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Last Updated: Jul 2nd, 2008 - 21:15:22 |
(NC)-While in space, astronauts lose bone mass 10 times faster than patients suffering from severe osteoporosis here on Earth. With an aging population, osteoporosis is one of the major health challenges of our time.
When veteran American astronaut John Glenn went back to space in 1998 at the age of 77, he conducted experiments to study aging. One series used the space environment to study the underlying process of bone loss and evaluate treatments for a condition that affects over 1.4 million Canadians.
The Canadian Space Agency supported Millenium Biologix for the design of the OSTEO mini-lab, which tested the growth of cells using a synthetic bone biomaterial. Now, a medical version of this material is being used to heal broken bones in Canada, the U.S., and Europe.
Bone loss is faster in space
One in four women and one in eight men over the age of 50 suffer from osteoporosis. Treatment for osteoporosis costs Canadians more than $600 million annually. This disease is a natural result of aging. In adults, 5 to 7% of bone mass is renewed each year as it is broken down and then rebuilt. But as the body ages, the rebuilding process fails to keep pace with the absorption process, resulting in lower bone density.
The lack of gravity in space accelerates this process. Bone loss in microgravity is up to 10 times faster than on Earth, and astronauts lose up to 2% of their bone mass for each month they spend in this environment. Space provides ideal conditions for the study of osteoporosis. It allows for more focussed research and can save both time and expense.
Building the bones of success
In 1998, Millenium Biologix of Kingston, Ontario, sent 192 bone samples in its mini-lab in the shuttle to test bone cell culture in a space environment. The lab is called OSTEO, for "osteoporosis experiments in orbit." OSTEO's initial success has led to the development by Millenium of more advanced systems for studying bone loss and tissue engineering that have attracted the interest of space agencies around the world. These will be used for future space research targeting the problems of astronaut bone loss, osteoporosis, and other musculo-skeletal diseases.
Knowledge gained through OSTEO has also been used to develop new biosystems that will be used in terrestrial applications. Millenium's Autologous Clinical Tissue Engineering Systems (ACTES) evolved from the OSTEO concept. It's the first to make it possible for regional health-care facilities to generate a patient's tissue safely and reliably. Millenium's new patented synthetic bone material called Skelite mimics the chemical composition and physical structure of natural bone and helps in the healing of weakened or broken bones. It is first implanted, and then, over time, is absorbed and replaced by living bone tissue.
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