Whats the link between astronauts and osteoporosis?
Though most people may not think of it, bedridden patients and astronauts share something in common: progressive bone loss. Immobile patients lose bone density because they don’t exercise muscles that would otherwise build skeletal strength through motion. Astronauts also face long periods of immobility, in addition to zero gravity, which negatively affects bone cell function. On June 2, 2006, space explorers and earth-bound medical experts will examine the links between immobility and bone health at the Bone Research in Space Symposium, which will be held in Toronto, Canada, as part of the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) World Congress on Osteoporosis (IOF WCO). Canadian Space Agency astronaut and physician Dr. Dave Williams, who is the first Canadian to have lived in both the ocean and space, is one of the panel of Symposium experts. “As we enter the latter half of the Bone and Joint Decade it is exciting to think about the potential benefits of using space technology and
