Michael Braukus

Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

May 15, 1992
(Phone: 202/453-1549)

Jane Hutchison
Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif.
(Phone: 415/604-9000)

RELEASE: 92-67

NASA BED-REST STUDY INVESTIGATES IMPORTANCE OF GRAVITY

Scientists at NASA's Ames Research Center, Mountain View,

Calif., are investigating the importance of gravity to life on
Earth. They also are studying whether intermittent exposure to
gravity may, as a last resort, help keep future space explorers
healthy.

Volunteers in a recently completed study were confined to

their beds for 24-hours a day in the head-down position to
induce the physical changes associated with exposure to the
microgravity of space. Results of the study indicated that
these volunteers could avoid the changes simply by standing
quietly for 15 minutes of each hour over a 16-hour period.
Standing for two hours a day (15 minutes each hour over an
8-hour period) or walking at 3 mph were almost as effective,
according to Dr. Joan Vernikos, the study's Principal
Investigator and Acting Chief of Ames' Life Science Division.

"The question we must answer is both practical and basic:

'How much gravity, how often and for how long?'" Vernikos said.
From a practical perspective, "We must know whether humans need
gravity 24 hours a day to remain healthy," she said. If
intermittent gravity, which can be provided by an onboard
centrifuge, is sufficient, "We won't need a permanently
rotating spacecraft to produce a constant gravity force." A
rotating spacecraft presents serious design, financial and
operational challenges. On a basic level, Vernikos said, this
and future studies can help explain gravity's role in the
development of life on Earth.

In a series of five 6-day experiments conducted over 8

months with the same male volunteers, the team of investigators
compared the effects of gravity's head-to-toe "pull" with or
without activity. All the volunteers spent 4 days in bed, with
a 6-degree head-down tilt.
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They remained in bed throughout one of the 6-day tests. In

other tests, they remained in bed except for either standing
quietly by the bed or walking at 3 mph for 2 or 4 hours a day
in 15-minute segments.

Vernikos said the results showed the 4-day, head-down bed

rest model to be an excellent simulation of many of the early
physical responses to the microgravity of space. Changes found
in astronauts in space -- including reduced blood volume, fluid
and sodium loss, decreased aerobic performance and a tendency
to faint upon standing after return to Earth -- also were seen
in these bed-rested volunteers. She said changes begin within
hours after the volunteers go "head-down" and continue to
develop through the next several days.

Vernikos said this study is only the beginning. She and her
collaborators plan to conduct similar tests using the large
centrifuge at Ames. By having healthy volunteers exercise on a
treadmill on the centrifuge, Ames investigators "hope to
determine whether exercising under increased gravitational
forces will decrease the amount of time required to maintain
health and fitness," she said.

By spinning at various speeds, the centrifuge produces

forces that exceed the normal gravity force on Earth. Some
scientists believe that exercise at such increased
gravitational forces may further reduce the daily minimum
exposure time needed to prevent the effects of simulated and
actual microgravity.

Ames investigators also hope to learn whether passive

exposure to an increased gravity force may maintain fitness.
"We're trying to learn whether it's the activity or simply the
presence of gravity that's most important," she said. She
added that results of these tests could have great potential
for rehabilitation and treatment of various injuries on Earth,
such as fractures.

Vernikos and her collaborators presented the results of this

study May 14 in a special panel at the annual meeting of the
Aerospace Medicine Association in Miami.
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