Space flight is associated with detrimental changes to the human body, including bone and muscle loss, fluid changes and deconditioning of muscles in the heart and blood vessels. Bed rest experiments, on Earth, are used to study these changes in healthy volunteers, as the disuse of muscles, and impact on the body, mimic the changes seen in the low-gravity environment of Space. Moreover, these changes are similar to those reported in people who remain in bed for long periods of time, such as is seen in intensive care or stroke patients, and bed rest studies also allow the physiological and biochemical impacts of this confinement to be investigated. For example, we know from previous research that muscle inactivity can lead to the development of resistance to the action of the hormone 'insulin', which is a longer term risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes. Previous studies suggest that this inactivity-induced insulin resistance occurs within the first 48 hours of immobilization. However, it is not clear whether the biochemical and physiological processes underlying these short-term responses to inactivity are the same as those seen in the longer term. The current study aims to investigate the biochemical and physiological changes seen after 3 days of bed rest and to compare to those measured in a previous 57 days bed rest study carried out at Institut Médecine Physiologie Spatiale (MEDES; Toulouse, France). A 3-day period of reconditioning will subsequently be used to determine if these changes can be readily reversed.
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Change in Insulin stimulated whole body glucose uptake
Timeframe: after 3 days of bed rest, compared to pre-bed rest