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A Canadian Research Mission on Bone Loss in Space
During space missions astronauts undergo many physiological changes as a result of prolonged exposure to microgravity. Their muscles and bones deteriorate up to 10 times faster than the rate seen in patients suffering from muscular dystrophy and osteoporosis. In fact, while in space, astronauts can lose up to 2% of their bone mass each month. The molecular mechanism for this loss is not known and effective countermeasures have not yet been determined. In October 1998 OSTEO-1 (Osteoporosis Experiments in Orbit-1) comprised a series of experiments using a Canadian-made cell culture system to study bone loss in microgravity. The OSTEO-1 experiments were performed by U.S. senator/astronaut John Glenn aboard Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS-95 mission. This project involved the University of Toronto, Mount Sinai Hospital, Allelix Biopharmaceuticals, and Millenium Biologix Inc. and was fully funded by the Canadian Space Agency. The OSTEO-2 research project, flying onboard Space Shuttle Columbia with a launch date planned for mid-January 2003, will further our understanding of bone loss during spaceflight. This Canadian space science project should also benefit osteoporosis research on Earth. The Canadian Space Agency is supporting three science teams that have been selected for the OSTEO-2 mission: two represent the Canadian academic community and the third is a joint venture between the CSA and two industrial partners. Dr. Leticia G. Rao, Principal Investigator, and Dr. Tim Murray, co-investigator, of St. Michael's Hospital, in Toronto, lead a team investigating the use of hormones to increase bone formation in microgravity. The study will examine the effect of oestrogen treatment on bone cell cultures both on the ground and in space. It will help understand the role of hormones in cellular and molecular mechanisms leading to bone loss during spaceflight. The results will be key to the development of methods to prevent this problem. Another team, led by Dr. Reginald M. Gorczynski of the University Health Network (UHN), Toronto, will investigate how disturbances in sleep and immune function may influence bone metabolism. In space environmental and psychological cues, as well as time-perception factors, are disrupted and this leads to interference with the sleep-wake cycles of astronauts. Microgravity also seems to disturb immune and neuroendocrine functions. The UHN team's hypothesis is that spaceflight-related disturbances in sleep and circadian rhythms upset the normal balance of the body and contribute to the observed bone loss. Mr. Dennis R. Sindrey of Millenium Biologix (and former Allelix STS-95 Principal Investigator), together with Dr. Bradford T. Brinton of NPS Pharmaceuticals, will build on the previous OSTEO-1 experiment to characterize and identify bone gene regulation patterns in microgravity. Specifically, the effect of the addition of recombinant human intact parathyroid hormone (rhPTH) to bone cell cultures will be studied at the molecular level. NPS Pharmaceuticals is already testing rhPTH (ALX1-11) in Phase III clinical trials to determine whether it is effective in increasing bone density and preventing fractures in post-menopausal women. The bone loss experienced by astronauts in space appears to be an accelerated version of the bone loss experienced by osteoporosis patients here on Earth. These experiments in microgravity thus provide a unique environment to study the molecular mechanisms of osteoporosis, which afflicts many Canadians. The three OSTEO-2 experiments are flying in a specially- designed facility that uses technology developed by Millenium Biologix Inc. MBI is a leading medical biotechnology company based in Kingston, Ontario and focused on the development and global commercialization of products in the orthopedic industry. MBI has also established a strong niche in the area of Microgravity Research applied to Life Sciences, particularly Human Performance in Space. The Canadian Space Agency funded and collaborated with MBI in the development of the OSTEO mini-lab biological culturing facility to conduct bone cell research in space. This mini-lab is a fully contained multi-functional biological culturing system. A similar MBI mini-lab was also used for the first OSTEO experiment in 1998. Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express 
Monitoring Bone Loss In Astronauts
Hanover - August 15, 2001 Researchers from Dartmouth College's Thayer School of Engineering and Dartmouth Medical School have teamed up to design sophisticated computer software, called mobile agents, to help astronauts monitor bone loss during long space flights.
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