title: The calcium endocrine system of adolescent rhesus monkeys and controls before and after spaceflight.
abstract: The calcium endocrine system of nonhuman primates can be influenced by chairing for safety and the weightless environment of spaceflight. The serum of two rhesus monkeys flown on the Bion 11 mission was assayed pre- and postflight for vitamin D metabolites, parathyroid hormone, calcitonin, parameters of calcium homeostasis, cortisol, and indexes of renal function. Results were compared with the same measures from five monkeys before and after chairing for a flight simulation study. Concentrations of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D were 72% lower after the flight than before, and more than after chairing on the ground (57%, P < 0.05). Decreases in parathyroid hormone did not reach significance. Calcitonin showed modest decreases postflight (P < 0.02). Overall, effects of spaceflight on the calcium endocrine system were similar to the effects of chairing on the ground, but were more pronounced. Reduced intestinal calcium absorption, losses in body weight, increases in cortisol, and higher postflight blood urea nitrogen were the changes in flight monkeys that distinguished them from the flight simulation study animals.
authors.affiliation: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California 94035-1000, USA. sarnaud@mail.arc.nasa.gov
authors.forename: Sara B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Arnaud
authors.forename: Meena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Navidi
authors.forename: Leonard
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Deftos
authors.forename: Myrtle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thierry-Palmer
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dotsenko
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bigbee
authors.forename: Richard E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Grindeland
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D002116:Calcitonin / Q000097:blood; D002117:Calcitriol / Q000097:blood; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood; D004032:Diet; D004435:Eating; D004702:Endocrine Glands / Q000502:physiology*; D006706:Homeostasis; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D007408:Intestinal Absorption; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D010281:Parathyroid Hormone / Q000097:blood; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000097:blood; D013026:Space Flight
chemical_list: D010281:Parathyroid Hormone; D010758:Phosphorus; D002116:Calcitonin; D003404:Creatinine; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase; D002117:Calcitriol; D002118:Calcium; D006854:Hydrocortisone