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The endocrine and metabolic responses to space flight
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
|January 1, 1983
Summary
Spaceflight causes physiological disturbances by altering body fluid and tissue forces. Astronauts experience reduced body fluid, muscle mass, and metabolic changes, impacting their ability to adapt post-flight.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Space Medicine
- Human Adaptation
Background:
- Spaceflight disrupts normal physiological functions due to the absence of hydrostatic and deformation forces.
- These disruptions affect multiple body systems, including cardiovascular, fluid and electrolyte, erythropoietic, musculoskeletal, and metabolic systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify the principal physiological disturbances experienced during and after space flight.
- To understand the systemic effects of weightlessness on the human body.
- To integrate findings into a systems model of physiological response to space environments.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of physiological changes in astronauts during and after space missions.
- Monitoring of cardiovascular, fluid/electrolyte, erythropoietic, musculoskeletal, and metabolic systems.
- Utilizing advanced assays to determine endocrine changes and early spaceflight responses.
Main Results:
- Absence of hydrostatic and deformation forces leads to body fluid shifts and tissue changes.
- Consistent findings include reduced body fluid volume, musculoskeletal mass, altered metabolism, weight loss, and decreased orthostatic tolerance.
- Specific changes observed are relative dehydration, loss of body calcium, skeletal muscle atrophy, and negative energy balance.
Conclusions:
- Spaceflight-induced physiological alterations compromise an astronaut's ability to handle physical activity post-flight.
- Endocrine system changes occur, with new assays enabling more precise measurements.
- A comprehensive systems model is being developed to explain the physiological response to weightlessness.