title: Pharmacologic considerations for Shuttle astronauts.
abstract: Medication usage by crewmembers in the preflight and inflight mission periods is common in the Shuttle Program. The most common medical reports for which medication is used are: space motion sickness (SMS), sleeplessness, headache, and backache. A number of medications are available in the Shuttle Medical Kit to treat these problems. Currently, astronauts test all frequently used medications before mission assignment to identify potential side-effects, problems related to performance, personal likes/dislikes, and individual therapeutic effect. However, microgravity-induced changes in drug pharmacokinetics, in combination with multiple operational factors, may significantly alter crew-member responses inflight. This article discusses those factors that may impact pharmacologic efficacy during Shuttle missions.
authors.affiliation: Space Biomedical Research Institute, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Santy
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Bungo
mesh_terms: D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D004358:Drug Therapy; D006801:Humans; D010600:Pharmacology; D013026:Space Flight