![]() ![]() This is an important distinction from therapy with bisphosphonate drugs, the scientists added. “Preservation of both osteoblast and osteoclast functions is significant because it suggests bone remodeling remains active.” ![]() “This implies BP-NELL-PEG treatment can promote bone turnover in favor of overall bone formation,” the researchers wrote in their paper. New crew, new experiments: NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 mission brings more biomedical research to ISS They also had to figure out how to ensure the drug went to its target, bone, and not all over the body. These qualities, at least in theory, make it ideal for protecting against bone loss in space.īut, before they could test it out, the researchers needed to overcome a couple delivery hurdles, including cutting injections down from once every two days to every two weeks. Ting’s lab had previously shown that NELL-1 is critical for bone development and enhances bone regeneration by activating pathways that increase bone cell formation and inhibit reabsorption. At the heart of the compound is NELL-like molecule-1, or NELL-1, discovered by Forsyth’s Kang Ting. That’s where the UCLA and Forsyth researchers’ drug, BP-NELL-PEG, could come in. “When you combine an anti-osteoporosis drug with exercise, you’re actually getting closer to preventing from happening,” Boyd said. Meanwhile, bisphosphonates’ potential adverse effects, like nausea and heartburn, are hard enough to tolerate on Earth-much less in space. Though vital for astronauts’ physical and mental health, exercise could easily be hampered by an injury. Still, studies like TBone demonstrate a clear need for a way to prevent bone loss beyond what space programs are already doing, which includes hourslong exercise regimes on the ISS and the use of osteoporosis drugs like bisphosphonates. Even if the new structure is different, the bone that does recover might compensate for the differences the researchers saw, Boyd noted. It’s not yet clear whether the permanent changes seen in the TBone study also compromise their strength. “ builds on top of the existing structure … the underlying structure may be permanently altered.” ![]() ![]() “So when you come back to Earth, and somebody says, ‘Oh, you've lost, you know, 8% bone density, the structure has actually changed as well,’” he explained. Heart tissue on a chip is headed back up to the International Space Station “That’s a very rapid bone change for people who are in their 40s, which is roughly the average age of an astronaut,” Boyd said. Some of the ISS crew members in the TBone study lost about 20 years’ worth of bone in just six months. The speed varies with age, especially for women. “We need to find solutions to mitigate bone loss in microgravity, and treatments like this may be an important part of the answer.”Īstronauts in space lose bone at a rate of about 1% per month on average-12 times the rate of people on Earth, who lose around half a percent a year after age 15, Soo said. “What they’re addressing is really important to long-term spaceflight,” Steven Boyd, Ph.D., a University of Calgary biomedical engineer who leads the Canadian Space Agency’s TBone studies on astronaut bone health but was not involved with the study, told Fierce Biotech Research. But first, they have another success to share: Their compound, BP-NELL-PEG, appeared to protect the mice from the rapid bone loss that plagues astronauts. The labs behind the study, which was co-led by scientists at the Forsyth Institute, are working on a paper that describes the return process. Emulate's organs-on-a-chip head to the International Space Station to study gravity's pull on the brain ![]()
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