Canadian scientists contribute to European study of the body at rest

News Release


Canadian scientists contribute to European study of the body at rest


Longueuil, 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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Contact:

Nicholas Girard
Media Relations
Canadian Space Agency
Tel: (450) 926-4370


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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info