UC Irvine News Brief: Joyce Keyak speaks at summit on astronauts' bone loss risk
In a 2009 study of 13 astronauts who spent four to six months on the International Space Station, the associate professor in residence of radiological sciences found that, on average, astronauts’ hip bone strength decreased 14 percent.
Joyce Keyak, UCI associate professor in residence of radiological sciences, recently participated in NASA’s first Bone Summit to develop therapeutic guidelines addressing the risk of early-onset, age-related osteoporosis in astronauts who serve on long-duration space missions. Keyak gave a lecture on the assessment of hip bone strength, and at the summit’s close, the group recommended using a Keyak-created computer program gauging hip bone fracture risk to monitor astronauts’ bone health. The June 7-8 summit was held at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. In a 2009 study of 13 astronauts who spent four to six months on the International Space Station, Keyak and colleagues found that, on average, astronauts’ hip bone strength decreased 14 percent.