Nasa Links to Bone Sites

NASA's Office of Physical and Biological Research -- tackling puzzles like osteoporosis through space research.

Gravity Hurts (So Good) -- Science@NASA article: Strange things can happen to the human body when people venture into space -- and the familiar pull of gravity vanishes.

National Space Biomedical Research Institute -- home page.

Q&A about osteoporosis -- from the American Medical Women's Association

Bone Loss research group -- webpage for the division of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute studying bone loss in space. Also has links to other divisions of NSBRI that deal with different medical issues related to space travel.

Prevention of Bone Loss During Manned Space Flight -- information about the Vanderbilt University research discussed in this article.

Sub-regional Assessment of Bone Loss -- fact sheet for an experiment on bone loss conducted on the International Space Station during Expedition Two. Information on this experiment from NASA's Johnson Space Center can also be found here .

Medical benefits of NASA research on bone loss -- information on how research to solve the mystery of bone loss in space helps to advance the treatment of osteoporosis.

A Boon for Bone Research -- a medical tool for measuring bone stiffness without using radiation was developed for researching bone loss in space, but it is also proving useful for diagnosing bone loss here on the ground.

Calcium Kinetics During Spaceflight -- technical information about how calcium is regulated in the body, both on the ground and in space. From NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Bone Function -- from the National Space Biomedical Research Institute.

Investigation of bone growth in space -- from the National Space Biomedical Research Institute.

Biotechnology research in microgravity -- from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

More links on osteoporosis -- from the National Aging Information Center

Related Publications

• T.A. Bateman and S. Countryman. 2002. Osteoprotegerin and bone loss associated with spaceflight black triangle down. Drug Discov Today 15;7(8):456-457. [Abstract]
  
• P.J. Kostenuik and V. Shalhoub. 2001. Osteoprotegerin: a physiological and pharmacological inhibitor of bone resorption. Curr Pharm Des 7(8):613-635. [Abstract]
  
• P.J. Kostenuik, C. Capparelli, S. Morony, S. Adamu, G. Shimamoto, V. Shen, D.L. Lacey, and C.R. Dunstan. 2001. OPG and PTH-(1-34) have additive effects on bone density and mechanical strength in osteopenic ovariectomized rats. Endocrinology 142(10):4295-4304. [Abstract]
  
• J.M. Brown, R.L. Vessella, P.J. Kostenuik, C.R. Dunstan, P.H. Lange, and E. Corey. 2001. Serum osteoprotegerin levels are increased in patients with advanced prostate cancer. Clin Cancer Res 7(10):2977-2983. [Abstract]
  
• T.A. Bateman, C.R. Dunstan, D.L. Lacey, V.L. Ferguson, R.A. Ayers, and S.J. Simske. 2001. Osteoprotegerin ameliorates sciatic nerve crush induced bone loss. J Orthop Res 19(4):518-523. [Abstract]
  
• E.R. Morey-Holton, B.P. Halloran, L.P. Garetto, and S.B. Doty. 2000. Animal housing influences the response of bone to spaceflight in juvenile rats. J Appl Physiol 88(4):1303-1309. [Abstract]

Web Sites

• Hardware Information: Animal Enclosure Module
  (JSC Life Sciences Data Archive; includes links to past
  experiment information)
• Space mice pioneer bone research (CNN.com/Space)
• Amgen and NASA team up to tap weightless environment of space as lab to test Osteoporosis treatment (Gene Therapy)
• Amgen, NASA linking up for shuttle experiment (DailyNews.com)

Web Site

• Shaken, Not Stirred: Mixing Vibrations With Genetics May Help Reduce Bone Loss for Astronauts (Space Research News)
  
• OBPR FY2001 Task Book: Sub-regional Assessment of Bone Loss in the Axial Skeleton in Long-Term Spaceflight
  
• Bone Loss (JSC Nutrional Biochemistry Laboratory)
  
• Bone Measurement Institute
  
• National Osteoporosis Foundation

Related Publications

• T.F. Lang, G. Guglielmi, C. van Kuijk, A. De Serio, M. Cammisa, and H.K. Genant. 2002. Measurement of bone mineral density at the spine and proximal femur by volumetric quantitative computed tomography and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in elderly women with and without vertebral fractures. Bone 30(1):247-250. [Abstract]
  
• D.R. Taaffe, J.A. Cauley, M. Danielson, M.C. Nevitt, T.F. Lang, D.C. Bauer, and T.B. Harris. 2001. Race and sex effects on the association between muscle strength, soft tissue, and bone mineral density in healthy elders: the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study. J Bone Miner Res 16(7):1343-1352. [Abstract]
  
• W. Gowin, P. Saparin, J. Kurths, and D. Felsenberg. 2001. Bone architecture assessment with measures of complexity. Acta Astronaut. 49(3-10):171-8. [Abstract]
  
• T. Lang, J. Li, S. Harris, and H.K. Genant. 1999. Assessment of vertebral bone mineral density using volumetric quantitative computed tomography. J Comp Assist Tomography 23:130-137. [Abstract]
  
• T. Lang, P. Augat, N. Lane, and H. Genant. 1998. Trochanteric hip fracture: strong association with spinal trabecular bone mineral density measured with quantitative computed tomography. Radiology 209:525-530. [Abstract]

Outreach Web Sites

• NASA Fact Sheet: Sub-regional Assessment of Bone Loss in the Axial Skeleton
  
• NASA Human Spaceflight: Sub-regional Assessment of Bone Loss in the Axial Skeleton in Long-term Space Flight
  
• SPORTs Page: Sub-regional Assessment of Bone Loss in the Axial Skeleton in Long-term Space Flight
  
• Space Bones (Science@NASA)
  
• Bone Loss (JSC Nutrional Biochemistry Laboratory)
  
• NASA Research and Technology Helps Understand and Treat Osteoporosis (There's Space In My Life—NASA Women's Outreach Initiative)
  
• Weak in the Knees - The Quest for a Cure (Web of Life, NASA's Fundamental Biology Outreach Program)

Other Bone Health Experiments on Station

• Commercial Biomedical Testing Module (CBTM)
  
• Foot Reaction Forces During Space Flight (Foot)
  
• SpaceResearch, Volume 1, Number 4, September 2002 -- This story appeared as the Bioastronuatics Research Update in the Fall 2002 issue.
  
• Good Vibrations -- A new treatment under study by NASA-funded doctors could reverse bone loss experienced by astronauts in space. A http://science.nasa.gov/ Article published in November 2001.
  
• More information on Rubin's oscillating platforms -- Dr. Rubin's Faculty page in the Biomedical Engineering Department at the State University of New York, Stony Brook
  
• A recent Journal article on Judex's genetics research -- Judex, S., Donahue, L., & Rubin, C. (2002, June 21). Genetic predisposition to low bone mass is paralleled by an enhanced sensitivity to signals anabolic to the skeleton. Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal (The FASEB Journal 2002, Judex et al. 0 (2002): 109131)
  
• Optimization of a Biomechanical Countermeasure for Disuse Osteopenia -- Dr. Rubin's OBPR Research Taskbook entry for FY 2001. This research is performed via a grant throught the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI).
  
• SpaceResearch Editorial Board
  
• Space Product Development -- The goal of NASA's Space Product Development (SPD) program is to help American businesses explore the potential--and reap the rewards--of doing business in space. Doing this helps bring the benefits of space down to Earth where it can, and does, enrich the everyday lives of the American public. "Industry investment in space is high," says Mark Nall, manager of NASA's SPD program at Marshall Space Flight Center. "We assist companies developing experiments and help them explore how space research can contribute to the growth of their businesses."
  
• Center for Commercial Applications of Combustion in Space -- a NASA-sponsored Commercial Space Center (CSC) at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado.
  
• NASA Space Commercialization -- learn more about NASA's efforts to increase the utilization of space for commercial product research. The statistics cited in this story were compiled by the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons.
  
• Learn more about porous ceramics for bone replacement (CCACS) and glass ceramics (CCACS)
  
• Bionic Eyes -- (Science@NASA) Using space technology, scientists have developed extraordinary ceramic photocells that could repair malfunctioning human eyes.
  
• COMBUSTION SYNTHESIS OF POROUS CERAMICS ON SPACE-DRUMS -- an abstract