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Osteoporosis International
- Published
- 2013-01-19
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 2105-2114
- ISSN
- 0937-941X (ISSN-L)
- 1433-2965
- OpenAlex
- W2035131661
- Cited by
- 234
- References
- 45
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 30 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 14.12
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Osteoporosis International (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Spaceflight effects on biology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Bone health and osteoporosis research
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Aerospace Engineering › Space Exploration and Technology
- Keywords
- bisphosphonates, alendronate, physical activity, bone loss, spaceflight, astronauts, International Space Station, antiresorptive agents, bone mineral density, bone strength, bone resorption markers, urinary calcium
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Body Composition, Bone Resorption, Combined Modality Therapy, Drug Administration Schedule, Exercise Therapy, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Osteoporosis, Space Flight, Weightlessness, Biomarkers, Absorptiometry, Photon, Bone Density, Alendronate, Bone Density Conservation Agents
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