ERDRCR OP t1_iymjatd wrote on December 2, 2022 at 2:41 PM

Reply to comment by Greyswandir in Could astronauts in orbit for long periods be prophylactically treated with medications for osteoporosis and perhaps muscle stimulating medicines to prevent atrophy? by ERDRCR

That’s interesting- you thought prophylactic as in before launch. I thought prophylactic as in before disease sets in, but while they are in space. As in, treat them like post-menopausal women with Vitamin D and Miacalcin or alendronate.

Greyswandir t1_iympq5j wrote on December 2, 2022 at 3:27 PM

Ok, I got interested enough that I reached out to my friend who does spacesuit engineering for NASA. She says she’s not aware* of any drugs they take for that purpose while in space. They focus on exercise instead. She speculates this could be an interesting clinical trial.

*Although she adds that what meds the astronauts take wouldn’t really be her area so it’s possible they do and she doesn’t know about it. A different friend in that chat who works in healthcare points out that a lot of anti-osteoporotic meds can cause kidney stones, which would be really bad in space.