Canadian scientists contribute to European study of the body at rest
Longueuil, Quebec, June 2, 2005 – In the longest bedrest study for women ever conducted in Europe, 12 women have been confined to bed and monitored for 60 days at the French Institute of Space Medicine and Physiology space clinic in Toulouse (MEDES). Two Canadian scientists, Dr. Richard L. Hughson, of the University of Waterloo Department of Kinesiology and Dr. Guy Trudel, of the University of Ottawa Department of Medicine, took part in the study along with American and European researchers.
Dr. Hughson's primary research objectives are to determine the structural and functional changes in the cardiovascular system during long-term bedrest. Dr. Trudel is focusing on the decreased levels of blood-forming cells in bone marrow, and the increased risk of tendon injury and fat accumulation in and around muscle caused by long periods of inactivity. The results will be compared to studies of astronauts who have spent periods in weightlessness.
The women were confined to bed from March to June 2005, lying with their feet slightly higher than their heads, at an angle of about six degrees. This position prompts changes in the body similar to those experienced by astronauts in the microgravity of space, such as a loss of muscle mass, reduced strength, decrease in bone mass and weakening of the cardiovascular system.
"A better understanding of the physiological mechanisms at play in the adaptation of the body to weightless conditions will be valuable for developing countermeasures for astronauts," said Dr. Nicole Buckley, Director of Space Physical and Life Sciences at the Canadian Space Agency. "It could also have applications on Earth, for example, in the treatment of patients following long-term hospitalization, and, more generally, for understanding the effects of physical inactivity on health."
The Canadian Space Agency subsidized the participation of the two Canadian scientists in this international study led by the European Space Agency with NASA and the French Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES)
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