Study: Drug Could Block Bone Loss in Astronauts in Space

2023 · VOA Learning English

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1. Researchers say a new drug compound has been found to prevent bone loss in humans visiting space.

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2. The drug was tested on mice on the International Space Station (ISS).

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3. A new study reports the compound was engineered to help increase the formation of new bone material.

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4. The American space agency NASA has long studied the effects of space travel on human health.

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5. Astronauts who have spent long periods in space have taken part in major studies that looked at their health before, during and after their trips, or

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6. missions. NASA announced that American astronaut Frank Rubio recently set the agency’s record for the longest single spaceflight by a U.S.

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7. astronaut. Rubio, who is set to return to Earth on September 27, has spent 371 days in space.

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8. NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei set the earlier record in March of 2022 after living in space for 355 days.

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9. Some of the main health problems for humans are related to the gravitational conditions in space.

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10. Past studies have shown the low gravity environments in space can greatly reduce or stop the formation of new bone material.

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11. NASA has estimated that astronauts spending more than six months in space can lose between six and 10 percent of bone matter.

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12. Some experiments in astronauts measured changes in their upper leg.

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13. Development of new bone can take at least three or four years after astronauts return to Earth, NASA says.

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14. The conditions astronauts experience in space can result in bone loss up to 10 times more than is seen in human patients dealing with the bone loss disease

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15. osteoporosis, NASA notes. Currently, physical exercise is the main method astronauts use to reduce bone loss during long periods in space.

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16. Generally, crew members aboard the ISS spend about 2.5 hours each day exercising in an effort to reduce the gravitational effects of space.

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17. Past research on the subject has suggested a group of drugs widely used to treat osteoporosis, called bisphosphonates, have shown promise in Earth-based

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18. experiments on bone loss. That research continues.

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19. But the new study shows success combining a bisphosphonate with another substance that has shown promise in helping to regrow bone material.

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20. That substance is called NELL-1. It was discovered by scientist Kang Ting at the Massachusetts-based Forsyth Institute.

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21. The study was led by a team from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

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22. In a statement the research team said the resulting compound, a molecule called BP-NELL-PEG, was given to mice aboard the ISS to test its

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23. effectiveness. The experiments were carried out by astronauts who arrived on the ISS in June 2017.

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24. Half the mice remained on the ISS for nine weeks, while the rest were flown back to Earth four-and-a-half weeks after launch.

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25. Both sets of mice were given either BP-NELL-PEG or a salt solution containing no medicine.

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26. The researchers reported both sets of mice who were given the BP-NELL-PEG compound showed “a significant increase in bone formation” during the

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27. experiment period. The team added that neither the mice treated on Earth nor those that received the drug in space experienced any observable side effects.

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28. Chia Soo is with UCLA’s School of Medicine and helped lead the research.

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29. She said the findings hold great promise for, in her words, “the future of space exploration, particularly for missions involving extended stays in

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30. microgravity.” Another member of the team was former UCLA engineering professor Benjamin Wu.

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31. He noted that the study could open the door to the same compound being used to treat patients with extreme osteoporosis and other bone-related conditions on Earth.

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32. The scientists are still examining data on the live mice who returned to Earth halfway through the experiment.

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33. Researcher Soo said they hope the data “will provide some insight on how to help future astronauts recover from longer… space missions.”

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