scholarly journals The Effect of Space Travel on Bone Metabolism: Considerations on Today’s Major Challenges and Advances in Pharmacology

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 4585
Author(s):  
Shirley Genah ◽  
Monica Monici ◽  
Lucia Morbidelli

Microgravity-induced bone loss is currently a significant and unresolved health risk for space travelers, as it raises the likelihood for irreversible changes that weaken skeletal integrity and the incremental onset of fracture injuries and renal stone formation. Another issue related to bone tissue homeostasis in microgravity is its capacity to regenerate following fractures due to weakening of the tissue and accidental events during the accomplishment of particularly dangerous tasks. Today, several pharmacological and non-pharmacological countermeasures to this problem have been proposed, including physical exercise, diet supplements and administration of antiresorptive or anabolic drugs. However, each class of pharmacological agents presents several limitations as their prolonged and repeated employment is not exempt from the onset of serious side effects, which limit their use within a well-defined range of time. In this review, we will focus on the various countermeasures currently in place or proposed to address bone loss in conditions of microgravity, analyzing in detail the advantages and disadvantages of each option from a pharmacological point of view. Finally, we take stock of the situation in the currently available literature concerning bone loss and fracture healing processes. We try to understand which are the critical points and challenges that need to be addressed to reach innovative and targeted therapies to be used both in space missions and on Earth.

2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 1771-1778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukiko Watanabe ◽  
Hiroshi Ohshima ◽  
Koh Mizuno ◽  
Chiharu Sekiguchi ◽  
Masao Fukunaga ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphane Goria ◽  
Louise Dupet ◽  
Maëva Négroni ◽  
Gabriel Sega ◽  
Philippe Arnoux ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND most serious games and other game-based tools are designed as digital games or escape games. They are designed for learning or sometimes in the field of medicine as an aid to care. However, they can also be seen as an aid to research, in our case, to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of imaging techniques for cancer detection. OBJECTIVE we present a case study of action research on the design of a serious board game intended to consider the advantages and weaknesses of a diagnostic method in a different ways. The goal was to better understand the principles of designing a tool using game or play. METHODS we explicitly implemented another process than gamification to develop a structure reminiscent of the game to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of different imaging techniques from the point of view of the respondents (in this case specialists not directly involved in the project). Based on this feedback and the scientific literature on this subject, we detail the main categories of games and games developed for serious use in order to understand their differences. Concerning the cancer research part to which game contributes, our method is based on questions asked to experts and practitioners of this specialty. RESULTS an expert point of view translation tool in the form of a game has been realized to apprehend a research in a different way. CONCLUSIONS we show with the help of a diagram, some possible design paths leading to this type of design result including two hidden dimensions to consider (the awareness of the game or play by the "player" and his role as a contributor or recipient).


Author(s):  
Doriana Landi ◽  
Marta Ponzano ◽  
Carolina Gabri Nicoletti ◽  
Gaia Cola ◽  
Gianluca Cecchi ◽  
...  

AbstractRestrictions in the access to healthcare facilities during COVID-19 pandemic have raised the need for remote monitoring of chronic medical conditions, including multiple sclerosis (MS). In order to enable the continuity of care in these circumstances, many telemedicine applications are currently tested. While physicians’ preferences are commonly investigated, data regarding the patients’ point of view are still lacking. We built a 37 items web-based survey exploring patients’ propensity, awareness, and opinions on telemedicine with the aim to evaluate the sustainability of this approach in MS. Analysing 613 questionnaires out of 1093 that were sent to persons with MS followed at the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Tor Vergata University, Rome, we found that more than half of respondents (54%) were open to having a televisit. Propensity toward telemedicine significantly depended on having a higher income (p = 0.037), living farther from the center (p = 0.038), using computer and tablet (p = 0.010) and using the Internet for other remote activities (p < 0.001), conversely it was not influenced by any specific disease characteristics (i.e. degree of disability). The main advantages and disadvantages of televisit reported by participants were respectively saving time (70%) and impossibility to measure physical parameters (71%). Although the majority of respondents are in favour of televisit, so far this approach is restricted to those displaying better socioeconomic conditions and higher familiarity with technology. Implications of the study are that telemedicine platforms should be better tailored to patients’ demands in order to spread the use of telemedicine, to enhance usability and to increase patients’ adherence.


2002 ◽  
Vol 140 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hansjosef Böhles ◽  
Boris Gebhardt ◽  
Thomas Beeg ◽  
Adrian C. Sewell ◽  
Eivind Solem ◽  
...  

2001 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor V. Andrianov ◽  
Jan Awrejcewicz

In this review article, we present in some detail new trends in application of asymptotic techniques to mechanical problems. First we consider the various methods which allows for the possibility of extending the perturbation series application space and hence omiting their local character. While applying the asymptotic methods very often the following situation appears: an existence of the asymptotics ε → 0 implies an existence of the asymptotics ε → ∞ (or, in a more general sense, ε → a and ε → b). Therefore, an idea of constructing a single solution valid for a whole interval of parameter ε changes is very attractive. In other words, we discuss a problem of asymptotically equivalent function constructions possessing for ε → a and ε → b a known asymptotic behavior. The defined problems are very important from the point of view of both theoretical and applied sciences. In this work, we review the state-of-the-art, by presenting the existing methods and by pointing out their advantages and disadvantages, as well as the fields of their applications. In addition, some new methods are also proposed. The methods are demonstrated on a wide variety of static and dynamic solid mechanics problems and some others involving fluid mechanics. This review article contains 340 references.


Urolithiasis ◽  
1981 ◽  
pp. 89-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Ljunghall ◽  
B. G. Danielson ◽  
G. Johansson ◽  
L. Wibell

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 228
Author(s):  
K. Taguchi ◽  
A. Okada ◽  
Y. Fujii ◽  
K. Niimi ◽  
T. Kobayashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

1994 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Baggio ◽  
Giovanni Gambaro ◽  
Francesco Marchini ◽  
Massimo Vincenti ◽  
Giulio Ceolotto ◽  
...  

1. Anomalous transmembrane anion transport has been observed in erythrocytes of patients with idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis. 2. To verify whether cation transport is also abnormal, we investigated the frusemide-sensitive Na+ efflux from Na+-loaded erythrocytes and the natriuretic response to acute intravenous frusemide administration in calcium oxalate renal stone formers. 3. Frusemide administration induced a statistically significant smaller increase in the fractional excretion of Na+ in patients than in control subjects. Abnormal kinetic properties of erythrocyte Na+-K+-2Cl− co-transport were observed in approximately 60% of stone formers. The Km for Na+ of Na+-K+-2Cl− co-transport correlated with urinary Ca2+ excretion. 4. The abnormal kinetic properties of Na+-K+-2Cl− co-transport may be relevant for stone formation, hampering renal Ca2+ reabsorption in the distal nephron and determining critical physicochemical conditions for calcium/oxalate crystallization.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document