WIse-2005: Combined Aerobic and Resistive Exercise May Help Mitigate Bone Loss During 60-D Simulated Microgravity in Women

Exercise can attenuate bone loss associated with disuse during bed rest (BR), an analog of space flight. Previous studies have examined the efficacy of aerobic or resistive exercise countermeasures, but not in combination. We sought to determine the effect of a combined resistive and aerobic exercise regimen on bone metabolism during BR. After a 20-d ambulatory adaptation to confinement and diet, 16 women participated in a 60-d head-down-tilt BR. Control subjects (CN, n=8) performed no countermeasures. Exercise subjects, (EX, n=8) participated in exercise alternating daily between supine treadmill exercise within lower body negative pressure and resistive fly-wheel exercise (6-d wk(sup -1)). In the last week of BR, bone resorption was greater (p less than 79 plus or minus 44%, mean plus or minus SD) and EX groups (64 50%). N-telopeptide also increased (CN: 51 plus or minus 34%; EX: 43 plus or minus 56%). However, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, a bone formation marker, tended to be higher in EX (26 plus or minus 18%) than in CN (8 plus or minus 33%) groups. The combination of resistive and aerobic exercise does not prevent bone resorption, but may promote formation, potentially mitigating the net bone loss associated with simulated microgravity. This study was supported by CNES, CSA, ESA, NASA, and NASA grant NNJ04HF71G to ARH. MEDES (French Institute for Space Medicine and Physiology) organized the study.