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Physiological, Pharmacokinetic, and Pharmacodynamic Changes in Space

From the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey (Dr. Graebe); Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (Mr. Schuck, Dr. Derendorf); Dom-Apotheke, Essen, Germany (Ms. Lensing); and Life Sciences Research Pharmacology Laboratory, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (Dr. Putcha).

Medications have been taken since the first Mercury flight in 1967 and, since then, have been used for several indications such as space motion sickness, sleeplessness, headache, nausea, vomiting, back pain, and congestion. As the duration of space missions get longer, it is even more likely that astronauts will encounter some of the acute illnesses that are frequently seen on Earth. Microgravity environment induces several physiological changes in the human body. These changes include cardiovascular degeneration, bone decalcification, decreased plasma volume, blood flow, lymphocyte and eosinophil levels, altered hormonal and electrolyte levels, muscle atrophy, decreased blood cell mass, increased immunoglobulin A and M levels, and a decrease in the amount of microsomal P-450 and the activity of some of its dependent enzymes. These changes may be expected to have severe implications on the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of drug substances.

Key Words: Space flight • pharmacokinetics • microgravity environment • drug dosing • space medicine • pharmacodynamics

Address for reprints: Hartmut Derendorf, PhD, FCP, Professor and Chair, Department of Pharmaceutics, P.O. 100494, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610.

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