Efficacy of the Combined Use of Negative Pressure on the Lower Part of the Body and Negative-Pressure Respiration under Simulated Microgravity

Abstract

The efficacies of the standard procedure for application of negative pressure on the lower part of the body (NPLB) and a combination of NPLB and negative-pressure respiration (NPR) during a simulated last stage of a spaceflight under conditions of antiorthostatic hypokinesia (ANOH, –6°) and isolation for 7 days have been compared in the course of three series of tests involving six volunteers in an EU-100 pressurized chamber. After the end of the 7-day ANOH and isolation, episodes of orthostatic disorders were observed in all six subjects in the first series of tests (the control series) and in four subjects in the second series (NPLB). In the third series (NPLB + NPR), orthostatic disorders, if any, were slight. Two main conclusions have been made. First, ANOH combined with isolation in a small chamber may be used to simulate the effects of the combined factors of spaceflight on humans in order to obtain model gravitational circulatory disorders. Second, the combined use of NPLB + NPR under these conditions may be effective for the prevention of orthostatic circulatory disorders in humans.