Research

Hormonal

Injectable antiresorptive drugs (zoledronate, denosumab, romosozumab) are superior to oral bisphosphonates for preventing bone loss in long-duration space missions because they bypass gastrointestinal side effects and offer potent, sustained suppression of bone resorption.

For long-duration space travel, injectable bone-preserving drugs (zoledronate, denosumab, romosozumab) are preferred over oral options due to better efficacy and lack of gastrointestinal side effects. These drugs suppress bone resorption effectively with rare side effects when used for short durations (1-2 years).

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Alendronate... reduced bone losses in experimental bed rest and space. However, gastrointestinal side effects precluded its further utilization in space. Zoledronate... denosumab... and romosozumab... are all administered via injection. They effectively suppress bone resorption... Their serious adverse effects... occur very rarely when the usage is limited to 1 or 2 years. Hence, utilization of one of these compounds may outweigh the bone risks of space travelling
Friederike Thomasius et al. · British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology · 2023

Why this rating

Based on ground-based bed rest analogues and mouse studies, as direct human spaceflight data for these specific injectables is lacking.

Source

Adjuvant pharmacological strategies for the musculoskeletal system during long‐term space missions

Friederike Thomasius et al. · British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology · 2023

DOI 10.1111/bcp.15877

narrative_reviewCited 12×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →