Sympathetic nervous activity decreases during head down bed rest but not during microgravity

Abstract

Platelet norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (E) were measured as indices of long-term changes in sympathoadrenal activity. Ten normal healthy subjects were studied before and during head-down bed rest (HDBR) of 2 weeks duration, as well as during an ambulatory study period of a similar length. Platelet NE and E concentrations were studied in 5 cosmonauts, who participated in three different Soyuz missions to the International Space Station, 2 weeks before launch, within 12 hours after landing following 11 to 12 days of flight and at least 2 weeks after return to earth. Due to the long half-life of NE and E in platelets (approximately 2 days), data obtained early after landing would still reflect the microgravity state. Platelet NE decreased markedly during HDBR (p<0.001). During micro-gravity platelet NE and E increased in 4 of the 5 cosmonauts. Platelet NE and E concentrations expressed in percentage of pre-flight and pre-HDBR values, respectively, were significantly increased during microgravity as compared to HDBR (NE: 153±28% (mean±SEM) vs. 60±6%, p<0.004; E: 293±85% vs. 90±12%, p<0.01). The increase in platelet NE and E during microgravity is most likely due to an increase in sympathoadrenal activity. The reason why sympathoadrenal activity does not decrease to low levels during microgravity as one would expect remains to be elucidated. HDBR cannot be applied to simulate changes in sympathoadrenal activity during microgravity.